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Floyd Mayweather Jr. misses weight

Mayweather Jr. will pay ‘significant’ fine for coming in two pounds heavy

mayweather

Steve Marcus

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez pose for fans and media members during Friday’s official weigh-in. Mayweather Jr. came in two pounds over the 144-pound weight limit and will face a ‘significant’ financial penalty.

Mayweather v. Marquez weigh-in

Juan Manuel Marquez gestures towards fans during Friday's official weigh-in at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Launch slideshow »

Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s $10 million purse just got smaller for his return to boxing Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Mayweather Jr. came in two pounds over the agreed-upon 144 pounds for his welterweight bout with Juan Manuel Marquez and will face a fee of $300,000 for each extra pound.

Marquez, who weighed in at 142 pounds, will receive extra money because of the penalty. He was originally being paid $2 million for the fight.

“The fight was contracted as a welterweight fight, however, the agreed-upon weight was 144 pounds,” said Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions. “There are contractual weight penalties built in, in case either fighter came in heavy. Mayweather will face the weight penalty for those additional two pounds — a substantial amount of money.”

If Mayweather Jr. was disappointed with himself for missing the cut, he did not show it on stage Friday. It appeared some immediately thought he hadn't cut enough, especially Marquez, who leaned in closer to see the scale while Mayweather Jr. was on it.

While the extra two pounds will cost Mayweather Jr. a share of his purse, they may help him keep his undefeated record intact. Boxing experts already were worried about how Marquez would handle a bigger fighter.

That concern will only grow with that additional weight.

The entire weigh-in was quite a spectacle from start to finish.

Mexican radio personality Eddie Sotelo claimed that Kanye West was on the phone with him predicting a win for Marquez to get the crowd of thousands going.

American comedian D.L. Hughley responded by taking a jab at Marquez’s training methods.

“I’m going to get Marquez some Gatorade so he don’t have to drink pee no more,” Hughley said, referring to a scene showing Marquez consuming his own urine in the HBO documentary series "24/7."

“Marquez is a warrior,” Sotelo answered.

“You can be a warrior with Vitamin Water,” Hughley shot back.

To bring the mood back to serious, WWE star Triple H, who will accompany Mayweather Jr. to the ring Saturday night, got his hands on the microphone.

“I just have one question: Are you ready?” he asked a crowd that actually looked somewhat confused by his appearance. “I hear a comedian coming out here laughing a lot, but they say that he who laughs last, laughs best. I think the only one laughing Saturday night will be Floyd Mayweather Jr.”

Historical boxing figures were also on hand for the show, including Thomas Hearns, Victor Ortiz, Sakio Bica and, of course, Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins.

As expected, Mayweather Jr. and Marquez were visibly different during the actual weigh-in process.

Marquez’s half of the stage was occupied by maybe two or three of his entourage. Mayweather Jr., on the other hand, was accompanied by an impressive following of more than 20.

Weigh-in results:

Orlando Cruz (126 pounds) v. Cornelius Lock (125 pounds)

Michael Katsidis (135 pounds) v. Vicente Escobedo (134 pounds)

Chris John (126 pounds) v. Rocky Juarez (126 pounds)

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (146 pounds) v. Juan Manuel Marquez (142 pounds)

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].

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