You wouldn’t think anyone could get too comfortable while going toe-to-toe with Manny Pacquiao in a boxing ring, but Juan Manuel Marquez says that’s exactly what happened on May 8, 2004, when Pacquiao sent Marquez to the mat three times in the first round.
Marquez’s trainer Ignacio Beristain says that his longtime pupil was connecting with punches early in the bout but appeared too relaxed, perhaps taking for granted that his opponent had dozens of knockouts on his resume, including a recent dismantling of Marco Antonio Barrera.
“I was thinking to myself, this is not the way he’s supposed to be fighting,” Beristain says.
Not many fighters have the fortitude to battle back from three early knockdowns, but Marquez, the WBA and IBF featherweight champion at the time, did just that. He put years of training and hard work into earning those titles and wasn’t ready to relinquish them.
Even after the third knockdown, during which Marquez alleges that the referee failed to notice Pacquiao punch him after he was down, Marquez says the thought of staying down rather than getting up to fight back “never crossed my mind.”
“I wasn’t letting [my title belts] go in three minutes just like that,” says Marquez (48-3-1, 35 KOs), a native of Mexico City.
Now Marquez says he’s more focused than ever and determined not to make the same mistakes on March 15 in Las Vegas, when he’ll put his WBC super featherweight title on the line in the long-awaited rematch nearly four years in the making.
“I’m going to put everything in the ring,” says Marquez, who will also battle Pacquiao for The Ring magazine’s top spot at 130 pounds. “I promise you I won’t disappoint you guys.”
The fight ended up being scored a draw, but many onlookers believe Marquez did enough to win the fight.
“I won that fight,” Marquez says adamantly, adding that he is “100 percent sure” that he dominated that action after the first round, and Pacquiao won no more than two rounds after the opening stanza.
Attempts were made to put the rematch together soon after the first bout, but promotional issues ? specifically the failure of Marquez’s former promoter Top Rank to offer what it promised ? caused the deal to fall apart, according to Marquez.
Now at 34 years of age with seven additional fights under his belt, Marquez has a lot more miles on his odometer. But when asked if too much time had elapse for Marquez to capitalize on the momentum from the last 11 rounds of the first encounter with Pacquiao, Marquez responds that this fight is happening at the right time in his career.
“My age won’t be an issue,” Marquez says. “I feel better than ever.”
Marquez acknowledges that Pacquiao has improved under the tutelage of current trainer Freddie Roach, adding better footwork to his fast and powerful punching arsenal. But Marquez feels he’s still the better, more talented fighter. Based on their 2004 clash, he also believes his conditioning will allow him to finish the fight stronger.
“In the first fight Pacquiao was getting tired,” he says. “I wasn’t.”
There’s going to be more on the line on March 15 than the WBC and Ring titles. Just as Pacquiao carries the hopes of his native Philippines on his shoulders every time he fights, Mexican fight fans have pinned their hopes on Marquez.
With Pacquiao already owning two wins each over Barrera and Erik Morales, Marquez remains the last of the three Mexican boxing legends that can put a halt to the Filipino fighter’s dominance.
“It is a big responsibility for me [in] this fight,” Marquez says of representing his countrymen.
A win over Pacquiao would also provide a boost for Marquez’s legacy. Despite a long run as a champion in the 125-pound class to go along with his recent accomplishments at super featherweight, Marquez has yet to garner the same name recognition as Barrera and Morales with the sport’s more casual fans.
But Marquez doesn’t seem preoccupied with proving himself to those unfamiliar with his exploits, nor does he feel the need to compare himself to Barrera or Morales. “I know what I have done in boxing,” he says.
While he isn’t making bold, grand predictions or guaranteeing a knockout, Marquez is confident that he’ll find a way to win.
“Mentally and physically [I’m] ready for this fight,” Marquez says. “I know I’m going to win.”
