By Mark Vester
Juan Manuel Marquez moves up to the lightweight division on September 13 to challenge Joel Casamayor at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. With wins over Diego Corrales, Nate Campbell and Michael Katsidis, many regard Casamayor, who is beltless, as the champion at 135. Marquez moves up to follow Manny Pacquiao, who moved up in June to capture the WBC title from David Diaz.
Marquez gives Casamayor the edge in size at the weight, but he doesn't think the difference is as big as many make it out to be.
"Although I Casamayor the advantage in weight, it's not going to be a lot. At super feathweight I felt good, I was the world chgampion, but now that I am training for the lightweight division, I feel very strong," Marquez told ESTO. "I'll probably rise in weight to 133 to 134-pounds. I'm going to have a lot of velocity and based on that I expect to dethrone the Cuban."
Marquez feels that Casamayor has much faster hands than many people realize, so he's taking extra precautions during training camp to prepare himself for Casamayor's speed and elusive style. Marquez is sparring five to six-rounds on most camp days.
"I am working to conquer [his style]. He is fast, so I have to be as fast as he is, and to always anticipate the exchange of punches," Marquez said. "I like the challenge. I have a lot of dreams about winning my third world title in a third weight division. The public is going to see a good performance on my part."
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