Juan Manuel Marquez was almost pulled out of the Manny Pacquiao fight a round before he landed his most famous knockout blow.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum informed WBN that it was his belief Marquez’s corner was a split second away from ending his Pacquiao destiny.
After being dropped and dominated mainly in their fourth installment back in 2012, the corner of Marquez was caught in two minds, according to the Hall of Famer.
They contemplated throwing in the towel before Marquez unleashed hell on Pacquiao, rendering him unconscious.
With that fateful blow, Marquez claimed an unbelievable triumph with as sweet a right hand that you will ever see.
However, Arum says the ‘punch heard around the world’ almost didn’t have the chance to land.
Manny Pacquiao KO
“It looked to me that Juan Manuel Marquez’s corner was contemplating stopping the fight,” Arum told World Boxing News exclusively.
“In my eyes, he was taking a beating before Manny Pacquiao walked into that right hand.”
Following three previously contentious decisions, Marquez had finally gained his revenge to end one of the most successful sagas in boxing.
Pacquiao chased the fifth contest until Marquez retired in 2014, even coming back with another offer years later.
But the Mexican legend wanted that full stop. He wanted that claim to fame. Marquez knew facing Pacquiao again would bring the danger of the Filipino reversing the tide.
Therefore, the fifth clash never happened. But this wasn’t for the lack of trying on Arum’s part.
“I know that we offered him either six or seven million dollars, which was far more than he ever made for the fourth fight,” Arum explained to WBN.
“The offer was made within a year of Marquez scoring the knockout. So we offered him six million. Then I know we went up to eight or nine (million), something like that.”
Juan Manuel Marquez walked away
Not taking the bait, Marquez eventually bowed out by defeating Mike Alvarado in May 2014 at The Forum.
Years on, Pacquiao remains active in an exhibition capacity in his pursuit of lucrative. They include a potential rematch with Floyd Mayweather.
For his part, Marquez stood firm on his decision and is now a successful commentator, even analyzing ‘Pac-Man’ fights in his role with several networks.
He stood firm on not allowing Pacquiao a revenge opportunity and can always state he had the last word. Not many fighters can say that against Manny Pacquiao.
What would have happened if they had met for a fifth time? – We will sadly never know.
