Not that absurd when fringe guys like Katsidis and Diaz had Marquez in major trouble in their fights with him, plus almost being stopped at 126 by Pac. Rosario would easily be the hardest and most legit KO artist that Marquez fought.
Rosario had some pretty nice footwork too. Obviouy not his style to move too much, but good feet nonetheless.
Rosario was thought to be a prodigy like Benitez and many thought he'd be the Duran of the 80s... but he lacked the desire of Duran and was sometimes a front runner
He was never stopped though, and like I said, that says a fucking lot given that like 99% of other elite fighters did get stopped, especially moving up in weight or fighting to near 40. He got knocked down or buzzed, who cares, he recovered and recovered well. He was very resilient. Plus being ALMOST stopped by Pacquiao at 126 is hardly a big knock is it? Damn, I mean, I would actually use that as a means to heap praise on Marquez - he was never stopped in 4 fights with Pacquiao, and Pacquiao is one of the best offensive fighters of all time.
I didn't know that, and it surprises me a lot. He appears to me as nowhere near the level of Benitez or Duran, not even close.
Stylewise, Rosario was more like Gomez than Duran. At his best, he did indeed look like a lightweight Gomez at times.
With the exception of Mayweather and Pac, a prime Rosario would be the best fighter JMM fought by miles, especially during his time in the 130-135 weight categories. I can't imagine Chapo struggling with the opponents Marquez did there.
Prime Marquez morphed into a LW I'd pick him. The actual Marquez that fought at LW, no I would not pick him
I think Barrera at 130 wasn't as good as a prime Chapo was there. Barrera was at his best at 122 and 126.
Does anybody HONESTLY believe that prime Rosario struggles with Diaz and Katsidis? Chapo blows both those palookas out the water in 4 rounds a piece.
It does considering how easy to hit Marquez is. Being easy to hit is not the way to go if your going in there against a guy with vicious KO power in both hands and great finishing skills.
The fact that marquez has a average defense is a good point for picking against him in a rosario bout. But Rosario probably blowing out kats and diaz while jmm struggled with them means nothing, since rosario is a much harder puncher and a bit of a front runner.
I wouldn't pick Marquez over many good to great lightweights. He wasn't very good above 130. And his chin, while dependable wasn't infallible. I doubt he survives Rosario's firepower. I'd pick Corrales over Marquez, honestly.
I strongly disagree with this, and there's nothing on their respective resume that suggest he was much better than Corrales