Did Marquez take Steroids for the Last Pacquiao Fight?

[justaguy]

The punch wasn't lucky nor was it the result of steroids but I still think he was on the juice. I saw the videos of Marquez dropping a guy in sparring with the same punch and I feel that when him and Nacho sat down and studied how they would have to knock Pacquiao out they probably saw one of the biggest tells in boxing. Pacquiao throws his 1-2 after leaping into range behind a feinted jab to the solar plexus. Thing is he actually throws that punch maybe once a fight. Eventually someone will hear you crying wolf. So as soon as he tried to lie Marquez simply stepped in and let his right hand go. The fact that Juan didn't see the punch land doesn't mean it was lucky but the exact opposite - he knew exactly where Manny's face was going to be and where his money punch wouldn't. I think Roach introduced this "wrinkle" after Morales 1 when he watched Eric simply avoiding that straight left by pivoting to Manny's outside whenever he saw the double jab. Now all that's great strategy and tactics but the fact that an infamous doping specialist was in his camp under a fake name at the exact same time just spoils it for me. A great win nevertheless but in my eyes tainted.

No offense but that logic kind of takes on the shape of a pretzel. He hired Herida as a conditioning coach and promptly got on the weights. He could have went anywhere for a steroid regiment. I mean why hire a past known distributor? Kinda stupid unless he wanted a good strength and conditioning coach regardless of the mans past. If he wanted to go on juice cycles the last guy he would have hired is Herida as far as the public eye is concerned and yet he hired him anyway. So its more then possible that he employed this man for his strength and conditioning knowledge. Again if he wanted to cheat, I don't think he hires this guy.

Its getting to the point nowadays that when anybody wins a highly anticipated fight in dramatic fashion they are labelled cheaters. It does not help when you have nut bar hacks like Kevin Iole suggesting his change was as questionable as Barry Bonds. People just cant accept that Manny is human after all. When little guys like Marquez put on a couple of pounds of pure muscle they tend to look massive in comparison to bigger men where such gains go unnoticed.

Marquez knew about the effectiveness on the right hand in the first fight. Its the punch that saved him. I mean it stands to reason because Manny is a southpaw and there is no better punch against one. It was the punch that made the next two fights as close as they were with many thinking he won at least one of them. So he brings in a strength coach to help him get the most of that punch by building up his overall body strength. I just don't see anything dubious here. They were infatuated by that punch and for good reason. He landed it often in previous fights and it was the money punch.

I mean Marquez fans could say that Manny lost because he was taken off roids because of his health once he left boxing and thereby looked beatable in the fourth fight. Or why he looked flat against Bradley. Or perhaps all fighters at the top are using one thing or another to gain the edge so both Manny and Marquez were juicing making it an even playing field. I choose to believe that Marquez concentrated his entire camp on landing that right hand because of his obsession in beating Manny.

I agree with all of what you say - because we can't know, we speculate. Recall that nobody ever got Barry Bonds to test positive for steroids... there were arguments about the fact that bat speed and all of these other things would not be affected by steroids. Still, he was affiliated with people KNOWN to distribute steroids and that really was the evidence that downed him, along with people saying that they saw him doing it.

Steroids can be manufactured that just help the body recover faster and when you have an older guy (comparitavely older) that starts a weight regimen and is trying to chisel, it is not unheard of that things are used to help him recover so that he can work harder or see a bit better results - he is an elite athlete, so a small percentage of gain is huge for him at that level.

I am not saying he did - I did not think that he did when I saw him or when I saw the punch. He is a counter puncher - one of the best we've got right now - and he landed a counter punch he had been looking for all night and had some success with early. Pac's momentum carried him into the punch. Perfect storm. Steroids or no steriods, that was a night-night punch, so the punch and the KO standing alone should not drive anyone to say that Marquez was using.