Juan Manuel Marquez was a three-weight world champion in the sport of boxing adored by his Mexican fans and beyond.
Despite a stellar defence, Marquez was not afraid of exchanging with the men in front of him – which included Manny Pacquiao on four occasions, countryman Marco Antonio Barrera and Floyd Mayweather – and hung up the gloves with a 70% knockout-to-win ratio.
Marquez believes strongly that boxing is about finding a mix between showcasing skills and entertaining paying fans – something he urged WBC Lightweight World Champion Shakur Stevenson to do via Fight Hub TV.
“Shakur Stevenson is another great fighter [but] he makes boring fights. I don’t know why. He needs another level of opponent. Shakur Stevenson’s a good fighter but what happened with Edwin De Los Santos? It was a boring, boring fight.
I would like to see Shakur Stevenson against William Zepeda. I would like to see that fight. [He is] number one contender for the WBC … He has the good style for Shakur. He is a southpaw, throws a lot of punches in every round. I think Shakur needs that kind of boxing … This is the rule for the sport of boxing, hit and don’t get hit, but you need to offer the show and entertainment for the people.”
Stevenson was criticised for both the De Los Santos win as well as his next victory over Artem Harutyunyan. He won unanimously on both occasions, but fans felt his performance was too defensive-minded, particularly against the hard-hitting De Los Santos.
