BOXING

• Mayweather returns with virtuoso victory over Marquez

  
  

  Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Floyd Mayweather Jr.

  made a convincing return to boxing's biggest stage Saturday night, winning nearly every second of every round en route to a unanimous decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in the main event of a pay-per-view broadcast from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

  Mayweather (40-0) had been inactive since a December 2007 stoppage of Ricky Hatton in defense of his WBC welterweight championship.

  He relinquished that title soon after and retired, only to announce a comeback in may against Marquez (50-5-1), a bout originally scheduled for July and postponed due to a rib injury.

  The Michigan native and Las Vegas resident earned the verdict by scores of 118-109, 120-107 and 119-108. SportsNetwork.com saw it 120-107 for Mayweather.

  "I've been off two years, but I can get better," Mayweather said. "Marquez is tough as nails. He's one helluva fighter." The fight was originally to be fought at a catch weight of 144 pounds, but Mayweather weighed in at 146 pounds and was unwilling to come down to 144 pounds.

  Instead, Marquez, who weighed in at 142 pounds, was reportedly paid $600,000 from Mayweather's purse to go ahead with the fight.

  "We tried to work with his speed, but the obvious difference was the weight. It was considerable," Marquez said.

  On the televised undercard: Indonesianexport ChrisJohn remained unbeaten and retained his WBA featherweight title with a one-sided unanimous decision over Rocky Juarez in a rematch of their February fight in Houston.

  John (43-0-2), a pro since 1998, improved to 10-0-2 in title fights since initially claiming the championship in 2004.

  The two men fought to a unanimous draw in their first bout, but John swept the scorecards in the second contest by verdicts of 114-113, 119-109 and 117-111 from judges Glen Hamada, Adelaide Byrd and Herb Santos respectively.

  SportsNetwork.com saw it 117-111 for John.

  John dominated the initial 10 rounds of the bout with a higher work rate and sharper shots, then survived a significant rally in the 12th after Juarez (28-5-1) landed a left hook that nearly floored him.

  Juarez, a U.S. Olympian and silver medalist in 2000 at the Games in Sydney, is now 0-4-1 in five title fights.

  Australian lightweight Michael Katsidis put on a methodically punishing show over nearly every minute of 12 rounds in winning a much-closer-than-it-looked split decision over Californian Vicente Escobedo.

  Now a resident of Thailand, Katsidis won the verdict by counts of 115-113 and 118-110 on the cards of Duane Ford and Robert Hoyle, respectively.

  Judge Mike Fitzgerald saw it 116-112 for Escobedo.

  SportsNetwork.com had it 118-110 for Katsidis, who suffered a small cut over his left eye and significant abrasions on both his left and right cheeks.

  Nonetheless, he forced the action throughout the 12 rounds, landing the more significant power shots while taking a steady amount of less-impactful counter punches in return.

  Katsidis (26-2) won his third straight since a two-fight losing streak in 2008.

  Escobedo (21-2) lost for the first time since 2006 after a 12-fight win streak.

  Cornelius Lock rebounded from an upset decision loss in his last fight with a one-punch stoppage of unbeaten Puerto Rican prospect Orlando Cruz in the fifth round of their featherweight bout, scheduled for 10 rounds.

  Lock flicked out a left before sending a right hook between the gloves that dropped Cruz at the two-minute mark of the session. Cruz (16-1-1) rose soon after referee Robert Byrd began the count, but Byrd waved it off as Cruz continued to wobble when the toll reached 7.

  The official time was 2:08 of the round.

  SportsNetwork.com had Lock ahead, 38-37, at the time of the stoppage.

  Lock (19-4-1), who dropped a 10-round verdict to Antonio Escalante in July, recorded his 12th knockout.

  09/20 01:05:19 ET