Boxing
Angelo Dundee predicted Marquez Pacquiao’s nightmare before his death
Months before his death, legendary trainer Angelo Dundee predicted that Juan Manuel Marquez would finally defeat Manny Pacquiao – shortly before the knockout that changed boxing forever.
Dundee, one of the brightest minds in sports history, predicted this in 2011 when discussing Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and the growing tension around both rivalries.
The Hall of Fame trainer who guided Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard through some of boxing’s greatest nights noticed something that many others at the time ignored or underestimated.
“Marquez will fight a tough fight against Pacquiao every day he is alive,” Dundee said in an interview with Lem Satterfield in Ring.
“Probably Pacquiao’s toughest fight because Marquez is a guy who knows how to fight him.
“Split Decisions – Marquez.”
Pacquiao continued to be one of the most destructive forces in the sport and entered Marquez’s fourth fight as the overwhelming favorite, despite years of razor-sharp controversy between the two.
But Dundee realized something that finally couldn’t be denied.
Marquez never stopped believing he could beat Pacquiao.
Angelo Dundee predictions
Before the knockout that forever defined their rivalry, Marquez had been chasing an emphatic victory over Pacquiao for years.
Their first fight ended in a draw. Pacquiao then scored two narrow contest victories that many fans still debate.
Marquez refused to let the rivalry end and became obsessed with proving that he could finally defeat Pacquiao once and for all.
In 2012, he finally got the ending he wanted.
The right hand that left Pacquiao unconscious face to face immediately became one of the most repeated knockouts in boxing history.
Marquez later admitted he feared he had seriously injured Pacquiao after seeing his rival remain motionless following the knockout.
“When I reacted to Pacquiao, he still looked knocked out,” Marquez recalled years later.
“When I saw he reacted and was coming back to life, I was content.”
For many fans, the knockout permanently changed the perception of Pacquiao’s career.
Previously, World Boxing News examined how Timothy Bradley’s controversial defeat earlier this year could have pushed Pacquiao towards a fourth fight with Marquez, carrying more pressure and urgency than ever before.
That desperation could have created exactly the opening Marquez needed.
Dundee somehow saw the danger before anyone else.
Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather
That’s not the end of Dundee’s knowledge of Pacquiao.
While discussing a potential fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Dundee also supported Mayweather’s victory while questioning why the fight is taking so long.
Dundee didn’t know it would take another three years to get them both into the ropes.
“Mayweather wins,” Dundee said.
“I just don’t know why Mayweather doesn’t fight him.
“He goes around saying he’s the best fighter in the world? Well, fight the sucker. I think he beats Pacquiao.”
History eventually proved that Dundee was there too.
Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in 2015 and retired undefeated.
Now, more than a decade later, Pacquiao is preparing for one last attempt to rewrite this rivalry when the two meet again in a Netflix-backed rematch later this year.
Ironically, Pacquiao himself recently admitted that he wants to give Mayweather the final ending that Marquez once gave him.
“I want Floyd to live with one defeat in his professional record and always remember who gave it to him,” Pacquiao said earlier this year.
Pacquiao is now chasing the kind of ending that Marquez once took from him.
Punch heard around the world
Dundee was a boxing legend. It was an honor to continue to have him with me as World Boxing News entered boxing in 2010.
Unfortunately, boxing lost Angelo in 2012 just weeks after he predicted that Marquez would finally beat Pacquiao.
Ali’s former coach was one of the few who predicted the Mexican’s greatest triumph before lightning finally struck.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
Canelo Alvarez will not take a pliable fight to Christian Mbilli, says trainer Manny Robles, who believes the undefeated contender will cause the Mexican star earnest problems in September.
This week, Robles shared his thoughts on the Sept. 12 fight while in Egypt, where he warned that WBC super middleweight champion Mbilli would have to give Canelo a tough test after a year outside the ring.
“Canelo won’t take an simple fight, right? And Mbilli is not a pushover. Yes. Yes. And Mbilli is a very, very good fighter. Tough, come forward. I believe Canelo will definitely have his hands full. But Canelo is Canelo. You know, definitely one of the best fighters in the world,” Robles told Ring Magazine.
Robles stopped compact of picking a winner, but his comments echo concerns some fans have expressed about Canelo returning to fight an aggressive, high-pressure fighter after a year out of the ring following his loss to Terence Crawford last September.
Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KO) built his reputation on constant pressure, strenuous striking and 168-pound physical strength. The undefeated contender has also been publicly calling for a fight with Canelo for over a year, repeatedly saying he believes the time is right.
The September fight is expected to be the main event of the season in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. Canelo, 35, will enter the fight looking to avoid a second straight defeat after a loss to Crawford interrupted his recent run at the top.
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Last updated: 20/05/2026 at 22:19
Three American champions from different eras are often brought into the same conversation when fans discuss skills, defense and in-ring IQ. Sugar Ray Leonard, Pernell Whitaker and Floyd Mayweather Jr. They rose to the top in different ways, but each left behind a style that younger players still try to emulate.
Leonard emerged from the 1976 Olympics with charisma, speed and the ability to fight at a pace that overwhelmed his opponents. His amateur background was robust even before winning Olympic gold in Montreal. As a professional, he went through one of the hardest eras in the history of sports. Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler were not carefully selected opponents. Leonard fought them all during a period when elite welterweights regularly faced each other.
Whitaker may have been the purest defensive player of the three. His 1984 Olympic gold medal helped launch a professional career built on reflexes, balance and anticipation. Many fans still believe he deserved the decision in his 1993 fight against Julio Cesar Chavez. Whitaker was arduous to hit cleanly, but his style sometimes hurt him in the eyes of the judges because he focused more on control than doing damage.
Mayweather took parts of Leonard and Whitaker and turned them into a business model that kept him undefeated for 50 fights. Early in his career as “Pretty Boy”, he relied more on speed and combinations, before later becoming a more cautious and defensive fighter. His victories over Diego Corrales, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao helped build one of the most successful careers in boxing history.
Arguments between fans usually come down to preference. Leonard fought in the deepest era. Whitaker may have had the best natural defense. Mayweather retired undefeated and was the most financially successful of the three. None of the answers are clear, which is probably why the debate still rages on all these years later.
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Last updated: 20/05/2026 at 17:38
Manny Robles says the fight against Mbilli won’t be simple for Canelo
Angelo Dundee predicted Marquez Pacquiao’s nightmare before his death
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