How Can You Beat Juan Manuel Marquez?
There’s little doubt that Juan Manuel Marquez is at the head of the class in boxing’s lightweight division. He currently is the WBO and WBO lightweight titlist and appears at the top of almost every ranking of the top fighters in the division. His talent and determination have helped him win some memorable fights and earn a reputation as one of the most feared fighters not just in the lightweight division but in all of boxing.
On July 31, Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) will defend his title against Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs). The bout is a rematch of their titanic struggle last year, which ended in a ninth round TKO victory for Marquez and was named the Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine. In order to win the rematch, Diaz is going to need to come up with a different game plan than he had in their first fight.
In order to do this, Diaz might want to look at Marquez’s past defeats for some clues as to how to handle the experienced and dangerous fighter. Specifically, Marquez’s two bouts against Manny Pacquiao (a draw and a loss in two fights that many people thought could have gone either way) are a perfect example of the type of game plan a fighter needs to have if they are going to have success against Marquez.
Marquez has many strengths, but there’s little question that his greatest asset is his counter punching. His ability to avoid blows and use the opportunity presented to quickly land a telling shot of his own is legendary - he might be the best counter puncher of his generation. Anyone who fights against Marquez needs to be aware that stopping him from counter punching has to be their main priority.
One of the main reasons that Marquez and Pacquiao created such great, evenly matched fights was because their styles complemented each other so perfectly. Marquez is a master counter puncher while Pacquiao excels at punching and moving. Keeping active and throwing quick pot shots before ducking out of range is one great way to befuddle a counter puncher. However, this is sometimes easier said than done as Marquez’s hand speed and accuracy give him the ability to land punches when boxers feel as though they are “safe” and out of range.
In order to successfully counter, Marquez needs to be able to establish the rhythm and timing of his opponent’s punches. This means that Marquez is frequently a stronger fighter in the later rounds as he is able to find his range while counter punching against his opponent. His draw against Pacquiao in their first meeting was a prime example of this. Marquez was knocked down three times in the first round and looked completely overwhelmed. However, he was able to surge in the later rounds as he found his range (and Pacquiao punched himself out) as he was able to come back and earn the draw.
His bout against Diaz last February went off in a similar manner. Diaz looked good early as he was the aggressor and was able to land some heavy blows against Marquez. However, Diaz couldn’t land a punch that would decisively swing the fight in his favour and Marquez began to time Diaz’s punches as the fight went on, making it easier for him to counter punch. Anyone who plans on beating Marquez needs to be able to make up the timing and rhythm of their punches to make it more difficult for Marquez to land counter shots. Along with this, it’s important to try and hurt him early and finish the job - Marquez is extremely tough but he is the most vulnerable before he is able to time his counter punches.
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