Former world champion Juan Manuel Marquez is ranked amongst some of the best of all time.

The Mexican was a highly technical boxer who moved with great speed and accuracy while putting together effective combinations. His impressive career lasted two decades from 1993 to 2014 and saw him lift world honours in three different divisions from featherweight to lightweight, in which he was also a lineal champion.

The 2012 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year and Hall of Fame inductee famously had four fights with Manny Pacquiao that were packed with drama.

In the first round of the first fight alone, he was knocked down three times. That one ended in a controversial split-decision draw and he lost the next two bouts but in the fourth and final contest in 2012, Marquez scored a chilling knockout of Pacqauio in the dying seconds of the sixth round. He was behind on points but landed a perfect right-cross which left the multi-weight champion out cold and face down on the canvas.

Before that in 2009, he took on Floyd Mayweather in his first fight at welterweight and lost by unanimous decision before eventually retiring in 2017.

Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Marquez went with the ‘Pacman’ over Mayweather for the best he ever faced.

“Pacquiao: Without doubt, the best pound-for-pound of his time and I faced him at his best.”

Pacquiao has not fought since a loss in 2022 but could well make a return to fight this year as his shot at WBC world champion Mario Barrios was recently approved by the governing body.