By John F. McKenna (McJack): When World Boxing Organization (WBO)/World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KO’s) faces WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s) on November 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will it be the last hurrah for “Dinamita”?

Pacquiao still has the blazing speed he exhibited when he fought Marquez in 2004 at 126 pounds and in 2008 at 130 pounds. However “Pacman” now fights as a welterweight and hits with more authority then he did at the lower weights. In addition in the two earlier contests Manny did not effectively use his right hand and is some respects, was a one armed fighter.

That all changed when trainer Freddie Roach came on board. In essence Manny will be a completely different fighter in the Trilogy than the one Marquez previously faced. Compounding the problems for Marquez is that at 38 years old he is not as fast and does not have the same movement he had when he last fought Pacquiao. Once a fighter’s speed is gone, it’s gone for good. No amount of time spent in the gym can bring it back.
Unfortunately that is where I believe “Dinamita” is right now, he’s trying to get back the speed and timing he once had.

When we speak of speed and timing in an aging fighter we are only talking about fractions of seconds. The loss of a fraction of a second in speed only shows up when facing an elite fighter, a fighter like Manny Pacquiao. “Pacman” will know within the first minute of his match with Marquez how significantly he has slipped.

To be a fraction of a second slow against Manny Pacquiao is fatal. That means he can have a field day by consistently getting off first and beating you to the punch.

Floyd Mayweather’s four round destruction of Victor Ortiz on September 17 proved little because Ortiz is not an elite fighter. From the outset Floyd dictated the pace and was able to hit “Vicious” with right hand leads. Ortiz became frustrated and had a mental breakdown because he knew deep down inside that he did not belong in the same ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr. In short, Floyd’s fight with Ortiz was not a real test.

Like Tomasz Adamek when he faced Vitali Klitschko on September 10, Marquez is a warrior. He will either win or go out on his shield in the attempt. And just like Adamek I believe Marquez will go out on his shield.

The big question for Marquez is at the age of 38, realizing he can no longer handle the elite fighters in the game will he decide to hang up his gloves?