Marquez Owes Pacquiao A Heartfelt Thanks

After a stunning technical knockout victory over Barrera in 2003, Pacquiao traded punches with Marquez. Pacquiao knocked him down three times, yet Marquez fought him to a draw in their first bout at 126 pounds.

Boxing writers and experts then began to recognize the talents of Marquez, who lurked behind the shadows of his fellow Mexican greats, Morales and Barrera, for a long time.

Marquez felt he won the fight and refused a rematch with the Pacman because of a purse disagreement with Arum. Instead, he went to Indonesia and lost his belt against the equally talented Chris John.

Marquez fought his way back into the spotlight by beating Juarez and Barrera before meeting Manny for the second time. In the rematch at 130 pounds in 2008, Pacquiao escaped with a hotly debated split-decision. After 24 rounds, the difference between them is one point on the scorecards.

Once again, Marquez and his trainer, Beristain insisted that he won the fight. He even flew to the Philippines to challenge Pacquiao for another fight. He keep telling the media in Manila that Manny is afraid of him and how he was robbed of a victory in their second encounter.

Pacquiao moved up in weight in his next three fights and went on to win titles at 135 and 140 lbs. Marquez chased Pacquiao by fighting top calibre opponents at 135 lbs and in the process, collected different belts including the prestigious Ring Magazine lineal championship.

It cannot be denied that the Pacquiao encounter and the act of chasing the ‘Mexican Assassin’ made Marquez into a boxing superstar. He is now considered to be one of Mexico’s elite fighters to ever lace a glove. He can easily belong to the top five Mexican greats along side Julio Cesar Chavez, Ruben Olivares, Salvador Sanchez and Ricardo Lopez.

The Pacquiao chase has not stopped. The best way Marquez can gain a second rematch with the 140 Ring Magazine champ is to challenge the former pound for pound champion. Mayweather accepted the bait and Marquez is in a position to solidy his claim as one of Mexico’s great.

The thorn that is Pacquiao has been both a bane and a boon for Dinamita. Marquez once pronounced that “ he could never the best boxer if he fails to beat Pacquiao.” But Marquez has to realize that without Pacquiao, he would not be where he is now as a champion in three different weight divisions. Marquez should stop complaining about his loss to Pacquiao. It is high time that Marquez show appreciation to what Manny has done to his boxing career. He definitely owes Manny Pacquiao a hearfelt thanks.

Source: digitaljournal.com