Marquez: I won’t fight Canelo because he’s too big

By Boxing News - 03/15/2013 - Comments

Houston_0U9C3156_send(Photos: Stephanie Trapp/SHOWTIME) By Dan Ambrose: Mexican legendary fighter Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KO’s), who has spent most of his career fighting at featherweight and super featherweight, says he won’t move up to the 154 pound division to face WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) because the size difference between them is too much.

Speaking with Univision Deportes, Marquez said “In April, I’ll decide if I want to keep boxing or retire. I definitely won’t fight Saul Alvarez because it’s a lot of weight to move up to middleweight [junior middleweight], and on fight night that would be the average weight for Canelo. Additionally, he has a tough fight against Austin Trout. He must show his merit.”

So in other words, Marquez doesn’t want to fight a guy that will be stepping inside the ring as basically a middleweight if they were to fight. I think Marquez is being a little too kind of the 22-year-old Canelo. He wouldn’t be stepping inside the ring as essentially a middleweight if they were to fight, Canelo would likely rehydrate to over 160+ for a fight, which would make him a super middleweight, not a middleweight.

Anything over 160, even if it’s one pound, would make Canelo a super middleweight. He’d likely come into the fight in the mid-160s unless Marquez were able to get Canelo to agree to melt down to 147 to fight him at that weight. Given how Canelo is arguably more popular than Marquez among Mexican boxing fans, I can’t see Canelo ever agreeing to drop down to 147 to fight Marquez or anyone at this point, even Floyd Mayweather Jr.

But if Canelo did agree to melt down to welterweight, Marquez would have to have a rehydration limit put into the contract that would effectively waive off the fight if Canelo came into the ring weighing over a certain amount after he rehydrated. What’s the point of having him melt down if he’s going to rehydrate up to 160+ anyway? It would be pointless.

Why Canelo has to fight another smaller guys is the real question. Hasn’t he fought enough smaller and older fighters already without having to look for another smaller guy? How about Canelo finally fighting guys from his own division like Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan.



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