This Saturday at 10:15 ET on HBO, the boxing world welcomes back a Hall of Fame-bound fighter and a television show that has re-defined boxing hype. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and "24/7" are both back in action in just five days.
Mayweather has carried the series in the past, along with his uncle/trainer Roger and father Floyd Sr., who also will be highlighted once more. Floyd made himself a big, big star not just with his 2007 wins over Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton, but by being allowed to fully show a personality that some love and some hate, but it seems everyone reacts to one way or another. Whether you think he's genuinely an arrogant jerk or just playing heel, Floyd's stardom indisputably shot upward in '07. He went from a highly-talented fighter that wasn't really that big of an attraction to -- at least briefly -- the sport's second money man (behind Oscar at the time).
Here's the HBO trailer for this season, which focuses heavily on Floyd, as you might expect:
Since I get the feeling the show will be about 90% Mayweather (as Marquez does not speak English), here's Juan Manuel Marquez's Greatest Hits (according to HBO Sports):
The closer this fight gets, the more I'm ready to just see what in the hell happens. I had similar feelings about Oscar-Manny in '08, and that turned out to be quite a memorable night. And to add to it, this has a legitimately interesting undercard instead of the load of crap Golden Boy and Top Rank fed us last December.
And I'm damn sure ready for some "24/7." I actually thought Hatton-Pacquiao was the best series to date, a couple of in-their-prime, no-nonsense fighters who had really interesting camps going on. It was the first "24/7" without a hint of B.S. or promotional fluff. Those guys were fighters who were preparing for a fight. Still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy some good Mayweather family hijinx.
