Juan Manuel Marquez, The Next Boxer To Enter Politics
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
WBO/WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel "Dinamita" Marquez is reportedly running for a seat in the lower house of Congress in the July 1, 2012 presidential elections in Mexico.
The Mexican promoter of Marquez, Fernando Beltran, told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard here in San Antonio, Texas that Marquez's popularity had surged since his controversial majority decision loss to pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas last November.
Beltran said most Mexicans believe Marquez was "robbed" of the decision even as he stressed, "I love Manny Pacquiao. He is a good friend and a very good person and I respect him a lot."
The well-known Mexican promoter believes that based on his popularity at this point, Marquez should win a seat in the lower house and follow in the footsteps of Pacquiao who beat him twice in three fights, all of which were somewhat controversial.
Pacquiao represents the lone district of Sarangani in the Philippine house of representatives and announced his intentions to run for governor in next year'ss mid-term elections, swapping places with current governor Migs Dominguez.
The 38-year-old Marquez is a three-division world champion and has record of 53-6-1 with 39 knockouts.
