Juan Manuel Marquez has had something of a chip on his shoulder for the past three years. It?s aggravated him enough to the point where he?s prolonged his career, jumped weight classes, and done everything except street fight the one man he wants to face in the ring. He feels injustice has been done, and he wants revenge.
On Saturday, when pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao enters the ring, Marquez will have his chance.
It is the third battle between these two, this one contested at 144 pounds. The first two ended in tight bouts, some say with controversial endings. They span from May of 2004 to now. They?ve produced 24 of the best rounds of boxing in the 2000s. While Manny has skyrocketed to pound-for-pound greatness, Marquez has remained steadily one of the greats, with two spectacular bouts against Juan ?Baby Bull? Diaz and a barnburner against Michael Katsidis.
However, neither man has gone without their share of nay-saying. Marquez slogged his way through twelve rounds at 144 with the infamous Floyd Mayweather Jr., where Floyd swooped in on the weighed-down Marquez, rattled a few shots off, and was unable to be found by Marquez for return fire. Combine that with the fact that Katsidis knocked down Marquez before he took over the fight, and you have reason to question that Marquez may be in the twilight of his career.
Pacquiao?s battles have been outside the ring. With the usual allegations of being too busy to focus on boxing, with TV appearances, a singing career (which is still disputable), and the needs of being a congressman in the Philippines, there have also been allegations of PED use from the Mayweather regime. While those allegations have been more or less baseless, there is evidence that lately promoter Top Rank has been setting Pacquiao up with superstars past their prime, such as Hatton, Clottey, and last May?s Shane Mosley glove-touch-fest.
Marquez wants his shot at what he feels he deserves. Pacquiao wants a solid win to dispel rumors.
