There had been some remaining debate as to whether Juan Manuel Marquez was worthy of a Hall-of-Fame nomination, because in the eyes of some observers, while fellow Mexicans like Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales had defining moments that made them Hall-worthy, Marquez, the master counterpuncher from Mexico City, lacked those certain intangibles in his career. Yes, he may have been a gifted and talented technician, but his career didn’t have that special something.
But in light of winning the linear version of the lightweight title this past weekend by stopping Joel Casamayor in 11 rounds, to paraphrase Dennis Green: He is who we thought he was!!! Crown him!!! (and pound the podium, really, really hard, with emphasis).
No, defeating a 37-year old Casamayor, who had shown signs of corrosion in recent outings, shouldn’t be considered a monumental feat until you factor in that Marquez himself is 35-years old and he became the first and only boxer to ever halt the tough Cuban within the distance. What was a strategic affair in the first half of this matchup at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas became a surprisingly entertaining one in the late innings as Casamayor gamely hung in there with a series of counter lefts, despite a cut over his right eye and a bloodied nose.
While Marquez’s reflexes may have dulled just a tad, he’s still as sharp as a Ginsu knife. As he settled into the middle rounds, it was his hand speed and quickness that had him beating Casamayor to the punch consistently. In what was a hook-up of two master craftsmen, it was Marquez’s skill that carried the fight versus Casamayor’s guile, which kept him in the fight. But as a counter right cross sent Casamayor to the canvas and a furious flurry sent him down once again for good, Marquez had done the impossible – he had beat Casamayor to a point where he would have no complaints about the decision.
It was clear and emphatic.
As are his credentials for Canastota. Book his flight, get his hotel reservation and get his fist encased in cement. In fact, you can now even make an argument that the scope of his career now surpasses that of Barrera and Morales. Blasphemy, you say?
Well, as of now, he’s the last Mexican Musketeer standing, and while he might not be at his absolute prime, he still looks like a fighting vehicle with a pretty good amount of fuel left in the tank. In fact, because he has slowed down a bit in the later stages of his career, he is now making for more entertaining and exciting fights these days. In the past it seemed as though he had problems gaining the full loyalty of his people because his style seemed downright un-Mexican to some. But one should never mistake his technical precision for a lack of passion.
But back to the comparisons with Barrera and Morales – who admittedly will always be bigger icons than Marquez. The fact of the matter is that it was always their respective managements who kept them far away from Marquez for years, until Golden Boy Promotions finally matched up Barrera and Marquez last year. All three have captured titles in three weight classes and have a cadre of big victories on their ledger. Then there was that historic blood feud between Barrera and Morales that defined their eras and had Marquez on the outside looking in. But on his side is the fact that unlike those two, if there was someone who fought on even terms against Manny Pacquiao, it was Marquez, who despite hitting the turf four times when facing ‘the Pac Man’, was never stopped, and won the majority of the 24 rounds they fought.
Unlike the other two, it just seemed like Marquez would be on the fringes, destined to always be in the shadows of more flawed – but more exciting fighters – who were groomed and marketed for stardom from the onset of their careers. Perhaps it was an omen that his pro debut in May of 1993 ended up in a first round DQ loss to some hombre named Javier Duran in Mexico City. Morales was the apple of Top Rank’s eye and Marquez was relegated to second (or even third) banana status under the Forum Boxing banner underneath Barrera in the 90’s. Then as he was taken to Top Rank, he was second string behind ‘El Terrible’. And unfortunately, working against him at times was his own management, led by Nacho Beristain, whose brilliance in the corner as a trainer is only surpassed by his paranoia and short-sightedness as a manager.
But talents like this simply can’t be held down forever. I remember watching him in one of the first fights I ever covered as a member of the media on April 29, 1996 at the Anaheim Pond. On a night where he was the supporting semi-main on a card that actually featured Nestor Garza (whom Forum Boxing believed could be their next Barrera), this relatively unknown and anonymous boxer would put on a clinic on counterpunching and timing in stopping Julio Gervacio in eight. Even a novice reporter like me could tell this guy was going places. I never figured it would take as long as it did.
It would be six long years before he won his first belt, but long before that, people in boxing circles knew about this talented prodigy. Prince Naseem Hamed and the WBO knew enough to consciously avoid him, lest he gore their cash cow (something Barrera did in exposing Hamed in 2001). Then there was the controversial decision loss to Freddie Norwood in 1999 that had some naysayers dismissing him as a ‘west coast creation’.
But here we are in 2008 and he is still considered among the very elite pound-for-pound fighters in the world. His record stands at 49-4-1 with 36 knockouts, and you can make a strong argument against all the blemishes on his record (Norwood, Pacquiao and Chris John). In his last four bouts, he has faced the likes of Casamayor, Pacquiao, Rocky Juarez and Barrera, and fought at an extremely high level. What’s just as impressive as his performances against the game?s blue-chippers is how he has handled a succession of good fighters like Orlando Salido, Derrick Gainer, Manuel Medina, Robbie Peden, Victor Polo, Terdsak Jandaeng and Agapito Sanchez with relative ease throughout his career.
He’s a master of the trade.
Always has been.
It’s just now that everyone has realized what some have known all along.
BELLS AND WHISTLES
I love what Golden Boy did this past Saturday night with their fight intros by taking a page out of the UFC/MMA book and lowering the lights, spotlighting the fighters and really putting an effort into it. They actually spent some money in trying to give the audience a show, which is something that most boxing promotions are very poor at doing.
Let’s hope this is a trend that continues, at least with Golden Boy shows.
WEIGHT ISSUES
The decision to not fight was absolutely the correct one made by Joan Guzman and his team. The reality is that it would’ve been a huge risk to let a fighter who was suffering from dehydration and other issues to step into the ring against Nate Campbell this past weekend. No disagreement there.
However, just where were the supposed adults to monitor their fighter when he’s blowing up in weight (I heard above 180-pounds) during the months after his last bout versus Humberto Soto last November? It’s not as if they were just given notification of the Cambpell bout last month. In fact, they had all the indications from the WBO long ago that they would be made the mandatory challenger. Maybe, just maybe, knowing the habits of their fighter, they should’ve done a better job of making sure their fighter wasn’t eating like Kobayashi. Or maybe keeping him active in the interim, regardless of what happened with the aborted fight with Alex Arthur.
This may sound old-fashioned, but I’m of the belief that part of the job requirement of being a professional fighter is actually being professional, which means taking care of yourself and your body within reason, 365 days out of the year.
Perhaps they would’ve been better served having their fighter running on the pavement in the early mornings, instead of just running their mouths for months in Campbell’s direction. In the end, while Campbell is penalized for this un-professional behavior, it will be Guzman and his representatives that are now persona non grata with the networks and venues.
FORREST FIRE
Vernon Forrest was absolutely correct. What took place in June was an aberration and he was clearly the better boxer compared to Sergio Mora. His fundamental grounding and technical skills allowed him to neutralize ‘the Latin Snake’ from the very onset of their return bout. This was the performance and outcome most pundits were expecting the first time around.
But what Forrest really proved is – especially to people who have never been around fighters or a real gym – is that overtraining and staleness are absolutely legitimate concerns to boxers and their trainers and not always just flimsy excuses made by fighters who don’t perform that well on particular nights. The concern with Forrest was his advanced age, but he showed he wasn’t just making empty alibis.
FINAL FLURRIES
It’s pretty clear to me that Julio ‘Baby Face’ Garcia, who lost to veteran Danny Perez, is a frontrunner. If he can’t pound you out of there early, he’ll just pack it in….I know many of you will email me and tell me how you?re big fans of Marquez, but trust me, all of you pale in comparison to our boys Daryl and Kirk. Those guys are honorary Mexicans because of their devotion to the Marquez brothers….Daryll Clark of Penn State is having a Michael Robinson-like year at QB for the Nittany Lions….I thought Tim Bradley put on a good, solid workmanlike effort in defending his WBC jr. welterweight title against Edner Cherry….How ’bout a Marquez-Juan Diaz fight for early 2009?…Is anyone going to beat USC this season? Maybe just USC themselves….I think Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. is a decent looking prospect….How bout Mizzou signal caller Chase Daniel as the Heisman winner?….For those of you who don’t know what I’m referencing when it comes to Dennis Green, youtube his name and you’ll see one of the great diatribes/meltdowns in sports history by a coach….Speaking of coaches, Mike Shanahan, you got, uhhh, for the lack of a better word, guts…..
