Photo by REUTERS/Steve Marcus
He could have just walked away.
On December 8, 2012, Marquez finally captured his white whale. With one perfectly-placed counter right hand, the Mexican legend finally felt his arm raised in victory over his nemesis, Manny Pacquiao.
He only had to suffer through four fights, five knockdowns, an unknown quantity of urine, and 42 rounds of sheer hell to get there. Easy stuff.
No one would have blamed him had he decided to walk away from boxing. To retire from any professional sport at the top is a fantasy for many, but a reality for few. For every Rocky Marciano, there are countless Mike Tyson‘s, usually left staring up from the mat wondering what went wrong.
Marquez had a brilliant opportunity to hang up his gloves with the last image of him in the ring being that iconic punch to Pacquiao’s chin. But Marquez had other ideas.
Like nearly every other excellent fighter, the allure of the ring was too much for him to walk away from. After conquering Pacquiao, he turned down a fifth fight.
It was understandable.
He was never going to get a better outcome than the emphatic knockout, and in his eyes, he was now 4-0 against the Filipino. To Marquez, there was nothing left to prove.
Instead, Marquez took on Tim Bradley, who earlier in the year had proven that one can actually fight while unconscious while eking out a victory over Ruslan Provodnikov. The idea was that Marquez could make history by winning a fifth title in five different divisions.
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Things didn’t go as planned. Bradley outboxed Marquez and earned a decision victory. Marquez, perhaps used to Pacquiao’s frenetic energy and aggressive style, looked flat against a slick boxer/puncher in Bradley.
Suddenly, all the momentum Marquez had earned from the Pacquiao fight had slipped away. Marquez was no longer a super hero. He was now a 40-year-old fighter coming off a loss, fighting well above his best weight class.
Now Marquez is faced with a must-win fight against Mike Alvarado, the rugged warrior who also finds himself in a must-win situation after his brutal stoppage loss at the hands of the aforementioned Provodnikov.
While Alvarado is now facing a crossroads fight for the first time in his career, Marquez has been here many times before. In fact, Marquez seems to thrive when coming off difficult losses. After a razor-thin decision loss to Pacquiao in 2008, Marquez went on a two-fight rampage.
He first stormed back to stop Joel Casamayor before knocking out Juan Diaz in the center of the ring in their spectacular fight in 2009.
Looking better than he had at any point in his career, he moved up in weight to fight Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather, fresh off a there-is-no-way-this-is-going-to-stick retirement, humiliated Marquez in a one-sided fight that saw Marquez barely land a punch.
Momentum over.
What did Marquez do? He somehow survived an absolutely vicious left-hook from Michael Katsidis in his next bout, climbing off the mat to torture and then stop Katsidis. After a tune-up fight–in which he wiped out hopelessly overmatched Likar Ramos inside of a round–he took on Pacquiao for the third time.
After another ridiculously close loss, he got his sweet revenge one year later.
So what is different now?
Marquez is absolutely lethal against a fighter who is aggressive and hittable. Alvarado, while seven years younger and naturally bigger, is both of those things. However, boxers who are Marquez’s age, even ones as fit as he is, tend to age seemingly overnight. Think Mosley against Mayweather, or even De La Hoya against Pacquiao.
While Marquez fought Bradley well in spurts, he wasn’t the same electric fighter we’ve come to know in recent years. The combinations and freakish accuracy weren’t quite there.
If it wasn’t age that slowed him down, was it a lack of drive? One had to question his mental state after finally slaying the dragon.
In the lead up to the Bradley fight, Marquez had a different demeanor about him, eerily similar to the one Pacquiao displayed before their fourth fight. The stoic determination normally attached to Marquez’ face was replaced with a constant smile.
It’s paradoxical that the thing a boxer is searching for, the reason one starts boxing in the first place, is the thing that might be most detrimental to his career–contentment.
Who could blame Marquez for a letdown performance after what he had just achieved?
It could be that at this stage in his career, he’s just going to have difficulties with slicker boxers. Or it could be that he’s 40 years old, has been through several wars, and he’s finally slowing down. If the former is the case, Marquez will dispatch of Alvarado, probably in spectacular fashion.
If it’s the latter, the Alvarado fight might be an absolute war for as long as it goes.
Marquez seems to be saying all the right things about focusing on Alvarado as fight night gets closer, but he knows that if he wins, he’s staring down the prospect of a fifth fight with Pacquiao. He’s chasing history, but for once, Pacquiao is chasing him.
Perhaps the loss to Bradley has stoked the fire one more time, and Marquez may go on another incredible run.
We’ll find out Saturday night what is left to light.
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