Juan Manuel Marquez: Erik Morales then Manny Pacquiao
By Gina L. Caliboso
As Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez, 52-5-1, 38 KO’s, is set to go up against Erik “El Terrible” Morales, 51-6, 35 KO’s, later this year in April, both fighters have a bit of their past to reconcile.
Both Marquez and Morales would, if they could, turn back father boxing time and perhaps set up another match against Manny “Mexicutioner” Pacquiao, but it was not meant to happen. It’s an unrequited battle of sorts. As Pacquiao had made his journey through several weight divisions successfully, both Marquez and Morales ventured into different journeys.
Juan Manuel Marquez is a boxer on a mission. He is currently on a wave of confidence where quite honestly, he can go up against Pacquiao and give him a hard time. But it’s safe to say that as much as Marquez is confident now, Pacquiao has evolved and polished into a much better fighter. Marquez has remained at the top of the lightweight division, but not without really learning some hard lessons, even losses, to have earned a well-deserved reign at the top of the lightweights.
Marquez fought against Pacquiao back in 2004 as a featherweight that resulted in a draw. And, the bout goes down as something that’s left in the back of Marquez’s mind that he did indeed beat Pacquiao. Since then, he shook off the draw and continued to fight.
Not only did Marquez continue to fight, but he continued to fight against top caliber boxers. In 2006, he traveled to Indonesia to face Chris John for the WBA Featherweight title, resulting in a unanimous decision loss over 12 rounds.
After his loss to John, Marquez fought and won four more times, including a notable win over Marco Antonio Barrera for the WBC Super Featherweight title. In 2008, in defense of the WBC belt, he faced Pacquiao for the second time and lost in a 12 round split decision.
He then followed up with a win over Joel Casamayor with an 11th round TKO. And finally in 2009, against Juan Diaz, 35-4, 17 KO’s for the then vacant WBO Lightweight title and WBA Super World Lightweight title, Marquez defeated the Baby Bull in the 9th round with a TKO. Then again, I have just provided some glimpses of Marquez’s fighting history. It’s Marquez’s recent bouts that have demonstrated some hard lessons on his part to become a better boxer.
After his first bout against Diaz, Marquez took on Floyd “Money” Mayweather and lost in a 12 round unanimous decision. The bout was painful to watch because Mayweather bullied Marquez, even towered over him to a degree with his size and hand speed. Marquez was overmatched in this bout even though I really thought he could have given the untouched Mayweather a run for his money (no bad puns intended, really).
After Mayweather, he decided to fight against Diaz again for the second time in defense of his two lightweight titles. I give Diaz credit for taking Marquez to12 rounds even though it ended with a unanimous decision.
In November 2010, Marquez went up against Michael Katsidis for a second defense of his lightweight titles. Even though Marquez went down in the 3rd round, he came away with the 9th round TKO and completely shook off the knockdown. I’ve always liked this about Marquez. He dusts off his gloves and continues on with bout as if he’s never affected and it seems he fights even better.
Even though Marquez is, at the age of 37, a veteran, he remains in boxing and continued to take on opponents despite his losses. Marquez has never backed down or slowed down. He continues to remain in the mix of the lightweight division and is rightly ranked #1.
By contrast, Erik “El Terrible” Morales remained safely retired and out of my boxing mind’s eyes. Back in 2007, Morales had announced his retirement after his loss to David Diaz in a 12 round unanimous decision for the WBC Lightweight title. As Marquez faced Pacquiao just twice, Morales had faced Pacquiao three times. First, in March 2005, Morales beat Pacquiao in a 12 round unanimous decision for the WBC International Super Featherweight and IBA Super Featherweight titles. Morales went on to fight against Pacquiao twice in 2006 for the WBC International Super Featherweight title. In January 2006, Morales lost to Pacquiao with a 10th round TKO, followed by another bout in November resulting in a shorter, 3rd round KO loss.
Morales remained retired until last year in 2010. He began his return from retirement in March 2010 when he defeated Jose Alfaro with a 12 round unanimous decision. Morales fought again in September with a 6th round KO victory over Willie Limond, 33-3, 8 KO’s and finally in December, he defeated Francisco Lorenzo over 12 rounds with a unanimous decision. As Morales had ended his career with four straight losses, he’s come back strong with 3 consecutive victories.
Although Marquez and Morales share a fighting history with Pacquiao, both fighters’ personal drives took them onto different paths. Four years later, Morales is coming back against a fighter that has never left. Marquez has seemingly become better even with the draw against Pacquiao.
Both Marquez and Morales have some scores to settle, namely against Pacquiao, to show they have what it takes to win the great bout. But more importantly, they need to show and prove to themselves that they still have some fight left in them to defeat their opponents.
The bout between Marquez and Morales will definitely be a contrast in aggression. Marquez is on a current wave of confidence and I think he will win over the course of 12 rounds, should Morales truly make a fight of it. More importantly, the bout just might make Morales decide once and for all if he should safely stay retired. But in this game and sport of boxing, a fighter, especially a fighter who still has a little something in his fists and heart, can always make a comeback. As for Marquez, I like his chances against Morales. Marquez’s worst opponent can often be himself since he does have a tendency to get rocked early in a bout.
So, there it is a look at two boxers that will face each other and share a common history through Pacquiao. But let’s be clear, as all three – Marquez, Morales, and Pacquiao shared an all too fleeting connection in the lighter weight divisions, it is exactly that – a connection, a history, let’s be mindful that both Marquez and Morales have their immediate futures against each other, and they really shouldn’t be thinking of anything else – at least not yet.