Marquez revisits Pacquiao knockout, balks again at fifth fight

Lost in Juan Manuel Marquez’s memorable sixth-round knockout of Manny Pacquiao in December was the fact Marquez was getting beaten up in the round and trailed on all three judges’ scorecards.

Marquez revisited those dramatic three minutes in a conversation with reporters Monday at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

After battling Pacquiao to a draw, split-decision loss and majority decision loss in three prior meetings, Mexico’s Marquez bulked up with the help of conditioning coach Angel “Memo” Heredia for the fourth bout.

Pacquiao was battering Marquez in the sixth, but fatefully stuck to his tendency of looking to finish big in rounds, while trying a move Marquez was familiar with.

“After all those fights, I knew what he likes to do,” Marquez said. “He has this little feint when he’s coming in.

“That little feint, I knew it was coming because I saw it earlier,” Marquez said. “As soon as I saw it, I knew he was coming right at me. That’s when I threw.”

What Marquez threw was the devastating short right hand that knocked Pacquiao briefly unconscious, leaving his handlers to scurry toward the motionless body as Marquez bathed in ultimate vindication after feeling shafted in the past by judges.

How hurt was Marquez before that? Pacquiao’s interest in trying to finish off Marquez was based on his belief Nevada judges would think they owed Marquez a decision if the fight went the distance.

“I could tell he was coming, but I was fine,” Marquez said. “I was ready for him.”

A bloody-faced Marquez indeed was sharp enough mentally to recognize Pacquiao’s move: “When he comes in, he gives you this hint he’s not going to be there,” Marquez said. “But he’s not moving out, he’s moving in. And when I saw him make that move, I knew he was coming in.”

And, soon, going out.

That moment at MGM Grand in Las Vegas is so gratifying to Marquez that he repeated Monday his disinterest in a fifth Pacquiao fight, which could be clamored for should Marquez become the first Mexican to win world titles in five different weight classes by defeating Palm Springs’ world welterweight champion Timothy Bradley on Saturday night at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao has a Nov. 23 bout in Macao, China, against Oxnard’s Brandon Rios.

“The chapter with Pacquiao is closed,” Marquez said. “That fifth fight, I’m not interested, don’t see it.

“Money is what’s important in life [but] what’s most important to me is the honor, the pride. Everyone knows what happened in those four fights. I want to keep that great moment alive. If I had won by close decision, I’d have signed a contract for a fifth fight after the fight. I won, it was a great victory for me. I [won’t] sign the contract.”

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