Four-division champion Juan Manuel Marquez, the counter-punching Mexican who gave Manny Pacquiao a taste of hell four times, is calling it quits, ESPN Deportes reported yesterday.
Renowned Mexican fight scribe Salvador Rodriguez said that Marquez, who turns 44 next month, will make the formal announcement during a Mexican television boxing program that he hosts this weekend.
Best remembered for his four epic fights with Pacquiao from 2004 until 2012, Marquez is putting an end to an illustrious career with a 56-7-1 record with 40 KOs.
Marquez was always hoping to return to the ring the past few years but various injuries prevented him from doing so.
In a professional career that began in 1993, Marquez went up against the crème dela crème of the sport and his four fights with Pacquiao topped them all as the last one in December 2012, a one-punch sixth-round knockout, made him an immortal.
In a stellar career, Marquez also rumbled with the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Marco Antonio Barrera, Tim Bradley and other marquee names at featherweight, super-feather, lightweight and light-welter.
Marquez, a native of Mexico City, campaigned almost exclusively in the US, having fought there 53 times and just ten times in his homeland. His lone appearance outside the Americas was in Indonesia against Chris John.
