Marquez: Chance for a third Pacquiao fight?

March 3rd, 2009

Beat an elite fighter like a HATTON, COTTO OR MOSLEY.

You just have to admire Juan Manuel Marquez. I honestly thought for the first few rounds against Juan Diaz, he was getting old right before our eyes. The same way I thought he was out right in the first round in the first fight against the PACIFIC STORM, and the first few rounds against Casamayor. Like the great fighters of this era, along with Mosley, Hatton, PBF, Cotto, DLH, he is carrying his load and lifting boxing back to its rightful place in sports, back to where the great champions of the past had left it in the pedestal of athleticism, skills and excitement.

BOXING IS BACK! The match ups are endless, loaded and can possibly last for a long time. Juan Manuel did everything right last Saturday night, and the early Fight Of The Year nomination is well deserved. The only thing that was off that night was the post-fight interview, when he called out a retired Pretty Boy Floyd. I just have to say, after stalking for a long while, the man got tired of chasing the storm. Out of curiosity, I’ll probably cough out $50 for a PBF vs. JMM PPV, but I wouldn’t expect much from it. Imagine a counterpuncher against a defensive-hit and run genius. Oh boy, I have a feeling the Compubox stats for that one will run in the single digit for each round. I also have a feeling I’ll be the one who will get knocked out to sleep while watching it.

Marquez’ challenge revealed to me a man who is tired of getting beat by Pacquio, over and over. Extra pressure comes with his age and time is obviously not on his side. He believed he won the first fight, and he followed the man for a re-match, half way around the world, only to lose again. The storm got stronger and he is getting challenged by everyone, men that are 25 pounds heavier and lighter than him and Marquez’ last chance for redemption is sliding away out of his grip.

And man, have you seen the 140 pound version of the Pacman lately? Bobbing and weaving, rapid in and out hitting, Manila Ice shocking, gear shifting, speed changing thunderous and accurate left hooks with the same Tasmanian devilish footwork. This version of him I want to call Pacman 3.0 skipping an entire 2.0 version.

Marquez must have given this some thought, he must say to himself, “oh boy, the storm even got stronger”. I’m sure he does, he saw the David Diaz and the Dela Hoya beatdowns. Don’t get me wrong, he was very impressive against the Baby Bull, but I do think if the Baby Bull benched pressed an extra 20 pounds everyday in his training, those bombs that he was throwing could have knocked Marquez out. Marquez stayed in the middle, getting hit straight through the pipes for five rounds. That is an obvious beatdown for a Pacman 3.0. The Pacman1.0 version would have stayed in longer, mixing it up and enough for those pinpoint Marquez counterpunches to hit hard. But this is the “New Pacman”--- those punches will all be too late this time around.

When the Juan Dinamita is alone at night, he just have to know, and he must tell himself, “It will be so much harder to beat the Pac now, if ever the third time comes”. And for wanting to fight again, chasing and possibly going down in the canvas with both his legs up for the fifth time or going down three more times in one round makes me admire the man more. Because of this I really would like to see him get another shot.

Since I talked about match ups, JMM needs to beat someone where it will be hard for the Pac to resist to give him one of the few limited fights he have left. Convincingly beat an elite fighter, One of the few fighters who wants a piece of the PAC. I’m talking about a Mosley, a Cotto, a combination of Bradley/Campbell or DLH/Hatton, (who are all eager to get in on with Pac right now). If he does that, Pacman-Marquez 3 will make the perfect retirement fight for both. Win or lose if this happens, they will both yet again, give hope to their countries. With one great fight, they will both lift boxing back to its place. The winner will walk away grandly and upwards for a trip to boxing greatness of all time.