Open mouth wide. Insert foot. I am reading the instructions on how to put myself in my place. For you see, I have had an epiphany.
I have not given proper credit where credit is due. I have assumed, so to speak. Everyone knows what happens when you assume. Break the word into three parts and it is self explanatory.
The man I don't think that I've been fair to is Juan Manuel Marquez. Juan , of course, is the lightweight champion of the world. He is also one of the smartest boxers on the planet. If anyone wants to question his heart, just you try going 24 rounds and suffering four knockdowns at the hands of the baddest man on the planet, Manny Pacquiao. Marquez did this and was still in each fight.
Juan had been quoted in Ring magazine as saying that he didn't feel his career would be complete without a win over Pacquiao. Many still feel his ultimate goal is Pacman, but at the same time we rationalize that Juan Manuel must sit around feeling sorry for his lot in life. I firmly believe that nothing could be further from the truth.
Juan wanted to be an accountant. A noble profession and one that takes brains. And as his fighting style would attest, you can be sure that he calculates the odds of things happening in the ring. He also must calculate what happens outside the ring.
Taking all of that into account, we as fans assume that he dreams of getting Pacquiao in the ring a third time. But perhaps we are wrong. As a smart man, perhaps Juan Manuel has said to himself that when Pacquiao said no to a third fight, then he meant no.
So maybe Juan said I'll look for the best alternative to Pacquiao that will enhance my standing and career as one of the best boxers in the world. In steps Floyd Mayweather. The previous pound for pound king still officially has no loses, although Jose Luis Castillo may beg to differ.
As we hear his trainer Nacho Beristain tell Juan Manuel that Floyd is bigger and faster, all we see from Juan Manuel is a look of defiance. A win over Mayweather could be one of boxing's biggest upsets. Fighters sometimes take long periods off in between fights. Although Floyd took a year and a half off, don't expect him to be too rusty. He did not let himself go during this time. If anything, reports are that he was constantly working out.
So Juan Manuel will by all accounts, be stepping in the ring with a larger, quicker fighter. One that is still considered one of the best in the world.
Why does Juan want to take this risk? He may know something that the rest of us don't. In Marquez mind it might be a risk he can't afford to pass up. If there is one thing an accountant is good at, it is adding up numbers. Maybe Juan Manuel feels the numbers are in his favor. Call it a calculated risk. Something Marquez knows quite a bit about.
Source: examiner.com
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