MARQUEZ AIMS RETIREMENT FIGHT: PACQUIAO-MARQUEZ 5?
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 12 Oct 2016
Former four division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez cites a boxing comeback after almost three years of inactivity having suffered a knee injury. Now 43 years old, the man who fought Manny Pacquiao four times will judge on how his body responds to his workout before rendering the final decision.
Marquez's last fight was in July of 2014 defeating Mike Alvarado by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Forum, Inglewood, California. A bad knee injury sidelined him for the last two and a half years.
Marquez said to ESPN: ?I will not make a decision to return until my body tells me how I feel. If the body responds well, we are going to make a comeback. I have the desire to do a retirement fight. Let?s see how my body responds when I go to the gym.?
Marquez has a pro record of 56-7-1, 40 KOs now trains with his famous yet controversial strength and conditioning coach Memo Heredia and said he feels physically good so far. His training will go on until December and if his physical condition warrants then he will decide for a retirement fight next year 2017.
"We've been working out in the gym with Memo, more fitness than anything else. The body is responding well, but I will not make the decision to return until I've been training on a consistent basis and I'll see what my body tells me," Marquez said on Golpe a Golpe TV program over ESPN.
Marquez wanted to fight another former four division world champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico. But negotiations went down as both could not agree on a catch-weight and other terms of the fight.
Marquez's trainer Nacho Beristain believed his boxer would go on full time retirement. But the "itch" of climbing back the ring to fight again keeps contaminating his body and mind.
Marquez (56-7-1, 40KOs), 43-years-old, has been inactive since a May 2014 decision victory over Mike Alvarado at the Forum in Los Angeles, California. Several returns dates have been discussed, but they never came together. The veteran had been dealing with a bad knee for over a year.
Marquez went through his first week of training with strength and conditioning coach Memo Heredia and he feels physically good. He plans to train until December and once the physical work is constant, he will decide what to do in terms of a 2017 fight.
Marquez must find a well-known opponent in his retirement fight to drum up interest in the farewell match. Marquez always told the boxing world that he won the first three close fights with Pacquiao. In their fourth fight in 2012, Marquez floored Pacquiao in the 6th round with a thundering right hand to the head finally winning in a very convincing KO fashion.
Still millions of boxing fans would love to see Marquez and Pacquiao clashing for the fifth time. The matchup was far better than the Mayweather-Pacquiao flop.
Both boxers still have the burning passion for the sweet science even at the twilight of their colorful careers. The boxing world would greatly accept another chapter in one of the fiercest rivalry in boxing history.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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