Acceptance of the masses in his native Mexico has come with daunting challenges for Juan Manuel Marquez.
When identifying their favorite current fighters, Mexican fans often cast their lots on bitter rivals Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, Jorge Arce or Marquez’s younger brother, Rafael.
Despite his draw against Manny Pacquiao, who convincingly beat Barrera and Morales, Marquez remained on second-tier recognition.
On Saturday night, Marquez can win converts when he moves up in weight and challenge Barrera for Barrera’s World Boxing Council super-featherweight title in Las Vegas.
”I wanted this fight for over four or five years, and yes there were doubts it would happen,” Marquez (46-3-1, 35 KOs) said in a recent conference call. “At one time or another, I felt Marco was going to retire and I would never be able to get the opportunity to fight him. I want to thank Marco for giving me the opportunity.”
With Barrera (63-4, 42 KOs) and Pacquiao moving up to the 130-pound super-featherweight class, Marquez found it necessary to follow suit. The higher weight class provides the benefits of more attractive and purse-rewarding bouts. Saturday’s match is available only on pay-per-view.
”Marco is very tough and skilled; he’s one of the best at 130 pounds,” Marquez said. “It’s going to be a tough fight with him. It’s going to be a very, very tough fight.”
In addition to securing a coveted bout against Barrera, Marquez will try to maintain the family’s lofty boxing status. Two weeks ago, Rafael Marquez scored a seventh-round technical knockout over Israel Vazquez to retain his bantamweight crown.
”We both work hard, we both want to be champions and we both want to win,” Marquez said of possible sibling competition with Rafael. “There’s no rivalry whatsoever.”
HARD ROCK BOUTS
Former world champions Michael Moorer and Raul Marquez will be part of Friday’s undercard at the Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood. Panama’s Celestino Caballero will defend his World Boxing Association super-bantamweight title against Mexico’s Ricardo Castillo in the main event.
Moorer, who became the first left-handed fighter to win a heavyweight title in 1994 and reclaimed the crown two years later, will fight Crawford Grimsley in a scheduled 10-round bout. Grimsley was a popular local prospect in the late 1990s and went the distance in a loss against George Foreman nine years ago. Grimsley, 39, has only two fights since 1998.
Marquez represented the United States in the 1992 Olympics and later became a junior-middleweight champion. In his fourth fight of a comeback bid, now in the super-middleweight division, Marquez will face Jonathan Corn on Friday night.
