Diaz win solidifies Marquez as an all-time great

Juan Manuel Marquez has always been a great fighter. It's just taken a little while for everybody to figure it out.

For the first six years of his career, Marquez was relegated to fighting on smaller cards in Mexico and the western corners of the United States.

After losing his pro debut, Marquez remained undefeated until finally earning a shot on the big stage against southpaw Freddie Norwood in September 1999, in a fight for the WBA featherweight title.

A slow-starting Marquez was knocked down in the second, and lost a competitive decision despite a late-fight comeback.

It would be four years until his next title shot.

While he waited on the sidelines, Marquez strung together ten consecutive victories in smaller fights.

Other members of the featherweight elite, namely Naseem Hamed, made loads of money while avoiding him like the plague.

When “Dinamita” finally won his first world title with a knockout of Manuel Medina in 2003, he was nearly 30.

In his first defense, Marquez finally got a crack at another featherweight who had been avoiding him – Derrick Gainer.

As it turned out, Gainer was as good at running from Marquez in the ring as he was out of it. The televised farce was one of the worst fights of 2003, and many unfairly labeled Marquez as a “safety first” fighter after the victory.

Entering 2004, Marquez was in little demand.

While fellow Mexican fighters Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales were establishing themselves as boxing's most bankable small men, Marquez was searching for a way in.

Ultimately, his breakthrough with the boxing community nearly led to his downfall.

Manny Pacquaio, fresh off of a destruction of Barrera, challenged Marquez in May 2004.

Pacquiao came out swinging in the first, dropping Marquez three times and breaking his nose.

Somehow, the Mexican warrior survived the round and battled back to earn a draw in one of the great featherweight title fights of all-time.

But instead of capitalizing on the momentum from the stirring draw with Pacquaio, Marquez priced himself out of a rematch and spent the next three years of his career in a familiar setting – on smaller fight cards and out of the public eye.

The low point came in 2006, when Marquez traveled to Indonesia to take on the unheralded Chris John. After being warned and penalized for low blows, Marquez lost what many called a hometown decision.

One year later, at age 33, Marquez moved up in weight and finally got a crack at Barrera, in what amounted to a win-or-go-home fight.

For once, it was he, and not his opponent, who escaped with a close decision.

Since that time, Marquez has taken on the best the sport has had to offer, including another classic confrontation with Pacquaio last year, which Pacquiao won by split decision.

After Saturday's victory over the bigger, stronger Juan Diaz for the lightweight title, it's time to recognize Marquez as a truly great fighter; possibly the best fighter on the planet today.

Many believe that Marquez holds two victories over Pacquaio, and it's easy to see why. After 24 rounds of furious action, the two are separated by only a point.

A few days ago, against a bigger, stronger, and much younger opponent, Marquez dug deep and scored a spectacular knockout to grab the title in his third different weight class.

After years of searching for it, it's time we gave him his respect.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments