Malaki ang paniniwala ni four-division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez na kung matutuloy ang welterweight unification megabout nina Manny Pacquiao at Floyd Mayweather Jr. ay mahihirapan ang Pilipino na manalo sa teritoryo ng Amerikano sa Las Vegas, Nevada.  

Nilabanan ni Marquez si Mayweather noong 2009 na natalo siya sa 12-round unanimous decision samantalang apat na beses na niyang nakaharap si Pacquiao at nagwagi lamang siya noong 2012 sa 6th round knockout bagamat may dalawang talo siya at isang tabla sa Pinoy boxer.

Laging nagrereklamo si Marquez na paborito ng Las Vegas judges si Pacquiao pero ngayon, iginiit niyang mahihirapan ang Pilipino na manalo sa puntos laban kay Mayweather.

“It is very difficult to penetrate the guard of Mayweather, but with the speed that Pacquiao has -he can do it,” sabi ni Marquez kay Rene Umanzor ng BoxingScene.com. “The coin is in the air, but I know both of those fighters and it is difficult to be able to beat Floyd Mayweather, and even more so because he is a protected fighter in Las Vegas.”

Iginiit pa ni Marquez na hindi magiging pinakadakilang boksingero si Mayweather sa lahat ng panahon kung tatalunin si Pacquiao dahil takot makipagsabayan ang Amerikano sa laban.

“Mayweather is not going to be the best of all time even if he accepts the fight against Manny Pacquiao, because there are other big fighters like Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, that have demonstrated the ability to attack and takes risks. They were making use of the moment. They were not overly defensive. Those fighters, yes they can be considered to be the best in the history [of boxing],” ani Marquez. 

“A lot of people are going to Floyd’s fights to see him win and others go to see him lose, but they are not seeing any type of spectacle, they are no sudden exchanges, there is not a lot of emotion.”