Marquez Targets Sturm, Abraham After Win
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Former IBF junior middleweight champion Raul Marquez won his fifth consecutive fight, stopping Jay Pina in the second round Wednesday night.
Marquez, of Houston, overwhelmed Pina with a flurry of unanswered combinations near the ropes in the second round of the super middleweight bout. Pina was defenseless and unable to counter any of Marquez's shots when referee Frank Santore stopped the bout at 1:02 of the round.
Earlier in the round, Marquez (40-3, 29 KOs) pinned Pina into a corner and unloaded a flurry of lead rights and follow-up lefts to Pina's head. Marquez mixed in occasional left hooks to the body.
When Pina (16-3-1) finally escaped the corner, Marquez stalked him to the ropes and continued his relentless pace of power punching.
"I was slower in the first round, but I gradually picked up the pace," Marquez said. "It's an important victory because it keeps me in line for the big fight I am looking for."
His targets include IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, and Felix Sturm, the WBA title holder.
Marquez, 35, won the IBF 154-pound title with a ninth-round knockout over Anthony Stephens in April 1997. After two successful defenses, Marquez lost the belt to title Ramon "Yory Boy" Campas in December of that year.
A member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, Marquez took a two-year break after being stopped by current WBC and WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor in 2004. He has stopped all five of his opponents since resuming his career.
Marquez and Pina both weighed 163 pounds for the bout.
Former undisputed cruiserweight champion ONeil Bell also was scheduled to fight on Wednesday but was dropped from the card when officials with the show's promoter, Warriors Boxing, were unable to locate him the past two weeks.