There is a good chance that Juan Manuel Marquez will celebrate a victory over Cuban Joel Casamayor on Sept. 13, but a real celebration of Mexican Independence will have to wait until — or perhaps if — Marquez gets another shot at Manny Pacquiao.
Mexico’s great boxing tradition has been subjected to Pacquiao’s dominance for at least 3? years, or since Erik Morales beat the Filipino on March 19, 2005.
Since then, Morales fell to Pacquiao twice in rematches. Marco Antonio Barrera lost a decision, also in rematch. And don’t forget Oscar Larios and Jorge Solis and Hector Velazquez.
Since the loss to Morales an empire or two ago, Pacquiao has gone 7-0 against Mexican fighters. Then he beat David Diaz, a Mexican-American, in a convincing victory that further allowed him to show that his abilities can’t be confined by usual borders.
Otherwise, Pacquiao wouldn’t be fighting Oscar De La Hoya on Dec. 6 at a much heavier weight instead of Englishmen Ricky Hatton at 140 pounds or Marquez in a second rematch, this time at 135.
De La Hoya, also a Mexican-American, talks about restoring Mexican pride. As the bigger fighter, maybe he will when he tangles with the quicker and more dangerous Pacquiao in a fight that will be off the scale, physically and perhaps financially.
But the guess is that fans would prefer to see that restoration carried out by a fighter who wears only Mexico’s tricolor instead of the two flags, Mexican and American, that often adorn the trunks and robe worn by De La Hoya, who won an Olympic gold medal for the U.S.
Marquez has a better chance at pulling that off than anybody in the current Mexican generation. If trainer Freddie Roach is right in his assessment of De La Hoya as a fighter long past his prime, Marquez might have a better chance than anybody on either side of the border.
But that might be the very reason Marquez never gets the opportunity. If, as expected, Pacquiao unlocks the vault in a big-money fight against De La Hoya, there might not be much motivation left in the bank. By now, Pacquiao must look at Marquez and think of that clich? about how styles make fights. Marquez has the style to beat him.
On some unofficial scorecards last March, Marquez did exactly that in his controversial loss by split-decision to Pacquiao in a rematch of their draw in 2004.
“Obviously in the second fight, something strange happened in the decision,” Marquez said in a conference call before his lightweight fight against Casamayor at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, a bout that is a promotional piece in the fiesta that leads up to Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16. “Yeah, I definitely wanted a third fight. I wasn’t happy with that decision.”
For now, however, there is Casamayor, whom Marquez says he won’t overlook. Marquez can’t afford to. For anybody at ringside or in HBO’s pay-per-view audience, it’s fair to wonder whether Casamayor is still as effective as he is experienced, especially after he escaped with a debatable decision last November over Jose Armando Santa Cruz.
The clever Cuban still looms as a threat. His career is defined by an ability to score points and timely resourcefulness, especially over the last few years. Just when it looks as if the end is near, Casamayor knocks out the forecast and makes a fool out of anybody who made it. This time, however, Casamayor’s problem is simply Marquez, who is too proud not to be prepared
“He could be the next Barrera of Mexico,” said Casamayor, who added that “there is no next fight” for him if he loses to Marquez.
But another Barrera isn’t enough to end the reign of Pacquiao, who beat Barrera twice, first by a devastating TKO in 2003 and again by a unanimous decision nearly a year ago.
There is only Marquez, who can only hope for another chance at Mexican independence.
