A lot has been said since Juan Manuel Marquez decided to hang up his gloves and reject a multi-million dollar purse to battle career nemesis Manny Pacquiao for a fifth time.
The Mexican superstar, dependent on when you believe what Marquez states, has turned down offers of $100 and $150 million to trade blows with the Filipino.
Recently, Marquez stated it was actually the latter. An offer he rejected out of hand. But it was a 2017 interview with ESPN where ‘JMM’ fully revealed why the encounter would never happen.
Taking pride from his crushing sixth-round obliteration of Pacquiao in 2012, Marquez had too much pain in his heart from the first three meetings.
Therefore, when he finally got his revenge, that feeling massively out-weighed any kind of money.
Previously, Marquez had felt robbed in all three of the contests, which ended in two wafer-thin ‘Pacman’ wins and a draw. All controversial.
Speaking about in when happily in retirement, Marquez was adamant regarding his situation.
“There was an offer for a fifth fight against Pacquiao in the Philippines for $100 million dollars. I refused in order to keep my honor and the glory of the fourth fight from 2012,” Marquez revealed to ESPN Deportes at that time.
“It’s a lot of money. But honor, pride and what we did is more important than doing a fifth fight.”
Explaining in further detail, the veteran added: “Let’s pretend that the fifth fight would happen. How about if I get robbed in the fight?
“We do not know what can happen. He’s capable of hitting me with the right shot and hurting me badly.
“So I would place myself at risk. The glory and what we did in 2012 is worth more than that amount they were offering.”
PACQUIAO
Since the Pacquiao saga, Marquez has turned his hand to punditry work after hanging up his gloves following a win over Mike Alvarado.
In contrast, the Filipino Senator continues to fight and is still one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet.
A recent win over Keith Thurman has kept Pacquiao fully relevant into his forties. Although the current coronavirus outbreak could potentially halt his career altogether as Pacquiao turns 42 at the end of the year.
Due back in action this July, Pacquiao may be another year older when he finally dons the gloves again.
