RE: Marquez's sexuality

Well, it's that time again. Juan Manuel Marquez is set to step into the ring against his fellow featherweight pound-for-pound conterpart Manny Pacquiao for the rematch. And while most of us are focusing on the fight and it's implications, it seems a select few are still focusing on the issue of Marquez's sexual identity. I'm not sure if it's a pinoy thing (Pacquiao supporters trying to insult Marquez as a man) or maybe even a Mexican thing (fellow Countrymen perhaps ashamed of the infamous "pics") but there's always a select few people who, instead of focusing on Marquez's in-ring ability and accomplishments, shift the attention to some shady pictures that focus on Marquez's sexual preference. For the most part, Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the most gifted and respected fighters in the sport of boxing today, and I suppose at the end of the day that that opinion, and that opinion alone is the only one that matters at this point. But this post is directed at those who would wish to distract the attention from Juan's accomplishments and focus it on his lifestyle.... As if somehow being gay means you cannot be a great boxer, or that you cannot possibly gain respect for what you do in the ring in the face of what you may or may not do outside of it. I thought all that mattered in this sport was what goes down in the ring? How many Champions and Legends have we given respect to in the past, and forgiven them for their behavior outside the ring? Didn't both Ray Robinson and Ray Leonard occasionally smack their respective wives around for fun? Yet we let that slide because at the end of the day, at least they weren't "fags". What could be more embarassing for the sport of boxing, than having a gay man be a Champion? Well, I'll tell you what, a lot of things. Again, for the selected target of this post it seems to only revolve around pictures of Marquez, and the shallow idea that a gay man cannot be a great Champion, nor be respected for what he does in the ring because at the end of the day, he's not a "man" at all in their eyes. For those of you who see things as I've described, I need only point to Emile Griffith as a prime example of my defense. Griffith's accomplishments in the ring as as a Champion speak for themselves and will no doubt stand the test of time long after we are gone. And I would be dollars to dimes that Griffith in his prime then, and Marquez in his now, are more man than you will ever be at the end of the day.