No knee jerk reactions please. Think about it logically and break it down. Marquez proved to be very durable (even though he would hit the canvas from time to time) and we all know he was a great counter puncher and had decent pop of his own. None of this "Duran would destroy him" responses without offering reason why you think so.
Sorry my brother, but this is a mismatch. Duran is too big, too strong, and yes, too powerful for Marquez. This is hopelessly one sided.
Y'all wouldn't necessarily know this (because everyone is so caught up in thinking I'm only a fan of Floyd) but JMM is one of my all time favourite fighters. This guy had HEART! Pacquiao knocks him down three times in the opening round and he comes back and wins more rounds and arguably the fight. He stopped Joel Casamayor, something neither Frietas or Corrales could do. He stopped Pacquiao, something Mayweather, De La Hoya, Hatton,, Cotto, Margarito, Morales couldn't do. Dude was a badass. He was also a textbook counter puncher. Great little fighter. Doesn't get enough props. My pick would be Duran by decision, due to activity edge but he doesn't have things his own way. 9-6 over 15 and 7-5 over 12.
Zero "knee jerk reactions" required. Marquez would get beaten up and outclassed by the naturally bigger, stronger, better fighter.
Marquez's body of work at 135 isn't stellar. He stopped a washed up Casamayor, stopped the Baby Cow in a VERY rough fight for him, and stopped Michael Crapsidis in a fight where he got dropped. That does little in the way in the way to suggest he could beat, or even push the most dominant lightweight of all time. I liked Marquez, but my opinion of him will never change... he was a great fighter who had a better/greater fighter's number. But Duran's style doesn't play into his hands the way Pac's style did.
One thing to remember is that because of the same-day weigh-ins, lightweight Duran should be matched against feather or superfeatherweight JMM. Noting this, Duran doesn't have an edge in speed and his punches are not as destructive as some might think, since they carry the same mass. Duran's edge in inside clinchfighting would earn him a win but it is a very legit match-up and Duran has to taste those uppercuts
Duran would give Marquez a beating. At 135, Marquez was already in his mid 30s and more hittable than before. Some people at the time speculated that he made a concerted effort to be more fan friendly, but I think he was just easier to hit due to age and ring wear-and-tear. He was given a rough time the first go-round by the pressure of Juan Diaz. Juan Diaz. Comparing Diaz's effective pressure to Duran's effective pressure is like comparing Broner's shoulder roll to Mayweather or Toney. Katsidis dropped and hurt Marquez, and gave Marquez a bruising fight. Would Marquez also actually be facing a better counterpuncher than himself? Marquez could drink all the peeDs he wants, Duran beats him handily.
Duran was quick for a lightweight, not for a featherweight. That is what everybody doesn't understand. Also, Pacman was much faster than JMM and it didn't decide the fight
Marquez isn't a guy who put on dramatic weight after weigh-ins. I don't see why they can't just be matched straight up at 135. Duran was the naturally bigger man whichever way you slice it.
Marquez at his best is a featherweight. He won fights at 135 and above more on experience and 'know-how.' Those two qualities wouldn't serve him at all against Duran who was a big lightweight and was quick and powerful. Duran vs Pacquiao would be more compelling, though I'd still go with Duran.
Duran's style is totally different than Pac's, and far less advantageous to Marquez. Manny was faster than Duran, but he lacked many things Duran possessed, such as a TRULY great defense, a consistent body attack, and the ability to in-fight. Duran also had a much higher ring IQ than Manny. Marquez would find lightweight Duran a much harder target to find than Pac, and he'd find out that not only could Duran man handle him on the inside, but could actually OUTBOX him on the outside. Marquez is not only outgunned here it terms of size.... there's a class gap here. Duran was the better fighter, P4P or straight up, he was a class above Marquez. JMM is historically overrated due to having Manny's number.
There's probably over 30-40 lightweights in history who could beat Marquez. How many lightweights could REALISTICALLY beat Duran? It's a very short list.
Jmm is highly under rated and one of the best fighters of this generation. But Duran fucks him up. If Diaz, Katsidis and Terdsak (yeah, that's his name) can bust up Marquez it's hard to see him surviving 12 or 15 with Duran. His counter punching and power would make it entertaining but I can't see it not becoming a war and I can't see Marquez winning it.
Duran was actually the BETTER counterpuncher of the two. That's not something that can often be said against Marquez.
Pac gives Duran a much tougher fight than Marquez would. I think Pac loses, but he gives Duran a lot more problems than Marquez.
Pacquiao vs Duran is a pick'em fight. When pacquiao was on his game he could keep up that ridiculous work rate and handspeed for the full 12 rounds. And don't think for one second that pacquiao wasn't capable of hurting or dropping Duran. Erik Morales had one of the best chins in the business and Pacquiao ruined that chin. Pacquiao is the one guy that Duran wouldn't outwork and Pacquiao speed and power and southpaw style would keep him honest. Duran being the better counter puncher is the only reason I say this is a pick'em actually
Duran was a better technician than Manny in general, with a better defense and a more durable chin. And "like I said before", Duran was far more intelligent. TBH, Manny's never been a particularly smart fighter. Marquez proved four times that Manny can't be missed by a well timed right hand, and Margarito proved that he CAN be hurt to the body.Duran would capitalize on his leaky defense, and kill his body. Admittedly, Pac's chances are better at 147. At 135, I have serious doubts that Manny sees the final bell.
That's all he has is Pac. Marquez wasn't a better fighter than Pac, let's be very clear about that... he simply had the style to give Pac a lot of trouble. You'd be hard pressed to find anybody besides yourself who would consider Marquez on Chavez's level, let alone better.
