By Jake Donovan
Welterweight prospect Roberto Marroquin picked up his second straight win with a unanimous decision over Carlos Valcarcel on Saturday evening at WinStar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
Scores were 100-90 across the board in their Fox Deportes-televised main event.
High expectations surrounded Marroquin’s career heading into 2011, but the Dallas native suffered a major setback with a surprising split decision loss to Francisco Leal earlier this summer.
Anxious to prove that one loss doesn’t kill a career, Marroquin has regrouped and is now fighting far more purposeful than in recent bouts. This didn’t bode well at all for Valcarcel, who essentially served as a punching bag for most of their 10-round bout.
The pattern was the same throughout the contest. Valcarcel would bulrush in, hoping to get inside of his opponent’s head. The plan would always fall way short, with Marroquin catching him coming in and repeatedly scoring with power shots.
Rinse and repeat over ten rounds, though the rabid crowd on hand didn’t seem to mind as Marroquin has quickly become something of a house fighter, albeit in a venue that served as host for the lone loss of his career to date.
Valcarcel was game throughout, but found himself in a world of trouble in a sixth round that saw Marroquin go for broke. A series of head shots had the Puerto Rican in trouble, but he managed to survive the round and return to his strengths soon thereafter.
Marroquin never stopped gunning for the knockout, but managed to mix up his attack during different stages in the fight. Earlier round flurries gave way to a more concentrated body attack in the second half of the contest, mixing in a jab and lateral movement for good measure.
Sensing his fans wanted more, Marroquin stepped on the gas down the stretch. An exchange along the ropes was dominated by Marroquin as the fight came to a close and with the crowd cheering wildly over their homeboy’s latest successful venture.
Marroquin improves to 21-2 (14KO) with his second straight win to end 2011 on a high note. Valcarcel heads home to Miami with his second straight loss as he falls to 14-4-4 (5KO).
UNDERCARD
Jose Roman remained unbeaten after cruising to a unanimous decision over Alejandro Rodriguez in their televised co-feature. Scores were 79-74 (twice) and 79-73 for Roman, who advances to 13-0 (10KO). Rodriguez dips to 13-5 (7KO).
In the televised opener, rotund Mexican heavyweight Andy Ruiz Jr. cruised to a shutout victory over sub .500 journeyman Theron Johnson (5-7, 1KO). Scores were 60-53 across the board for Ruiz, who advances to 13-0 (8KO).
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com
