in the skills and talent department pac is at the bottom, and marquez is at the top. marquez is one of the best pure boxers i've seen. in terms of technique he's text book, and posseses one of th best arsenal of punches in the game. he puts those punches together in nice combinations as well. whenever marquez lets his hands fly, it truly is poetry in motion. in terms of god given gifts such as athleticism, speed, power etc.... there is no contest, pac is at the top of the heap it's not even close. his athleticism, speed, power..... compensate for the gap between his skills and those of the 3 other guys. that allows him to compete with those 3 names. pac is very special in that sense. no matter how skilled you are, you'll always have problems against someone like pac who hits hard, has fast hands and is generally a ball of fury.
how could anybody put Marquez at the bottom of their list....the guy's counter punching skills and combinations are unbelievable....especially Pacqiuao above Marquez:-(
1. Juan Manuel Marquez (technically, he is one of the best fighters ever. A true textbook fighter with beautiful combinations, uppercuts from hell, and great counter punching skills) 2. Marco Antonio Barrera (one of the most versatile fighters I've ever seen. He started as a rough pressure fighter and evolved into a boxing master. When he was in top form, his combinations were some of the best I've ever seen) 3. Erik Morales (great at long range, great punch variety, and good technical skills. Could box at long range behind his jab and overhand right or fight you toe to toe) 4. Manny Pacquiao (great speed and power, lacks great technical skill but makes up for it in other ways. Still lacks the overall versatility and skill of the first three. His flaws are far more apparent)
Barrera was a more complete fighter than Morales in my opinion. He was better off the backfoot, a more fluid combination puncher, a better body puncher, a better counter puncher, and better defensively.
base on talent and skill: Barrera (complete package) Marquez (vey skilled counter-puncher) Morales (very skilled boxer) Pac (unique/ special... not the best boxer but he is the best fighter among the 4)
morales merquez barrera pacquiao as what the majority here has said skill-wise the top 3 is actually very close to each other, depending on what style of boxing you prefer. pacquiao is very underrated i think because most people tend to overlook his boxing skills(Pac-MAB2). When Pac is at the top of his game the top 3 will find it hard to beat PAC because of his speed and power.
to the pac fans, placing pac at the bottom is not a slight at him at all. pac might not be the as good technically/ boxing wise as marquez, but he sure has achieved far more. as of now he ranks above jmm in the ATG list.