By Troy Ondrizek

Photo by Chris Cozzone/FightWireImages.com

For years anonymity is where Juan Manuel Marquez dwelled.  A fighter never wants to be in the realm of the unknown, but Marquez can only blame himself for his current popularity residence. Blessed with an abundance of skill and willing to put in the long hours to hone his craft, Marquez has forged himself into a formidable adversary for anyone near the featherweight weight-class. 

Marquez is one of the best counter-punchers in the sport and is intelligent enough to instinctually throw some of the best and most creative combinations to pick an opponent apart.  Juan Manuel doesn’t possess the power that his little brother Rafael carries, but he does have enough pop to make all who have encountered him respect his punching ability.  Almost everything about Marquez spells superstar, but his career choices have been detrimental to his cause and have left him the awkward “third wheel” position out of the best Mexican fighters near his weight; with Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales being the Mexican icons.

Growing up as a fighter on the southern California circuit, Marquez was featured numerous times on “Forum Boxing” shows.  A very technical fighter at first, Marquez was a man no one has ever really desired to face in the ring.  Juan Manuel’s first shot at glory came against Freddie Norward. He put in a lackluster effort and garnered his second career loss, the first since his debut. Marquez didn’t show any of the tenacity against Norwood that had led him to the top and fans were turned off by Marquez’ performance. After toiling in the minor leagues against modest opposition Marquez broke free from the chains of being unrecognizable to boxing insiders with a stoppage victory over highly regarded Robbie Peden. 

Soon Marquez found himself in the ring with Manuel Medina and he took Medina’s featherweight title with little trouble.  After a boring unification track-meet, I mean bout with Derrick Gainer, Marquez found his chance for the primetime. 

A date with devastating puncher Manny Pacquiao is not something many fighters look forward to, but Marquez knew this was his chance to break out and become a household name. Well, Pacquiao beat the living hell out of Marquez in the first round and made him appear like an overwhelmed journeyman as he put him down three times. 

It appeared like the end was near, but for the next eleven rounds Juan Manuel put on a pugilistic clinic. Marquez was able to hold off the Filipino bomber by outboxing him, and many felt he did enough to pull out a victory. Neither was able to pull off a "W" at the end of the night. A draw was announced, but a draw was a very respectable result for Marquez, especially after being floored three times in the first round. 

Following the Pacquiao bout, Marquez was on the cusp of being known as a great fighter and close to knowing the pride one feels when their whole country adores them.

Instead of embracing the opportunity, Juan Manuel threw it away like it was a piece of garbage. Marquez pulled out of a much anticipated rematch with Pacquiao and ultimately took a fight with little-known Chris John for even less money than I actually make. So Marquez travels to the uncharted boxing land of Indonesia and gave a B-level performance against a hometown boy for a major world title. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anybody that Marquez lost a disputed decision that night.

Marquez was left wondering if he would ever find his way back to glory.  People everywhere questioned why Marquez went to Indonesia and why he fought John instead of Pacquiao and quite frankly I still can’t figure out that reasoning, but Marquez has decided to change the public perception by results he produces in the ring.

Luckily for the man known as “Dinamita,” the Showtime network came to the rescue.  In a two bout televised card featuring Juan Manuel and his little brother Rafael, both men delivered exciting bouts, but it was Juan Manuel who showed all of the tools that made him such an avoided fighter.  Matched against the always tough Terdsak Jandaeng, (you can’t beat that name), he almost took him out early by landing a debilitating uppercut. The game Thai fighter kept coming forward and landing huge left hands to Marquez’s right eye.  With his eye starting to look like it had a case of elephantitis, Marquez kept throwing combos and kept driving Jandaeng back. 

Finally in the seventh round, a beautiful combo punctuated by another grisly uppercut sent Jandaeng tumbling to the mat. The Thai fighter rose by the count of ten and was viciously pummeled by body shots and hooks until referee Jay Nady rescued him.  Marquez’s name was back in the mouths of boxing writers everywhere.

However, Marquez didn’t enter the psyche of the boxing public until he fought the poor man’s version of Manny Pacquiao in the form of Jimrex Jaca.  Jaca proved to be a much underrated opponent. There was no question that he was tougher than many believed him to be. He certainly took punishment as Marquez peppered him with body shots and jabs throughout the contest. 

Jaca was the type of opponent that Marquez was supposed to dispose of early and prove that he belonged once again in the ring with Pacquiao.  Instead Jaca hammered Marquez with his head repeatedly and opened a horrific gash above Marquez’s right eye.  The referee, Laurence Cole, uttered the statement to Marquez that he would eventually live to regret. Cole suggested to Marquez that he give up the fight and let it go to the scorecards because he was well ahead on points. 

As right as he was, Cole had no right advising a fighter of the possible score, and Marquez to his credit showed his warrior mentality that so many thought he lacked by opting to continue. With blood pouring down his face, Marquez fought through the river of red and punished Jaca terribly for what appeared to be deliberate head-butts. 

Mike Tyson responded to Evander Holyfield’s head-butts by biting off the man’s ear.  Jaca bit off more than he could chew when he decided to start head-butting Marquez.  With an ill-tempered left hook, Jaca crashed at the feet of the mighty Marquez and a star had finally shed his light upon the boxing universe. Now Marquez was finally known by the boxing fan.

With his performance against Jaca, Marquez was now a man that everyone talked about in big fights, Pacquiao/Marquez II rumors surfaced again and some felt it would happen. Marco Antonio Barrera went a little farther; he decided to get in the ring with Marquez by signing the contract.  Barrera is the best known Mexican fighter of his era and with his two victories over Erik Morales; Barrera is the best Mexican fighter of the lower weight classes. 

Barrera is the kind of warrior and elite fighter that so many have been waiting for Marquez to face.  Over the past decade, not many fighters can claim the accomplishments that Barrera has been able to achieve and the man isn’t done yet.

For so long many have said that Marquez is just a technical fighter and he doesn’t have the internal fire or firepower to be a main attraction.  Barrera on the other hand has been applauded for his willingness to stand up to a wall and punch until he or the wall would fall down. 

However, recently the roles have reversed and Marquez has showed his guts and blood for fans to see and for opponents to fear. At the same time, Barrera has shown his magnificent ability to box and change the speed of the game with his pugilistic prowess and the ability to avoid a war when need be. Barrera is Marquez’s chance to not only be a star, but to become an icon.  It’s not that Marquez boxes to only achieve stardom, but it is the one facet of the game that has eluded him. 

Marquez can box, punch, move, and slug it out and Marco Antonio Barrera has shown the same attributes as well.  Both men deserve this fight, but will Marquez take advantage of the opportunity laid before him, or will he squander it all like Tim Couch and go back to the comfortable life of anonymity?