By Jhonny Gonzalez

Well known Mexican doctor Plutarco Gatica said he ordered Rafael Marquez to withdraw from his scheduled fight with WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez. The fight was set for September 18 in Las Vegas. Marquez injured the thumb on his right hand when it got caught in the door of a vehicle. He tried to work through the pain but it only complicated the injury. Gatica told him to rest for six to eight weeks.

"Rafael had pain and bleeding (in the thumb). He told me that he wanted to fight, but nature is wise and there came a period when the pain was not allowing him to put his hand into the glove," said Gatica to Sal Rodriguez. "Furthermore, in his eagerness to continue training, he opened up the wound on the thumb and began to experience pain in his wrist. I told him that he had to stop and avoid further impact on the hand."

After Terence Crawford Feud, Are Sanctioning Bodies Bad For Boxing?

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Marquez wants to reschedule the fight with Lopez to a date in October or November.

"It's the fight we both want. I think Lopez knows it's not about the money for me or fear, but it's because of my health. If my intention was to simply collect money, then I would have gone forward, but it's not only about that because I want to win," Marquez said.