[Article orginally appeared in “boxingnews24.com” on 21 September 2009]

1. Call a spade a spade: it was a mismatch from the start

There was never any doubt on the result of the match. Even the betting odds were 4-1 in favour of Mayweather.

The fight proved that Mayweather still has his boxing skills intact. This is not unusual, given he is young and is gifted with natural fighting ability. Other fighters had come back from retirement and made impressive wins. One good example is when Sugar Ray Leonard came out of retirement to win over the Marvin Hagler.

Was Mayweather win impressive? He was fighting the older, smaller and a sluggish Marquez. Marquez never really had the chance, regardless of the pre-fight hype about his hunger and new found offensive ability. It was simply a mismatch from beginning to end.

I am voting this the “Fight Mismatch of the Year”.

2. Marquez is no Pacquiao

Marquez tried to do what Pacquiao did, that is to move up two weight divisions and fight a bigger opponent. Problem was, he did not bring anything new to the table, he fought the same way as he did and he was clearly outclassed. Because of the weight gain, he also lost a lot of his natural movements and speed. Marquez is a great fighter but he took more than he could handle.

This is what Pacquiao’s detractors refuse to see. Pacquiao is a rare fighter who is able to move up divisions and still dominate with speed and power.

3. Two counterpunchers make a boring fight

Freddie Roach was spot on when he predicted that the fight will be boring. Both boxers just waited for the other to make the move. You could never expect Mayweather to go on the offensive, while Marquez paid the price for trying.

Boxing fans knew this too; just look how many empty seats in the stadium during fight night. Even Pay-per-view suffered since most fans preferred watching the UFC event, which was shown at the same time.

Compare this to the Pacquiao-Cotto match in November. This will be a fight between two intelligent and intense boxers who come to the ring ready to engage and do battle.

4. This is not the end for Marquez

Even with the barrage of punches he received, Marquez stayed upright and continued to fight. It is testament to his unyielding will and strong chin. Even Pacquiao could not KO this Mexican “dynamita” (dynamite). Surely this fight is not the end for Marquez, but he needs to reconsider and go back fighting in his natural weight division.

Unfortunately, his loss has diminished his chance for a third fight against Pacquiao.

5. Mayweather is back but still has to prove himself

Mayweather is truly back but he needs to prove himself more against a fighter of the same size. There are a lot of fighters out there willing and able to meet his challenge. One is Shane Mosley, he rudely did a WWE-style challenge to him after the fight. Other worthwhile challengers include Margarito, Miguel Cotto and Paul Williams

Finally, Mayweather’s win also gives more steam for a possible “fight of the decade” match between himself and Pacquiao. This is one fight boxing fans all over the world would be salivating to see.