If you ask most boxing fans, they’ll tell you that Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the top two or three fighters in the world. They may be right. But the way he got there is about as odd as any you can think of.

It’s possible that without winning another fight, Marquez could ascend to the throne of pound-for-pound supremacy — without ever having beaten a top fighter in their prime.

Sure, you could argue that he beat Pacquiao twice, but the fights were both close enough that you just have to live with the decision losses.

So how close is Marquez to being the P4P king, all without having that one marquee victory that is usually required?

Imagine this scenario:

• Marquez fights to a draw with Juan Diaz in a great, action packed fight on Feb. 28.
• Just over two months later, Manny Pacquiao loses to Ricky Hatton in a super-lightweight showdown.
• More than likely, Marquez will become the new mythical “pound-for-pound” champion all over the boxing world.

It’s not such a crazy scenario — unlikely for both results to happen exactly in that way, but not outside the realm of possibility.

What makes it interesting is should that all happen, Marquez will become the new pound-for-pound king, all without winning a single major fight in his career against an elite-level, prime fighter.

Marquez’s Big Wins?

Sure, Marquez beat Marco Antonio Barrera, but that was not the same Barrera that was dazzling us against Erik Morales seven years earlier. It’s a good win, but it shouldn’t be the defining win of his career.

Joel Casamayor? The 37-year old Cuban gave Marquez all he could handle before getting knocked out. It would have been a fine win if Casamayor hadn’t been beaten around the ring by Jose Armando Santa Cruz in one of boxing’s greatest robberies, then taken to his limits by the very average but entertaining Michael Katsidis. Another decent win, but nothing that should be right near the top of a P4P resume.

Prior to those wins, the biggest win Marquez had ever gotten credit for was against Derrick Gainer in 2003. Another fine win, but nothing that makes somebody the best in the game.

In his fights against elite fighters at or near their prime, Marquez is 0-3-1. He lost twice to Manny Pacquiao, but many feel that he won one of or both fights. He lost to Chris John in a fight that some dispute, but many agree was just, and he lost to Freddie Norwood way back in 1999 in his first title fight.

The amazing thing is that his two close losses to Pacquiao not only add to his resume, they are the focal point!

I can’t recall a single fighter that has climbed as high as Marquez has without having any of the decisive wins that we usually require out of a fighter in his position.

The Pound-for-Pound King

Just what does it take to be the king of boxing, in it’s mythical pound-for-pound world? I’ve offered my opinion, but the question that is raised here is “can you inherit the spot” or does it have to be assigned when a fighter is deserving?

Looking at some recent pound-for-pound kings:

• Floyd Mayweather had wins over Diego Corrales, Genaro Hernandez, Jose Luis Castillo, and had been a three-division titlist before assuming the throne.
• Bernard Hopkins (if he was ever really the P4P king) had 19 consecutive successful defenses of his middleweight title, and wins over Felix Trinidad and Glen Johnson on his resume, among others.
• Roy Jones had wins over Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, John Ruiz and complete domination over everyone who crossed his path for his whole career, without exception.
• Manny Pacquiao is a multi-division champion with wins over Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya and Marquez. Not all consider him a P4P king, but if you do, there is certainly a solid argument these days.
• Joe Calzaghe was undefeated with 24 defenses of his super-middleweight crown. He had wins over Chris Eubank, Robin Reid, Jeff Lacy, Mikkel Kessler and Bernard Hopkins before anyone handed him the crown.

Is it possible that Juan Manuel Marquez is on the threshold of being the pound-for-pound king based only on the accomplishments of Manny Pacquiao and Marquez’s performances against him?

Maybe it’s me, but in my view, there must not always be a pound-for-pound king. When the March BoxingInformer.com rankings come out, there will be nobody in the number one spot on the pound-for-pound rankings, due to the retirement of Joe Calzaghe. I enjoy watching Pacquiao fight, but in my opinion, he never earned being the P4P king.

But I understand that others will have Pacquiao number one, and if he loses to Hatton, then there is a good chance that Marquez will inherit that spot.

I really have no problem with Pacquiao being ranked where he is. He’s an amazing fighter with some quality wins on his resume. I don’t quite view him the way your average boxing forum poster sees him, but I think he’s quite good. But that’s a different argument for a different day.

Marquez has shown in the ring that he is extremely talented, but he really lacks the great win that I feel you need to be on top of the whole sport.

Mis-Management

One of the problems that will always dog Marquez is his lack of fights with the top fighters when he was younger. Marquez was hanging around at featherweight and super-featherweight for most of the same time that Morales, Barrera and Pacquiao were.

But in that time, Marquez fought Barrera once and Pacquiao twice, but never Morales. That is the only combination of these fighters that never happened.

Why?

Simple. Marquez made some real bad decisions, and his legacy is now paying the price.

Take for instance the time between Marquez’s draw with Pacquiao in 2004 and his fight with Chris John in Indonesia in 2006.

After the first fight with Pacquiao, HBO offered Marquez $750,000 to stage a rematch, but Marquez said he wanted $1.5 million. That was HBO’s entire license fee, so that fight didn’t happen.

Then, after a few meaningless fights, HBO offered Marquez $1.5 million to fight Erik Morales in 2005 on PPV. Marquez turned down this offer as well, saying that he wanted $3.5 million.

Later that year, Marquez had his IBF belt stripped because no promoter was willing to pay to stage any of his mandatory fights. That led him to take a fight in Indonesia against Chris John for a measly $30,000. The outcome of the fight is disputed, but Marquez’s boxing smarts, or lack thereof, are not.

Marquez had his opportunities to make himself a pound-for-pound king, but he has both passed on key fights, and failed to come out victorious in the ones he does take over the years.

It is possible that Marquez is among the best boxers in the world. In fact, I’m quite certain I’m in the minority if I say he’s not the second best behind Manny Pacquiao. I’m not necessarily arguing that he’s not one of the most talented individuals in the sport. I’m pointing out the fact that he is poised to take boxing’s highest mythical title without ever truly earning it in the ring. That, I have a problem with.

For that reason, even with a Manny Pacquiao loss to Ricky Hatton, there is no justification of Marquez being boxing’s pound-for-pound king.