Former four division world champion Erik Morales is a living legend in Mexican boxing.

Morales, 43-years-old, retired from boxing in 2012, after getting knocked out in his rematch with Danny Garcia at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

During the course of his career, Morales faced countless top names in and around his various weight divisions.

While Morales had countless battles with his countrymen, - including three classic fights with Marco Antonio Barrera - he never collided with Juan Manuel Marquez.

The contest was loosely discussed when both fighters were well past their best, but it never came together.

Many fans in Mexico compare the two, in terms of their wins over Manny Pacquiao.

Morales defeated Pacquiao by a twelve round decision in their first bout, but then lost the next two by knockout.

Marquez met Pacquiao four times from 2004 to 2012. Marquez was 0-2-1 in the first three - but scored a dramatic one-punch knockout over Pacquiao in the sixth round of their fourth bout.

Because of the brutal way that fight ended, Marquez's win is more celebrated among Mexican fight fans.

Morales points out that he didn't need a win over Pacquiao to define his career.

"My career was not defined by Pacquiao. I didn't need to beat him. I don't want to be too arrogant but nobody gave me a boxing lesson," Morales explained to Fox Deportes. "Winning by knockout is important, but for me it was better to dominate them, make them suffer inside the ring.

"When I was fighting Barrera, when I was gaining weight [and moving up], Marquez was not there... he was fighting with people who were just starting out. It wasn't until I left boxing for a little while, that Marquez catapulted up [with respect to his standing among top fighters]. While I was were there, he didn't do that. I didn't need four opportunities to beat Pacquiao."