Juan Manuel Marquez Soars in His Lightweight Debut

By Cliff Rold

The skeptics were wrong.

After weeks of pre-fight worry about how the styles might not match up, two old masters showed they measured just fine against each other, providing fans a clinical balance of technique and violence from start to finish.  In the end, the precision of Mexico’s 35-year old Juan Manuel Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KO) proved too much for lineal World Lightweight champion Joel Casamayor (36-4-1, 22 KO) of Cuba as Marquez scored an eleventh round knockout to capture the crown just three days shy of Mexican Independence Day at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.  It was Casamayor’s first loss inside the distance.  Marquez adds the Lightweight crown to sanctioning body titles at 126 and 130 lbs.

Both men weighed in spot on the Lightweight limit of 135 lbs. 

The schooled excellence of both men was exhibited right away.  An immediate rapid exchange ended with a sharp right from Marquez which forced a step back from the larger looking Casamayor.  A trade of lefts hands from each was followed by a blocked Marquez right hand near the midway point and another pair of swapped lefts.  In the final minute, each man took turns on offense, Casamayor landing several lefts hands and Marquez a right and left hook to close a fairly even opening round.

The southpaw champion, a 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist, landed two brisk counter lefts in the first minute of the second, Marquez responding with a hard right to the body.  A just missed-left by Marquez was countered with yet another counter left from Casamayor as the older man displayed superior speed in the early going.  An uppercut and right hand landed for Marquez before Casamayor shot the left again.  With thirty seconds to go, a lead Marquez right dashed to the forehead of Casamayor and the two ended the round in a clinch, no advantage seized yet on either side.

A left to the body opened the third for Marquez before action heated up a bit thirty seconds in.  An arching left landed for Casamayor but the champion made the mistake of admiring his work and ate a left-right which rocked him and brought a clinch.  The pace was measured from there until the waning seconds as Marquez landed a right hand only to be pulled in close and cracked with a left uppercut to the body that brought a grimace to his face.

Round four saw heavier trading as both men landed raking power shots.  Marquez began well but by the final bell it was Casamayor who could claim his best round of the night to then.  Making small defensive moves backwards and with his gloves, he defended well against the right while landing a number of flush left hands.  The question coming into the fight had been who would lead; the answer in the fourth was Casamayor comfortably coming forward throughout the round.

He kept coming forward in the fifth, walking into a hard right hand from Marquez early in the second minute.  A combination finished with a long right drove Casamayor into the ropes late in the round and another right clipped him near the ropes, advantage swung back to the Mexican.  In between rounds, a cut over the right eye of Casamayor, picked up earlier in the bout, could be seen worsening, his corner telling him Marquez was ‘ready to go’ in perhaps a move to get his offense cranked up in case of the worst.

Casamayor did not fight as if the cut was bothering him, but the Marquez right hand had to be, landing with increasing regularity.  Casamayor did not abandon his strategy even as the punishment increased, jabbing more with the right and continuing to find holes for his counter left, but Marquez appeared to land more and cleaner.

By the seventh, Marquez was settling into a surgeon’s rhythm.  The right hand continued to slice and short hooks and uppercuts on the inside were adding to the snowball overtaking Casamayor.  Surprisingly, the veteran slickster was being reduced to a one-handed fighter as the bouts second half got underway and his early speed advantage was subsumed by the affects of Marquez’s offense.

 The one hand served him well in the eighth as Casamayor remembered his defense and returned to allowing Marquez to create his openings for him.  Marquez remained active with the right, but landed less often than had been the case in the previous couple rounds.  Conversely, Casamayor’s left snaked in with damaging affect multiple times. 

A lead left from Marquez kicked off the scoring in the ninth round, but as time played out it became almost impossible to distinguish between the two tacticians as each would land a near even amount of blows at distance, walking each other into counters while not visibly hurting with any single blows.

After more tense action to start the tenth, each man would land a single dazzling power shot at the midway point.  A left from Casamayor echoed among silent crowd partisans but a returned echoing right was drowned by the roar of the crowd.  Marquez would turn it up from there, jabbing hard and popping the right to put the round clearly in his favor.

Favor stayed with Marquez in the eleventh round.

The champion came out to assert himself with six minutes to go and was carrying himself well.  The left hand was landing and the chance of a narrowing scorecard appeared imminent.  Then he missed the wrong left hand.  Countered perfectly with a Marquez right, Casamayor rocketed backwards at center ring, his gloves catching him before the flat of his back could touch down.  Blood dripping from his right eye into the full beard he sported into the ring, Casamayor was in serious trouble.  He rose, hoping to ride out the final twenty seconds or so he’d need to catch a seat and rest up for one more round.  Marquez would give him no such reprieve, launching into a combination of blows finished by a final short right hand to the point of the chin, forcing the old Cuban to the floor.  Without finishing the count, the referee stepped over to stop the action.  The official time was 2:55 of round eleven.

The new Lightweight champion showed respect for the now former’s attempt to rise after the first knockdown.  “It didn’t surprise me.  I knew he was a great fighter and we knew this would be a tough fight to the end.”  Ever classy, Marquez called for a third fight with WBC Lightweight titlist Manny Pacquiao.  The two have battled memorably at featherweight and Jr. Lightweight to a draw and narrow decision win for Pacquiao and a third bout would be welcome by many Boxing fans. 

It will, though, wait for now as Pacquiao must first finish his scheduled December business with Marquez’s promoter, one Oscar De la Hoya, in a risky trip up to the 147 lb. Welterweight division after winning his first title at Flyweight, or 112 lbs.

Getting no younger, Casamayor will have tough decisions to make about the furtherance of his career but can know that, with a win in March over then-undefeated Michael Katsidis and the game loss tonight, he has been more than redeemed after a single fight 2007 campaign embroiled in controversy.  Casamayor defended against Jose Armando Santa Cruz last November and was awarded one of recent Boxing history’s most controversial victories.  It was not a night befitting a champion.  These last two have been, perhaps the final compliments to a memorable career that also included titles at 130 lbs.

The undercard was also kind to another of Boxing’s elder statesman.

The winner of the first season of “The Contender,” 27-year old Sergio Mora (21-1-1, 5 KO), 154, of Los Angeles, California, hadn’t really panned out in the years since that 2005 achievement…at least not until June of this year when he scored a major upset over 37-year old Vernon Forrest (41-3, 29 KO), 154, of Atlanta, Georgia to capture the WBC Jr. Middleweight belt.  In the build to their quickly made second bout, Forrest claimed it would be different, that he would be better and Mora would not have the extra gear to keep up.  While Mora proved guts and chin on Saturday night, Forrest was otherwise proved right over twelve one-sided rounds.

Their first bout was no barnburner and the action in the first gave little reason to expect one in chapter two.  Each man relied heavily on the jab in a cautious frame, Forrest landing a solid left upstairs and Mora his own to the body.  In the second, the fight became more of a chase as Mora attempted to make the older man use his legs while also staying away from Forrest’s greater power.  As the second wound down, Forrest’s aggression appeared to be taking control of the fight as Mora was willing to wait for single counter openings.

The methodical pace continued in the third and fourth with action generated early in the third by a clash of heads which wobbled Forrest.  Both men landed heavily to the body in the following round but the former 1992 Olympian and Welterweight champion from Atlanta was clearly not the sluggish but aging warrior he’d been in June, snapping both the jab and right hand to amass a solid lead complimented by a light cut over the left eye of Mora.

In the fifth, Forrest started to truly assert his experience and greater physical threats.  Mora started the round more aggressive, going downstairs in combination, but Forrest refused to let off the right hand.  In the closing seconds, a timed right hand caught Mora coming in and buckled him momentarily.  The bell closed the round before Forrest could truly test his man.

Halfway through the sixth, another right pasted Mora’s temple and another to the body sent him to the ropes.  A wicked left hook pinned Mora down and the pressure stayed on him.  Forrest patiently kept his hands moving, touching Mora constantly without wasting energy.  At the thirty second mark, a left hook sent sweat flying and Forrest followed with a short right.  Mora, showing no quit, fired a combination to the body.

It was the second half of their first encounter where Mora found his footing and took over.  The memory might have served as fuel as Forrest lost nary a second of round seven.  Mora, again beginning the round with aggression, found himself on the defensive as Forrest’s jab and right hand again controlled Mora for most three minutes.  With seconds to go, it would be the left hand adding punctuation, a short counter hook sending Mora stumbling towards the ropes and ruled a knockdown.  Mora took the standing eight and ate only one punch more before heading to his corner.

Mora would land a solid right upstairs and a double left to the belly with his back to the ropes in the first minute of the eighth before taking another short Forrest left.  As the round wore on, Mora’s activity was working him back into the fray and Forrest was slowing down, arguably giving the round to the reigning titlist.

Round nine saw Mora maintain his momentum early, a big overhand right landing early and followed with solid combinations.  Forrest turned the bout again with a raucous right, driving Mora to the ropes if not entirely to the floor.  Mora collected himself and willfully traded down the stretch in a difficult round to score.

With portions of the crowd chanting his name in the tenth, Mora continued his attempts to work back into contention on the cards.  Following the pattern of the bout, Mora started strong, a lead right hand connecting flush but late found his back to the ropes alternating between eating and slipping right hands.

A right hand from Forrest in the first minute of the eleventh, and a left hook in the second minute, both caused Mora pause but Mora stepped forward after each and kept his hands moving throughout.  A short left hook from Mora left Forrest covering up in the final minute but a case could be made for Mora even as the harder shots were landed by the veteran.

Forrest and Mora fought on even terms for large parts of the final frame, but Forrest continued to rake his man with echoing power shots.  A loud left hook in the final twenty seconds perhaps told the story of the fight, Forrest’s firepower and better conditioning just too much better in the rematch.  Scorecards of 118-109, 117-110, 119-108 confirmed the obvious, returning the WBC belt to Forrest after allowing the hardware a summer vacation around the waist of Mora.

“That’s the difference between a champion and a contender.”  Forrest stated, jabbing at the reality show roots of his foe.  There were no declarations about what the future might hold.  “The only thing I want to do is go back to Atlanta and rest,” he said with a well-earned smile. 

In a featured undercard slot, the possible future of the Jr. Welterweight division showed his wares, delivering a five round beating en route to a devastating win.  Rising contender Victor Ortiz (22-1-1, 17 KO), 140, destroyed 32-year old Roberto Arrieta (30-14-4, 13 KO) of Argentina and can now look up a ladder topped by the riches available through World Champion Ricky Hatton.

After a consistent offensive assault in the first, it took only seconds into the second round for the vaunted power of Ortiz to be displayed.  A sweltering southpaw left hand dropped Arrieta near the ropes and the veteran rose, shaking his head as if to dislodge the cobwebs quickly accumulated.  Following the referee’s standing eight-count, Arrieta weathered a brief attempt from Ortiz but the younger man, recognizing the sturdiness of his foe, returned to a steadier assault.  Just before the ten second warning, another left just missed landing flush and Arrieta survived for another bell.

Ortiz’s dominance remained in the third and a second knockdown awaited the Argentine in the fourth as a blocked punch to his left glove landed with enough force to shuttle him sideways to the floor.  With a minute left in the round, Arrieta’s head was rocked by a vicious right-left combination but the older man would not give and did his best to fight back.  A nasty cut over his right eye streamed blood as he headed back to his corner, electing in that sixty seconds for a fatal fifth round.  With fifty seconds to go, a double right hook landed for Ortiz crashed into Arrieta, folding him towards the floor.  Arrieta rose again but showed little desire to garner more punishment and the referee stopped the fight.  The official time of the stoppage would come at 2:25 of round five.

Ortiz, celebrating a newly won NABO belt, displayed a youthful exuberance throughout his post-fight comments while also showing introspection and maturity beyond his 21-years.  “This…has been described as a sport for the poor and that’s exactly what I am.  I didn’t grow up with money.  I didn’t have any clothes, shoes…I’m just very happy right now.  It’s inexplicable what I’m feeling right now.  I cross my fingers for more of this to come.”

Boxing lovers can cross their fingers for larger stages, successes, and greater media access for the entertaining and personable Jr. Welterweight from Southern California.  Ortiz is the sort of fresh face who could create new fans for a sport that needs them.  Ortiz’s lone loss came on a first-round disqualification in 2005; his lone draw came on first round technicality in early 2007.

In the televised opener, 31-year old Super Middleweight Danny Perez (33-5, 17 KO), 159, of San Diego, California made it two wins in a row after ending a three-year layoff.  Over ten rounds, Perez outworked and outfought 21-year old Julio Garcia (41-4, 35 KO), 163.  There were no knockdowns in the bout though Perez, a former Welterweight, remains perhaps most notable for his first bout against current Welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito in 1999 wherein Perez scored a rare knockdown of the iron chinned Mexican.  Perez captured the unanimous decision by scores 97-93, 99-91 and a perfect 100-90.

The bout was televised and promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in concert with HBO pay-per-view.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com