This is Mexican pro boxer Juan Manuel Marquez training. Marquez has been a world champion in three different boxing weight classes.
I was talking to his manager in an adjacent office when Marquez sat down in another chair. I didn’t know who he was, and in person he is polite and not very large. We met and then when I saw him start to train, it was extraordinary.
Every time he hit the speed bag hanging ball, the whole gym shook. Moments after I shot the video on my iPhone, he hit the bag so hard it deflated.
Marquez is fighting the Philippine sensation Manny Pacquiao in November in Las Vegas. Marquez’s guaranteed purse is $5 million while Pacquiao is getting $20 million. Marquez, by the way, is 37 years old, nearing the end of his career.
Within days, I’ll have a story about why Mexico has produced so many world champion boxers. Thirteen of them currently hold world titles. The gym where I saw Marquez work out is called the “cradle of champions.” It’s produced 22 champion boxers -- a rather extraordinary achievement.
Very interesting and I am looking forward to the story on Mexican boxing. A word of advice: if you are really going to write that story, you need to know that it is a speed bag, not a ball, he is hitting. :-)
Posted by: Mike | 06/14/2011 at 07:57 PM