Mayweather set for July 18 fight

Floyd Mayweather Jr., the former unbeaten welterweight king who hasn’t fought since late 2007, will end his retirement to fight Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18 at the MGM Grand Garden, a source close to the fighter said Friday.

The official announcement will be made at 11 a.m. today at a news conference at the hotel’s Hollywood Theatre.

Mayweather’s return was disclosed by an informed source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Mayweather, 32, retired June 6, 2008, with a 39-0 record and 25 knockouts. He hasn’t fought since his 10th-round knockout of Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden.

Hatton will fight Manny Pacquiao tonight in that same ring in a junior welterweight bout that will determine the sport’s so-called pound-for-pound champion. Pacquiao rose to that status when Mayweather quit.

Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s friend and senior adviser, and Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Marquez, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Ellerbe and Schaefer met Friday afternoon at the MGM Grand prior to the Pacquiao-Hatton weigh-in to finalize the deal, the source said. Mayweather-Marquez is expected to be a tuneup for a megafight against the Pacquiao-Hatton winner late this year. Both Pacquiao and Hatton have said they are willing to fight Mayweather.

For Marquez (50-4, 37 KOs), who has had two battles with Pacquiao — a draw in 2004 and a 12-round split-decision loss in 2008 — fighting Mayweather provides an opportunity to command a huge payday.

The 35-year-old from Mexico City is coming off an impressive performance in which he stopped Juan Diaz in the ninth round to win the WBA super lightweight title Feb. 28 in Houston. He will be moving up in weight to face Mayweather, though it was not known if the fight would be at welterweight (147 pounds) or a catch weight.