By Yannis Mihanos: Since his explosive victory over Manny Pacquiao in 2012, the great Mexican warrior Juan Manuel Marquez has been reluctant in getting again in the ring with Pacquiao. The question is has the Marquez decided to take the easy way by cherry picking opponents?
Marquez will be turning 41 years old in August and he’s definitely not a spring chicken anymore, but he still shows signs that there is life in him for boxing. His last fight was a very easy victory against Mike Alvarado. Alvarado was a tailored made opponent for Marquez, with no fast body movement, very static and without the same power like Marquez has. Alvarado was an easy target for Marquez.
As Marquez now is examining more carefully his choices, he hopes to get the fights that suit better on him and that’s why Pacquiao could be out of the picture for him. However, there are fighters that Marquez can beat and look great, fighters who stand for the count and get toe to toe are good for him as he is not a big mover. IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter carries a title and is one who Marquez can beat. I think he’s a possible candidate for him. With a victory over Porter, Marquez would become the first Mexican born fighter with 5 division world titles.
Since we live at a time were titles are generously given to inferior fighters, the opportunity remains open for Marquez to succeed.
With some careful selections he might stay in boxing for a few more years following the Bernard Hopkins example.
Bob Arum, the promoter for Marquez and Pacquiao, has tried his best to convince Marquez to fight Pacquiao for a 5th fight, but he hasn’t been successful so far. Even the money that he has offered hasn’t seemed to tempt Marquez.
Some say enough with the rerun fights, we’ve seen it all before and have no wish to see it again. I don’t agree with that. What’s wrong anyway with a rerun? With my favorite song, my favorite film, and my favorite boxing fight, I don’t mind at all experiencing it again. What’s wrong with having two great Champions like Pacquiao and Marquez battling each other once again for the fifth time?
The excuse that this matchup has met its course doesn’t stand. The fans want to see it, Arum and HBO all want it badly as well. So why not give it a go? Ask Marquez. The ball is clearly at his court. He is the one who’s playing the difficult and thinking too much, he is the one who’s stalling in coming to a decision about whether he’ll take the fight or not. The first 4 fights of this epic series were all exciting and paid extremely well both fighters. A potential 5th fight is also would likely see both Marquez and Pacquiao receive big paydays.
Marquez’s long time trainer and good friend Nacho Beristain also agrees with the idea to skip Pacman. It’s Funny that Marquez and Floyd Mayweather Jr. both aren’t readily agreeing to fights against Pacquiao.
Marquez, at this stage of his career, has his legacy in boxing cemented and is financially secure for life.
But health of course is one thing priceless and a fifth war against Pacquiao might have an impact on his body.
I would say that if Marquez is afraid for his health then he might as well retire. But that’s just my opinion. He is his own boss and he can have it his own way.
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