The goal of every professional fighter is to attain status. To achieve a certain level of respectability not only amongst your contemporaries but amongst fight fans. Juan Manuel Marquez has done that. His career has seen him reach stunning heights as well as suffer major set backs but through it all he has remained committed to his profession. At 37 years of age he is in no man’s land for professional fighters. It’s an age that very few active boxers ever see and even fewer actually retain any semblance of the skill that made them relevant in the first place.
Marquez is one of the exceptions. He has outlasted his contemporaries and is still considered one of the elite of the day. “Dinamita’s” staying power is reflective of a man who is dedicated to his craft and who pushes the limits of his body and his soul. He is also the one guy who stylistically matches up very well against the reigning P4P King, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and for that reason he’s been granted an opportunity 3 years after their last meeting to once again try and push Pacquiao!The question is does Marquez have enough left at this stage to apply his technical advantages or will he simply be out worked or even possibly knocked out…? There are a whole lot of people dismissing this match up but I’m not comfortable being one of them considering the history between these two. Its true that Manny is younger, stronger and faster which is a bad combination but Pacquiao also held those very same advantages in their first two meetings. Some how, some way Marquez was able to will himself to perform at a level that others could not and in doing so established in the minds of many that he may just be Manny Pacquiao’s kryptonite. Everyone has that one guy who for whatever reason whether it be timing, distance or execution simply gives him hell every time out. It’s a weird boxing phenomenon that plays out every generation. No matter how many times Ali fought Norton he would always struggle with him. Well, many people believe that Marquez is THAT guy to Pacquiao.
In this case, obviously Marquez is considerably older in fighter years than in their previous bouts back in 2004 & 2008. He’s also lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr in clear and decisive fashion as well as engaged in two wars against Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis. Is there enough wear and tear on his aged body to make this an easy fight for Manny…? Yes and no! On November 12th, Juan Manuel Marquez will be 38 years old when he finally steps back into the ring with Manny Pacquiao but with him comes the mind set of a fighter who honestly believes that he’s the superior technician who has already beaten Pacquiao…Twice! Whether you believe that or not Marquez seems to and for a fighter that’s a very valuable asset. There are some positive aspects to point to if you’re inclined to be optimistic about Marquez’s chances. The Pacquiao - Mosley fight oddly enough gives Marquez reason to believe that he can neutralize at least to a certain extent Manny’s offensive fire power by employing angles and using lateral movement. Sure, it sounds easy in theory but it’s a little more difficult to apply when you’re using 38 year old equipment. Shane fought in a very defensive minded manner after being knocked down by Manny in the 3rd round but was able to survive by stepping side to side and turning Pacquiao. That tactic was the same used by Marquez in their two previous meetings the difference being that he was actually able to land many counter shots as well. Marquez is used to people attacking him and has nearly perfected the style of using his opponent’s aggression against them. He’ll attempt to do the same thing here.
The difference lies in Manny Pacquiao’s recent increase in size and strength. In their previous 2 fights it never appeared to me that Manny was too strong for JMM or in other words, Marquez was able to absorb some tremendous shots and still continue. It’s not clear whether he can do that now considering the manner in which Pacquiao has moved up especially when you consider the results of his fights against bigger stronger foes like Cotto and Margarito. Manny is a fighter who has not only carried his power up but appears to have increased it. That is not the norm so Marquez may be entering into a bit of the unknown here. IF, and trust me there is no bigger “IF” Marquez can deal with Manny’s power then this will be a very difficult fight for Pacquiao. It sounds strange considering the run that he’s been on but in boxing terms Juan Manuel Marquez is superior to every single one of Manny’s recent opponents including Miguel Cotto. We’re not talking strictly boxing IQ here we’re also talking physically and mentally superior. The one thing he doesn’t have is the size but Marquez is still capable of maintaining a world class light weight pace in terms of his punch out put as well as his stamina. This combined with the fact that Manny has been facing bigger, SLOWER and less technically proficient fighters of late could tip the balance somewhat in Marquez’s favor making this closer in reality then it would appear to be on paper.
My sense is that Manny will not look as fast as he has against the likes of Margarito or Mosley because he’ll be fighting a quick handed lightweight in Marquez. Now, this doesn’t mean the results will be any different.
I’m not willing to say that this is a fight Marquez will win because you have to favor Pacquiao but I ‘am willing to say that I wouldn’t be surprised if Manny’s stature is somewhat diminished when all is said and done. The longer Marquez is in there with Pacquiao the more interesting it will be. JMM will land shots and to a certain extent re-expose technical flaws in Manny that many have forgotten about due to all his recent success. Remember that Manny has been fighting opponents who were tailor made for his style and who were also affected by certain contractual terms that won’t be an issue for Marquez. Part of the reason Marquez has had to wait to get this rubber match was the nature of the challenge which Freddie Roach correctly determined was serious enough to delay this fight by opting to take on name fighters whose style’s played more into Manny’s hands. Financially, it was the right thing to do and you can’t argue with their success however if you review Pacquiao’s recent opponents none of them were P4P entrants or had been on a winning streak. Marquez is the exception and although he failed against Mayweather I don’t think you can paint him with that brush just from a stylistic perspective. Marquez is a counter puncher first and foremost and he ran into the quintessential counter puncher with other worldly defensive talent. His opportunities to counter were so limited that it was doubtful that he could have any success which is what we expected and exactly what took place. Plus he was taken advantage of by Mayweather in terms of the weight agreement. The circumstances surrounding that fight pretty much all negatively impacted the Marquez side.
That’s not the case with the upcoming fight with Manny.
Pacquiao will offer him many opportunities to counter and will be there to be hit. Obviously, by the same token Pacquiao’s power is a HUGE issue for Marquez because if he’s expecting it to be on the same scale as in their previous two bouts then I think he’s in for a rude awakening.
Now, more than ever I think there is a good possibility that Manny knocks JMM out.
There’s a good chance that the age combined with Manny’s increase in strength will be too much for JMM and we’ll get the fight that most anticipate.
But, one thing we’ve learned is that Marquez knows how to fight Pacquiao and aside from Mayweather if anyone is capable of pushing him to the limit it’s probably him!
(Please feel free to contact P.H. Burbridge via email at PHBboxing@gmail.com with any comments or feedback.)
Source: eastsideboxing.com
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