Pacquiao vs. Marquez: Why Fight Is Irrelevant to Pac-Man's Legacy

Manny Pacquiao has a legacy as one of the most transcendent fighters of all time. It’s why a loss to someone that the casual boxing fan wouldn’t recognize walking down the street, even if he had a shirt on that said, “I’m Juan Manuel Marquez,” will do nothing to his legacy.

He has appeared in commercials and television shows. He has run for and won a political office in his home country of the Philippines. He allegedly has one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport coming up against Floyd Mayweather. 

All of this will not go away if he happens to lose by knock-out or decision to Juan Manuel Marquez in their third fight. 

A loss to Marquez wouldn’t even be Pacquiao’s first in his boxing career. He already has three, which are overwhelmed by his 53 wins in an illustrious career. A loss to Marquez will not be the stain that makes his sponsors, like Hewlett Packard, want to drop Pac-Man as a sponsor for their tablet. 

A loss to Marquez will not hurt Pacquiao’s singing career, which he put on center stage at the Marquez pre-fight press conference. 

If Manny happens to get beaten by Juan Manuel Marquez, heck, even knocked out by Marquez, it will not affect in any way how the media will build up the Mayweather fight. The fight will go from: "Which one is the best fighter in the world?" to: "Can Pacquiao rebound after a surprising loss in his last fight?"

Losing to Marquez could make for a bigger build to the Mayweather fight, as a loss could make Mayweather want to fight Pacquiao even more, as “Money” Mayweather will see that Pacquiao can be beaten. 

The Marquez fight has little or nothing to do with his legacy, just like those other three losses have done to Pacquiao’s legacy. 

The only fight that matters from here on out in regards to Pacquiao is his alleged fight with Mayweather.  If Pacquiao happens to lose that fight, he is no longer the greatest fighter in his generation; Mayweather is. 

If he loses to Mayweather, Pacquiao is still a legend in his home country, but here, he is just a great fighter that lost in the biggest match of his career. 

A loss to Marquez will put some sting into Pacquiao’s career, but in the long run, only the hardcore boxing fans (which represent a small minority) who will pay attention to this fight, will remember the loss. 

But everyone will remember what happens when and if Pacquiao fights Mayweather. 

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