Marquez fighting for his own legacy

Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s comeback puts an argument, his own, back into the pound-for-pound debate, but also obscures a fighter once forgotten but now impossible to ignore in the indelible terms of his own place in a nation's storied history.

Juan Manuel Marquez belongs there, among the best Mexicans ever. The immediate question: where-oh-where? Marquez moves into a mix on a personal list of five. He bumps Marco Antonio Barrera into the second five. He joins Julio Cesar Chavez, Ruben Olivares, Salvador Sanchez and Ricardo Lopez among the best.

You pick the order. At the top, the modern consensus is Chavez No. 1 and Olivares No. 2. A couple of years ago, I flip-flopped the top, putting Olivares at No. 1 and Chavez at No. 2, because of the weary way Chavez's career ended on a stool against a used car salesman from Omaha a few years ago in downtown Phoenix.

That flip-flop in my old newspaper gig generated the kind of reaction you might get if you spray-painted some graffiti onto an iconic piece of art. A mustache on the Mona Lisa would outrage. Yeah, readers were angry. For the generation that grew up wearing red headbands in loyalty to Chavez, his supremacy is forever. Question it and risk heresy.

But a review of other rankings indicates there are some well-reasoned heretics out there, most of them from an older generation of Mexican fight fans who watched Olivares, one of the best bantamweights to ever labor on any continent. In some ways, it is a Mexican version of a generational debate in the U.S. between fathers and sons about who was the better heavyweight: Joe Louis or Muhammad Ali?

There is never a resolution. The argument just continues, perhaps evolves, for any number of reasons, perspectives, second thoughts and fighters like Marquez. For now, he is third on my all-time list of Mexicans. A few years ago, he wasn't included in many, if any, top 10s. Marquez was overlooked for so long, perhaps because of demanding trainer Nacho Beristain, whose unbending will doesn't tolerate much diversion or personality. There aren't many who would live under Bersitain's stubborn reign for long.

But Marquez has. And through it, he has begun to forge Beristain's stubborn will into a force all his own. It is the reason Marquez is one fighter who has shown he can beat Manny Pacquiao, the reigning pound-for-pound king.

Pacquiao knocked him down three times, yet Marquez fought him to a draw in their first bout. In the rematch, Pacquiao escaped with a hotly debated split-decision. After 24 rounds, the difference between them is one point on the scorecards.

The prevailing assumption is that Marquez, who will struggle to get up to 144 pounds, can't beat a bigger Mayweather, a natural welterweight, on July 18 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand. It's a good guess, the way to bet. But there is this nagging hunch that Marquez will be harder to put away than a lot of people suspect. He always has been, in part because few -- and maybe not Mayweather -- are as supremely conditioned as Marquez.

Mayweather does his road work in the shadows of Vegas neon while Marquez lifts boulders and runs volcanic trails at Nevado de Toluco, in the clouds high above Mexico City.

In the end, I'm not sure that Marquez can deal with Mayweather's speed and anticipation, a combination that scores points. But I am sure that in the end, Marquez will be there. If he loses a narrow decision, he will still be there, at No. 3 behind Chavez and Olivares or -- if you're a heretic -- Olivares and Chavez.

If, however, Marquez somehow springs the upset and sets up a second rematch with Pacquiao, then there will be a lot more to debate about the best Mexican ever.

Mayweather always talks about his legacy. Marquez probably won't talk about his. He'll be too busy fighting for it.

Notes, quotes and oddservations:

• The many faces of Mayweather: Unlike the familiar trash-talker a few weeks ago at a Las Vegas news conference to announce the Marquez fight, Money May was Mellow May on Tuesday during a press stop at New York's Empire State Building. "I know I went into the press conference kind of trash-talking," he said. "I know I don't have to do that anymore." A kinder, gentler Mayweather? Nah, I didn't think so either.

• In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mayweather says he has grown closer with his dad, Floyd Mayweather Sr., who is suffering from sarcoidosis, a respiratory disease. It's a good story. It is also a potential step for the senior Mayweather to be his son's corner, perhaps against Pacquiao in a rematch with Freddie Roach.

• Report: Jeff Lacy agrees to fight Roy Jones Jr. Reaction: Isn't it a little too early for Lacy to join the AARP ranks?

• And Mayweather Sr. told UK newspapers last week, that, yeah, there was trouble in Ricky Hatton's camp before Hatton was dropped in the second round by Pacquiao. "You have to listen to your corner, simple as that," Mayweather was quoted as saying. "And like I said once before, there was turmoil in the camp. It showed up in the fight -- but not because of me." How convenient. The day after Mayweather's comments about trouble in camp were published here, Mayweather angrily suggested he had been misquoted. A few weeks later, he confirms the quotes in question. Roach predicted Mayweather was setting up an excuse with his comments. Once again, Roach was right. Either that, or Mayweather was just misquoting himself.

Source: http://www.cbssports.com/boxing/story/11777206