By Ray Monell
Mexican boxing great Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1) (40 KOs), who knocked out rival Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2) (38 KOs) in the sixth round of their fourth fight last Saturday, is mulling retirement, according to an ESPN report.
Concerned about risking his health by taking on additional fights, Marquez, 39, and his wife agreed that, win or lose, the Dec. 8 showdown vs. Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas would be his last. But after winning so emphatically—landing a vicious counter right on the Filipino’s face that knocked him out cold—the reigning WBO 140-pound titleholder is somewhat torn on what to do next.
“It’s the hardest decision of my life,” Marquez, a four-division champion, said. “Just yesterday I got home and told my wife: ‘Hey, baby, one more fight,’ and she said, ‘No, you left off [saying] you were going to retire.’
“I said that regardless of the outcome I was going to retire, but we’ll see. Everything seems to be rosy, but we’ll see what happens.”
“I would love to fight at Estadio Azteca,” he said, before adding, “It was a very difficult fight on Saturday, six rounds of fire, dangerous, severe punches, but logically we know that all the money in the world cannot buy another life, and it cannot buy you another brain.”
Marquez and Pacquiao fought to a draw in 2004, and in their ’07 and ’11 bouts, Pacquiao won on points by narrow margins.
Boxing writers have always been divided on whom they consider the winner of each of the rivals’ three previous fights. Last Saturday, however, Marquez finally got over the Pacquiao hump, doing so in sensational fashion.
“I would retire as I am right now, physically and mentally well,” he said. “I wanted to show who was who. I could not retire without proving who was better, and it was proven on December 8.”
