Marquez vs. Fedchenko: Fedchenko Victory Could Signify Decline of Marquez

If Sergey Fedchenko is able to score an upset victory over Juan Manuel Marquez tonight, it could be the beginning of a slippery slope leading to the end of Marquez's illustrious boxing career.

Suffering a loss at the hands of Fedchenko would most likely deprive Marquez of a fourth fight with Manny Pacquiao. Another rematch against Pacquiao seems to be the main focus of Marquez, and if he is unable to get one more fight against "Pac-Man," he could lose the will to box.

Marquez is already 38 years old and has notched 60 fights over his outstanding boxing career. An unexpected loss at the hands of Fedchenko would be extremely detrimental to Marquez's reputation.

The same thing happened with Muhammad Ali. He lost three-of-four fights to end his career. A loss for Marquez tonight would mark the second straight fight that hasn't gone his way, putting him in danger of a dreaded three-match losing streak.

A Fedchenko victory might not be as impossible as you may think. He's basically in the same position as a player in a contract year. If he does not win or at least put up an entertaining, hard-fought bout against Marquez, he likely won't get another shot to fight in front of a North American audience.

That in itself should scare Marquez.

Fedchenko has accumulated a 30-1 record, with 13 knockouts throughout his career. He is known as a tactical boxer who analyzes his opponents in great depth. That's another disadvantage for Marquez, as Fedchenko has undoubtedly watched countless hours of film on his next opponent.

If Fedchenko can beat Marquez, why should Marquez get another shot at Pacquiao? He probably shouldn't, but that's up to Pacquiao to decide.

Marquez has talked a big game about his Pacquiao fights.

He's even given specific conditions should the two ever meet in the ring again. He wants to fight in Mexico. He wants their last match to be declared a no-contest, with Pacquiao admitting he lost. Most of all, he wants a guaranteed $10 million purse.

Pacquiao will likely refuse to meet those requirements if Marquez suffers a loss at the hands of Fedchenko tonight.

After all, why should one of the premier boxers in the world accommodate the requests of a fighter who just lost to a second-tier opponent?