2. Juan Manuel Márquez vs Erik Morales
Four fighters made their mark in the first decade of the twenty-first century: Mexicans Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Márquez, along with Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao. Out of these great four boxers, Morales and Barrera had the aforementioned trilogy. Pacquiao and Márquez fought four times. Morales had another trilogy with Pacquiao, who also fought Barrera twice. And in 2007 Márquez fought Barrera.
You’d think things came full circle in this total of thirteen fights, but there is one matchup missing. One, unfortunately, that will forever leave a question. Morales said it best: it’s as if Márquez fought in a different era than Barrera and him.
I think the outcome of this fight would depend on when it happened. Had it been on the time they were meeting Pacquiao (2004-2005, that is), Morales would have been too much for the late-bloomer, Márquez. There was serious talk of this fight in 2011;it was even confirmed by certain media, but again, nothing. In that case, a way-past-his-prime Morales would have been destroyed by Márquez.
My father Toby Vigil Mexican lightweight, California State Champion, was a popular fan favorite at the famous Hollywood Legion Stadium. Known for his movie star good looks and flashy boxing style, Vigil had some epic fights during his career. Toby fought both popular Mexican fighters, Baby Arizmendi and Rodolfo Babyface Casanova. Matched against the popular Mexican Champion Casanova., the bout was held at the Stadium Nacional, in Mexico City. In 1938. The fight was a classic battle held in enemy territory with a boisterous, vociferous crowd. Casanova relentlessly pursued my father post to post attempting to land the big right hand he was known for, all the while eating punishing left/right combinations leaving Casanova’s face a bloody mess with both eyes swollen shut. At the end of ten rounds the referee awarded my dad a hard fought unanimous decision over the Mexican Champion. In 1941 at the Hollywood Legion Stadium, he fought Baby Arizmendi losing a closely contested decision. He said Arizmendi was a very fierce opponent, in which he had to use his left hand overtime, having broke his right hand on Arizmendi’s head in the first round.