Richard Schaefer and Golden Boy Promotions are next in line to choose a difficult assignment that has eluded others in the past.
And what would that be?
To guide featherweight standout Juan Manuel Marquez to stardom and to deal logically and peacefully with his trainer/advisor Nacho Beristain.
After his impressive stoppage of Terdsak Jandaeng in August to capture the interim WBO featherweight title, Marquez would ink a deal with Oscar De La Hoya’s promotional company in the subsequent weeks. This Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas, he headlines their ‘Mexican Glory’ pay-per-view card against Jimrex Jaca.
What can Golden Boy do differently for Marquez that hasn’t been done before?
“Hopefully, we can do a better job,” says Schaefer, whose company is no stranger to taking on tough projects and reclamation jobs. “I remember when we signed Bernard Hopkins, everybody said, ‘Geez, one thing you should’ve never done is sign Bernard Hopkins,’ and I mean everybody. And here we are, two years later and the relationship is stronger than ever.
“And I hope we can do the same with Juan Manuel Marquez and Nacho Beristain, where we can earn his trust and give him the right fights and give him the right purses and the right exposure. We somehow like to take on these difficult cases because that’s where in the end, we want to be able to prove ourselves that we are different than other promoters.”
Retooling Marquez won’t be like rebuilding an old, beat up pickup truck, but rather a fine-tuned sports car that hasn’t been driven on the open road enough. While his Mexican compatriots, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, have ascended to stardom and riches, Marquez, who for some reason remains at 126-pounds, has languished behind in both notoriety and wealth. Instead of being the guy that’s involved in big fights, he’s the guy that is avoided by the marquee fighters (such as Barrera and Morales, who have never seriously inquired about facing him.)
Back in April of 2004, he would get off the canvas three times in the first round against Manny Pacquiao to force his way to an exciting draw. When he was offered a rematch several months later, he would reportedly turn down $750,000 to face ‘the Pac Man’ once again. As he and his management balked at the offer, Morales would take his place and it was he and Pacquiao that have engaged in a lucrative and memorable series that will conclude on November 18th.
Marquez?
Well, since that point he’s fought four times, losing both his WBA and IBF featherweight titles for various reasons having nothing to do with actual boxing, and this past March he would lose a disputed 12-round decision to Chris John in an attempt to regain his WBA trinket. Adding insult to injury, Marquez would have to travel to the jungles of Indonesia for a paltry sum of around $30,000.
Many believe that if Beristain, an accomplished trainer, was a lawyer, he should be disbarred for the way he’s guided the careers of both Juan Manuel and his brother, Rafael. Bob Arum, their former promoter, has called Beristain impossible to work with and was exasperated with his dealings he had with him.
Gary Shaw currently promotes Rafael, the reigning IBF bantamweight king. When asked about Beristain, he says, “He’s a wonderful man, highly intelligent, a great trainer and a good friend.”
OK, but as a manager?
“I can’t hear you,” says Shaw,” I’m in a subway.”
Gary?!?! Gary?!?!
Can you hear me now?!?!(His phone seemed to be working so well earlier, I wonder what happened?)
But seriously, Shaw’s silence seems to speak volumes. And it’s an opinion shared by many in the industry. Beristain is as stubborn and unrealistic as they come.
“I don’t know if he’s been unrealistic,” reasons Schaefer, “because I think he was offered $750,000 to fight the rematch (with Pacquiao) and I do believe there was more money in it than that. So we will see when it comes to the fight if Nacho was right or wrong – and maybe he was right.”
One of the main reasons why Marquez is now in the GBP stable is that they have a deep roster of blue-chip talent from 122-135 pounds, like Barrera and the newly inked Pacquiao.
“Don’t forget we have Jorge Barrios as well, we have Israel Vazquez, who we just talked to about the possibility of moving up, we have ‘Matador’ Chavez, who’s thinking of moving back down again and Joan Guzman,” Schaefer says. “So there’s a tremendous stable and Juan Manuel wants the big fights. Manny wants the big fights. So having said that, the stage is set for these fights to happen.”
This bout with Jaca is the proverbial tune-up. But as they head into 2007, the focus for the 33-year old counterpuncher is to maximize his profile through meaningful bouts.
Schaefer says, “I think the key for Juan Manuel Marquez, at this point in his career, is not the number of fights but it’s the quality of opposition and the kind of fights I’m talking about, the mega-fights against the Barreras and Pacquiaos.
Good luck.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
– Call me crazy, but I think Peter Manfredo Jr. – who blew away Joey Spina on Saturday – is a very improved fighter from the guy we saw on ESPN2 a few years back before his days as a ‘Contender’.
– Just my opinion, but I thought Mikkel Kessler, who stopped Markus Beyer in three to unify their super middleweight belts, was the best 168-pounder I saw on Saturday night. As for Joe Calzaghe, there’s a reason why taking on foes like Sakio Bika are no-win situations. It’s expected to be an easy night, but sometimes the other guy doesn’t cooperate and actually makes things difficult.
I’d love to see a Calzaghe-Kessler showdown in 2007 but I wonder if their respective promoters, Frank Warren and Mogens Palle can actually come together on a deal. I also wonder if the two major American networks would consider this just a ‘European fight’ and not have much interest.
– Did anyone see that footbrawl between Miami and FIU on Saturday night? That was the best fight at the Orange Bowl since Pryor-Arguello I.
FINAL FLURRIES
I hear the newest bout being discussed by Golden Boy for their November 25th Boxing After Dark date is Junior Witter defending his WBC jr. welterweight title against Demetrius Hopkins…… Was it ‘Groundhog Day’ or was Steven Luevano on Telefutura once again?…..I’ve been told that Jorge Arce’s next appearance on HBO will be on January 20th…..Just my opinion, but ‘The Nine’ on ABC is one of the best new shows of the year……
