[ad_1]
The sport of boxing has provided countless greats over the course of its long history, and among them include icons Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.
At the height of their prime, the two names could not be said without mentioning the other as they were sure to put on instant classics whenever they step in the ring against each other.
Pacquiao and Marquez got together four times throughout their illustrious careers, with Marquez putting a hard stop to their rivalry with an emphatic knockout of the Filipino legend in their fourth meeting in December 2012.
However, that was not supposed to be their final encounter.
Spanish sports outlet Marca noted that Marquez was in Puerto Rico recently to announce a partnership between him and fellow boxing icon Miguel Cotto.
During that time, Marquez made an appearance on the “Solpresa” podcast hosted by YouTuber Chente Ydrach and it was there he revealed that a fifth fight with Pacquiao was supposed to happen, but he turned it down.
“They offered on the table $150 million for a fifth fight, but I said ‘no, I don’t want a fifth fight,’” said Marquez on the program as translated by Marca.
“[It was] the most important victory of my life because we had beaten the best pound-for-pound fighter at that time.”
Marquez had every right to turn down a fifth encounter with his Filipino rival despite the massive purse awaiting him since defeating Pacquiao in a decisive way was the most important thing for him then.
When they first met in May 2004, it was scored as a controversial draw since one judge scored the bout 113-113 despite the “PacMan” having a three-knockdown advantage in round one that should have been a 10-6 round in his favor.
The second fight in 2008 was arguably the bloodiest of their tetralogy, and it was Pacquiao who got the win this time around via split decision–another controversial outcome since Marquez’s camp felt their man deserved the victory and called for an immediate rematch.
They would get their wish three years later in November with Pacquiao again winning the bout, this time via majority decision and it was again surrounded by controversy since pundits thought “El Dinamita” had won the fight.
To quell the growing sentiment of Pacquiao being the favored man in boxing, the fourth fight was marked for December 2012 and it was there where Marquez would get his aforementioned revenge on Pacquiao.
Nowadays, Marquez is enjoying the fruits of his labor in his different ventures and was recently enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his stellar boxing resume that featured nine world championship reigns in four weight classes.
Manny Pacquiao lays face down on the mat after being knocked out in the sixth round as Juan Manuel Marquez celebrates during their welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 8, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images
[ad_2]
Source link
