By David P. Greisman
Photo © Chris Cozzone/FightWireImages.com
For a fighter whose nickname is “Dinamita,” it took Juan Manuel Marquez a surprising 13 years for the featherweight titlist to finally explode onto the scene.
Unlike younger brother Rafael – who has sustained his bantamweight reign by blasting opponents away – Juan Manuel was best known as a skilled boxer whose exceptional counterpunching was unfortunately counterproductive to career advancement.
Not that it was necessarily his fault. Prior to 2004, Marquez held stoppage victories over Robbie Peden, Manuel Medina and Marcos Licona, as well as a decision win over the late Agapito Sanchez. The only blemish on his ledger was a controversial loss to Freddie Norwood in 1999, but Marquez was marked more by monotony, his inability to make an exciting fight. Even an anticipated unification bout with Derrick Gainer failed to fulfill expectations when Gainer decided to retreat his way to a technical decision loss.
If Marquez was unable to make a name for himself partially due to his static style, then he was also hampered by the toe-to-toe tactics of Mexican compatriots Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, two of many who gained stardom and then refused the high-risk low-reward scenario of challenging Marquez.
And then came the Manny Pacquiao fight.
Hot off of his Nov. 2003 demolition of Barrera, Pacquiao went straight at another top featherweight, flooring Marquez thrice in the first round and opening up a downpour of blood from his nose. But Marquez adjusted, using subtle head movements to dodge Pacquiao’s left hand and countering with right hooks and uppercuts. A potential one-sided loss became a two-person battle and 2004’s probable fight of the year until Barrera and Morales completed their trilogy.
And when the judges’ verdict came in as a controversial draw, it paved the way for a highly anticipated rematch. Yet Marquez’ team felt that the contract offer underestimated Marquez’ value, and thus while Pacquiao moved on toward a trilogy with Morales, Marquez was defending against the Victor Polos and Chris Johns of the world.
It may have done Marquez well.
In traveling to Indonesia for the insult of a complete robbery at the hands of the judges – an insult compounded by the miniscule $25,000 paycheck – Marquez learned that he must no longer leave his destiny to fate, and that the opponents and opportunities would have to come solely from his own efforts.
Against Terdsak Jandaeng, Marquez was both active and aggressive, leading to a flooring of Jandaeng in the second round but simultaneously opening himself to Jandaeng’s left crosses. But like the nosebleed in the Pacquiao fight, Marquez’ swelling right eye brought out his best. With focus and fire, Marquez braved Jandaeng’s onslaught, mixing boxing with accurate artillery en route to a seventh-round stoppage win.
This weekend – against Jimrex Jaca – it was more of the same.
Jaca – a Filipino southpaw whose ethnicity and strategy of using jabs and left crosses reminded one of a Manny Pacquiao knockoff – was able to overcome his inexperience against Marquez, making the opening rounds much more competitive than had been expected. But the southpaw-versus-orthodox dynamic led to multiple accidental head butts, opening bloody cuts on Marquez’ head and the floodgates for Marquez’ desire to close the show. With the ninth round winding down, Marquez landed a left hook – his money punch – putting Jaca down for the count.
Marquez is like a shark that smells its own crimson, lethal when he is bloodied or bruised, ramping up his energy and the fight’s excitement.
So let Marquez bleed now – but don’t let him rematch Pacquiao yet.
It would have been perfect in early 2005, a year or so after the initial draw. But since then, Pacquiao has grown into a supreme junior lightweight, amazingly gaining power while retaining his speed. Pacquiao’s arsenal has expanded beyond the jab and left cross, and the 130-pound weight class is full of new, tough names to complete a legacy against.
Marquez, meanwhile, has slowed down a step, a factor that makes his recent aggression all the more thrilling. He may be a natural featherweight, but he seems to have little trouble making 126 pounds. Yet there remains the issue of the exodus of stars to the junior lightweight division. It may indeed be best for Marquez to migrate there, to test the waters and see if he has enough speed, power and will left for a final run at the grand finale – a Pacquiao rematch.
Maybe then – and only then – “Dinamita” can go out with a bang.
The 10 Count
1. This week’s The 10 Count starts off by giving thanks to Floyd Mayweather, who gave away 500 Thanksgiving dinners to families in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan; to Daniel Ponce De Leon, Abner Mares and everyone else with Golden Boy Promotions who gave away 1,000 Thanksgiving dinners to families in East Los Angeles; and to anyone and everyone else who gave their time and money for helping the less fortunate.
2. One day after millions of Americans expanded their waists through Thanksgiving dinners and hours spent sedentarily watching football, Miguel Cotto and Carlos Quintana stepped on the scales at the seven-day interval weigh-in for this Saturday’s welterweight title fight.
According to Fightnews, Cotto checked in at 150 pounds, giving him seven days to lose three pounds, while Quintana came in at 152.75 pounds, meaning he must lose 5.75 pounds by Friday’s pre-fight weigh-in. Cotto has lost 13 pounds in the 23 days since the 30-day weigh-in, while Quintana dropped 6.25.
The weigh-in was supervised by the Puerto Rico Professional Boxing Commission, which forwarded the results to the World Boxing Association and the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Though Cotto-Quintana is being held in Atlantic City, New Jersey’s interval weigh-in requirement will not go into effect until 2007.
3. After a November in which there were three pay-per-views, boxing fans will be spoiled on Saturday when four fights are aired for the premium cable version of free. On Showtime, Cotto-Quintana will have a co-feature of Antonio Margarito’s welterweight title defense against Joshua Clottey. Meanwhile on HBO, Winky Wright and Ike Quartey will do their best to show that men known for their jabs can put on a good fight, and the undercard has Jeff Lacy facing Vitali Tsypko in Lacy’s first appearance since March’s lopsided loss to Joe Calzaghe.
4. In a heavyweight division where power has made beltholders out of Shannon Briggs and Oleg Maskaev when most logic predicted otherwise, Corrie Sanders has taken the first step toward contention by knocking out designated opponent Colin Wilson.
Sanders briefly flirted with fame by stopping Wladimir Klitschko in 2003 before playing punching bag to Vitali Klitschko one year later. But at 40, he is either unable to shake the boxing bug after two years that were probably spent golfing, or he is hoping that intrigue and his heavy hands will lead to a title shot in a division desperate for unification.
I’d rather see Sanders compete in Superfighter, should that tournament ever finally come off.
5. From the return of a man who kayoed Klitschko to the comeback by a guy who Klitschko knocked out of boxing, Axel Schulz packed a German arena for his first bout since being stopped by Klitschko in 1999.
Brian Minto, however, was unwilling to play patsy for the former heavyweight contender.
Minto marked up Schulz’ face early and floored him in the fourth round. As the fight reached its halfway point, it became clear that Minto had taken over and Schulz was doing little but remaining upright. Midway through the sixth round, Schulz turned his back from a Minto onslaught, causing the referee to call a halt to the bout.
Following the fight, Schulz expressed his disappointment and announced that he would once again retire and that there would not be another return.
6. “Duva Drama, Minto Mess,” part three: As noted two months ago, Duva Boxing – Minto’s promoter – was upset by Minto’s mentions of his supposed upcoming free agency in multiple press releases, asserting that their contractual rights were not about to expire. The drama took another turn when Minto signed to fight Schulz, displeasing Dino Duva to the point that Duva mentioned the possibility of legal action.
Last week, Duva issued a press release threatening “major legal ramifications to all parties involved in Germany and the U.S., including Schulz’ promoters, the German Boxing Commission and German television network RTL” unless a settlement was reached. Yet Minto-Schulz went forward, and the possible consequences include a prolonged legal battle that either will allow Duva Boxing to receive compensation and remain Minto’s promoter or will give Minto his desired liberty.
7. Dino Duva and Brian Minto were neither the only boxing personalities to become entangled in legal action last week, nor were they the most noteworthy.
In a fight for the right to promote Manny Pacquiao, Golden Boy Promotions filed a lawsuit last week against Top Rank, alleging that Bob Arum’s company interfered with the contract Pacquiao signed with Golden Boy in September.
Arum, meanwhile, told reporter Greg Leon that Top Rank filed a lawsuit against Golden Boy, asking a judge to make a declaratory judgment about which company’s Pacquiao contract is valid. And as Arum told scribe Steve Kim, Top Rank’s argument is that their contract with Pacquiao for the Morales rubber match “prevented [Pacquiao] from signing a contract with another promoter during the pendency of the promotion.”
While years of tension between Golden Boy and Top Rank have finally come to a head through last week’s litigation, there is little doubt that each company would prefer to be dedicating attention toward celebrating Pacquiao’s recent demolition of Erik Morales and planning the Filipino Firebomber’s next prodigious performance.
8. One fighter who Golden Boy will not yet be promoting, however, is Diego Corrales, who remains under contract with Gary Shaw Productions.
After last month’s announcement that Corrales had joined the rapidly expanding Golden Boy stable of superstars, Shaw sent letters to Corrales, Golden Boy, Showtime and HBO asserting that Corrales was under contract for at least one more fight, according to an article by Kevin Iole in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Iole’s article also noted Shaw’s claim that the Corrales contract includes a clause giving Shaw “exclusive negotiating rights until Jan. 31 and grants [Shaw] the right of last refusal after that.”
Once Shaw finally sent Golden Boy a copy of the Corrales contract, Golden Boy acknowledged Shaw’s promotional rights. Shaw, though, told Steve Kim and Greg Leon that he was nevertheless still considering litigation against Golden Boy.
Shaw may be looking to get what he can from a fighter whom he had previously given so much for and to, as he must also see the proverbial writing on the wall. For despite Shaw’s having exclusive negotiating rights for some time and then the right of a last refusal, Corrales clearly wants to go elsewhere. Unless Shaw and Corrales can mend fences, Shaw should make whatever money he can from Corrales and then direct his energy toward promoting those in his stable who prefer to work with him instead of against.
9. In announcing his supposed return from a short-lived retirement, Bernard Hopkins may have unintentionally revoked his rights as an athlete to speak of himself in the third-person.
“Still got the fire, still got the legs,” Hopkins told Jose Reyes of Fightnews. “I’m out of retirement, this is the first announcement. Bernard Hopkins is out of retirement. Bernard Hopkins is going to fight until he can’t fight no more. Bernard Hopkins has a good three to four years of boxing to give the world what they need.
“Boxing right now needs Bernard Hopkins. Boxing needs the personality of Bernard Hopkins. Boxing don’t need me per se as an athlete, but they need my personality. No one in the world needs does an interview like Bernard Hopkins. No one holds it down like Bernard Hopkins. Love me or hate me. You will get a sound byte whether you agree or disagree with me, and at the end of the day when you sit ringside, you know Bernard Hopkins will give a ‘Bernard Hopkins performance.’ ”
10. Rest in peace, Willie Pep. May your legacy remain as you were in that storied third round against Jackie Graves in 1946: untouchable.
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