Just how good is Juan Manuel Marquez?
If one of the insiders at Manny Pacquiao?s camp is to be believed, Marquez may not even be as good as the last opponent Pacquiao faced.
Asked what Pacquiao?s chances were against Marquez, the current featherweight champion of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF), Ramon Lainez, part-owner of the L&M Gym — the Manila-based boot camp of Pacquiao — said that ?the [Marco Antonio] Barrera Manny fought last November was a better boxer than the Marquez [Pacquiao] will face in May.?
Lainez pointed out that Barrera was ?a more seasoned? veteran than Marquez and that Barrera had simply gone through the best of the featherweight class.
Barrera had faced the likes of Naseem Hamed, Jose Luis Valbuena, Johnny Tapia, Junior Jones and Erik Morales — the last two names, Barrera even faced twice.
Marquez, in his last three fights, defeated Manuel Medina, Marcos Licona and Derrick Gainer. His win over Gainer last November clinched for Marquez the distinction of becoming a dual champion.
