Together, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez brought the greatness out in each other. Over the course of four thrilling fights, three of them razor-close, being decided by the judges, the Filipino whirlwind and the Mexican warrior tested each other hard. The final fight of course saw “Dinamita” live up to his explosive nickname, this as Marquez knocked Pacquiao clean out in round six.
There would be no fifth fight. In fact, Marquez would retire just two fights after scoring his stunning KO over Pac-Man, with him finishing with a 56-7-1(40) record. Marquez would be offered comeback opportunities over the years following his May 2014 win over Mike Alvarado, but the former multi-weight has opted to stay retired.
Marquez says Pacquiao still deserves respect
This of course is not the case with Pacquiao, who will, at the age of 46, challenge current WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios in July. And Marquez is interested to see if his former rival can make history. Marquez, speaking with ProBox TV, said we should all “give Pacquiao the benefit of the doubt.”
Marquez is interested to see if Barrios can take Manny’s power punches.
“If Pacquiao feels good, no shoulder, knee, or foot injuries, and he’s perfectly fine – let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Let’s see what kind of fight he has to put on against Mario Barrios,” Marquez said. “Will he be aggressive? Will he rely on his power? Because power is the last thing a fighter loses. Let’s give the benefit of doubt to a historic fighter. What matters is the integrity of the fighter. Pacquiao still hits hard. Let’s see how Barrios handles that.”
Integrity of the fighter… but what about the sport?
If Manny has got a shot against 30 year old Barrios, it could be of the puncher’s chance variety. Barrios has been hit and hurt some during his career, and if Pacquiao can catch him, perhaps early in the fight, then who knows? But when Marquez says the integrity of the fighter is what matters, the integrity of the sport also matters a heck of a lot. And people are fearing a potential black eye for the sport as far as the July 19 fight goes. And it goes without saying that the health and well-being of the fighter is paramount. Marquez says we should give Pacquiao the benefit of the doubt, and due to the fact that the July 19 fight has been sanctioned and is actually taking place, this is what’s happened.
Let’s all hope the powers that be are not left regretting the fact that they allowed this fight to go ahead after the event.
