In a brilliant showing at the Toyota Center in Houston, Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Juan Diaz to win the world lightweight boxing title on Saturday night.
Diaz gave a game performance in a dead-even fight through the first eight rounds, but Marquez overwhelmed him and knocked him out in the ninth. And he may have done something more than that: Marquez may have shown that he’s the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
Yes, it’s true that title has belonged to Manny Pacquiao, but Marquez reminded us all Saturday night that he can be just as brilliant in the ring as Pacquiao, who beat him by split decision last year and fought him to a draw in 2004.
The TV broadcasters debated after the fight whether Marquez had just shown he’s the best boxer in the world: HBO’s Max Kellerman referred to Marquez beating Diaz as “a really good young fighter knocked out by a great old fighter” and added that he “may be” the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Added HBO’s Jim Lampley, “That’s as sensational as any performance Manny Pacquiao has ever produced, for sure. No disrespect to Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao is great, Marquez is just as great.”
So will we see Marquez-Pacquiao Part 3? Marquez indicated afterward that he does, indeed, plan to follow Pacquiao up to a higher weight class. But he said he thinks his next opponent will be Floyd Mayweather. Asked what makes him think Mayweather would come out of retirement to fight him, Marquez didn’t have a good answer, but he said that he wants to fight the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and that Manny Pacquiao doesn’t want to fight him.
I think Pacquiao will fight Marquez if he beats Ricky Hatton in May. And I think that fight will match the two best boxers in the world. Let’s see it a third time.
