Mayweather's return postponed

Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s comeback has been postponed because the boxer suffered a rib injury while training.

Golden Boy Promotions said on Sunday that Mayweather's July 18 fight against Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will be rescheduled.

"I am extremely disappointed that this fight has to be postponed," Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) said in a statement. "I was training very hard and looking forward to getting back in the ring on July 18."

Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) said in a statement from his training camp in Mexico that he was also disappointed.

"I will remain focused, in shape and ready to fight whenever the fight is rescheduled for," the lightweight champion said.

Details about Mayweather's injury were not immediately available. Phone messages left by The Associated Press with Golden Boy and Mayweather's promoters were not immediately returned on Sunday.

It's a bit of a shame, but these things happen. The fight will surely be rescheduled, and this probably gives it a chance of lining up in September. August is usually half an off-month in boxing and Mayweather would probably like proper time to recover and resume training anyway.

A September date for Mayweather-Marquez would match up fairly well with Manny Pacquiao's assumed October date, and probably really ups the chances we'll see Pacquiao against Miguel Cotto. Shane Mosley could also be more seriously in the running now, as there is absolutely no chance Pacquiao could land the Mayweather-Marquez winner on that date. The chances he could were very slim to begin with.