Marquez - Valero

[Castillofan]

Jaca was very good. He was worth the wait and the hype. GBP going to lengths to sign him to their roster should have told you that. But he didn't hurt Marquez. The only thing that bothered Marquez were the headbutts. He complained like hell at the end because of those. I don't think Jaca did it on purpose, but fights gets stopped because of that all the time between lefties and righties. Marquez could have walked in the 8th but he wanted to go out properly. And I think the referee just assumed that Marquez was ahead. That's my guess. I don't think he was in on anything.

[Chups]

Why are pachaters even talking about this JMM vs. a bum fight? It wasn't suppose to last 3 rounds. Every little win a Mexican gets is a breath of fresh air for pachaters since they choked on a whole turkey last Nov. 18.

[Bonsi]

He didnt get up cause he doesnt have any heart, just like the rest of them, they keep piling up, what a shame to be from that country, no heart for their country

it was a wise career move, Jaca probably got more money under the table from DLH than his actual $50k purse for letting gayboy win.

[xcaret]

Jaca let you boy JMM win, Jimrex could have gotten up if he wanted to from that gayboy slap by JMM, it was a wise career move by Jaca, i heard Jimrex is on DLH undercard.

He didnt get up cause he doesnt have any heart, just like the rest of them, they keep piling up, what a shame to be from that country, no heart for their country

[Bonsi]

wow, only a ***n pinoy nuthugger thinks Marquez got hurt in the Jaca fight, in what ****ing round did he get hurt? I missed it, i hope your not talking about the second round cause he clearly got off balance, but then again you all cant see right.

Jaca let you boy JMM win, Jimrex could have gotten up if he wanted to from that gayboy slap by JMM, it was a wise career move by Jaca, i heard Jimrex is on DLH undercard.

[xcaret]

wow, only a ***n pinoy nuthugger thinks Marquez got hurt in the Jaca fight, in what ****ing round did he get hurt? I missed it, i hope your not talking about the second round cause he clearly got off balance, but then again you all cant see right.

[Alibata]

God Almighty!

I'm not basing it on that fight at all. I clearly based what I said on their last performances. Based on that, Marquez is the more attractive option and there is much more intrigue there than to fight Barrera. You think Barrera stands a better chance trading with Pacquiao?

I for one would rather see Marquez in there with Pac. However, its a business and they will milk it for what its worth. I would also love to see Marquez and Barrera get it on. I think Marquez wins. Valero would get worked by any of the elite 130lbers. He had difficulties with Mosquera and was knocked down.

[PrtyBoyDlicious]

Mis-promoted is more like it.

Beristain manages Marquez and would only ever do what Marquez wanted; while of course trying to make sure that Marquez didn't get ripped off.

Morales could have looked a lot better than he idd in the third Pacquiao fight, but he wanted to fight; he didn't want to go out like Barrera with Juarez and skip around all night just because he could. He has too much pride to do that. He was physically beaten by Pacquiao last time, and he wanted to return the favor. When yous aw him sitting on the canvas shakinf his head, it was because he was looking for the answer to a question. Pacquiao gave him the answer, and even though he didn't like it, that was Morales' way of accepting that there was nothing he could do to change what was happening.

Here's an article here at BS last Nov. 24....read on be the judge...

Juan Manuel Marquez: Returning From The Dead

By Dr. Peter Edwards
Photo © Chris Cozzone/FightWireImages.com

Since May 8, 2004, Juan Manuel Marquez (45-3-1, 34 KO) has been battling his way back to the top. After his twelve round draw with Manny Pacquiao on the earlier referenced date, fans have been waiting for Marquez to follow up his amazing come from behind performance with another big fight, but no big fight has materialized.

When Marquez met Pacquiao, he was sent to canvas three times in the first round. The end appeared to be near for Marquez. Remarkably, he was able to box his way back into the fight and won enough rounds to pull out a draw.

A rematch with Pacquiao was the next logical step. After both sides were unable to come to a financial agreement, the rematch talks were called off and both fighters went in different directions. Marquez would go on to close out 2004 with a decision victory over Orlando Salido.

In 2005, Marquez’s career would begin to take a turn for the worse.

In a move that made headlines in the boxing world, the IBF stripped Marquez of their featherweight title because no promoter was willing to spend the minimum $50,000 on a purse bid for his overdue mandatory title defense. He was supposed to fight the leading contender, Thai boxer Phafrakorb Rakkiatgym. The IBF held two purse bids for the fight, on July 26 and August 5 – and no promoter made the minimum bid, including his own promoter at the time - Bob Arum of Top Rank.

Top Rank issued a statement, stating that they were unwilling to bid on the bout because they had one fight remaining with Marquez under their contract, and they objected to the opponent because it was not a marketable fight.

Because the WBA considered Marquez as the “super champion,” due to him holding two of the major four titles, they too stripped him of their title once he was stripped of the IBF – leaving him with nothing around his waist. Soon after, the WBA appointed undefeated Indonesian fighter Chris John as their recognized champion. Marquez was devastated, losing both of his titles in a week without stepping one foot inside a ring.

Marquez and his manager Nacho Beristain did not do his career any favors. After the bout with Pacquiao, Marquez rejected a career high $750,000 for the rematch and demanded $1.5 million, which was the entire license fee offered by HBO. In 2005, Top Rank offered Marquez $1.5 million to face Erik Morales in the main event on an HBO pay-per-view that was scheduled to take place in the Fall of 2006. Again Marquez rejected the offer, requesting an unrealistic $3.5 million, a figure that according to Top Rank, was an amount that even the more marketable Erik Morales had never been guaranteed in his entire career

Like Pacquiao, Morales went in his own direction, as did Marquez. Because of all the time consuming negotiations and setbacks that took place outside of the ring, Marquez only had a single bout in 05, winning a decision over veteran Victor Polo.

On March 4, 2006, Marquez went would fly down to Indonesia, for a measly $31,500 dollar payday, to face hometown fighter Chris John for his WBA featherweight title. In what seemed to be a Marquez win by decision, he was stunned when all three scorecards were in favor of champion Chris John, by lopsided margins. Marquez lost two points in the bout for low blows, and even without the point deductions, John would have still won the bout by a comfortable margin.

"People know they robbed me,'' Marquez said. "It was a close fight but I did enough to keep my titles. I honestly felt I won 10 of the 12 rounds but with the deductions it was close, but I know I won.''

Following the loss to John, he regrouped and returned to the ring in August against Terdsak Jandaeng, pounding out a tough seven round TKO victory before a live audience on the Showtime network. Since the win over Jandaeng, which gave him the WBO “interim” featherweight title, he was signed by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. De La Hoya vowed to bring Marquez’s career back to the top.

"One of the main reasons I signed with them was Oscar De La Hoya,'' Marquez said. "Oscar is a fighter himself. He knows what the fighter goes through. Golden Boy has all the dates and all the fighters in my weight class. That's what convinced me to sign with him.''

This Saturday, Marquez meets Filipino warrior Jimrex Jaca (27-2-1, 12 KOs) on HBO. Originally booked as the main event of a Golden Boy Promotions pay-per-view a few weeks ago, the bout was postponed after Jaca was unable to enter the country due to visa issues.

Jaca, a popular Filipino southpaw from Cebu City in the Philippines, is known as “The Executioner” by his countrymen. He won four of his last five bouts, three by early knockout. While Jaca has dreams of becoming the next superstar to come out the Philippines, Marquez views the bout as a stepping stone towards bigger and better things.

Should he beat Jaca, and it’s almost a given that he will, Marquez will land a title shot when he faces the winner of the December 9 bout between WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison and Nicky Cook in London.

Even with his career starting to go in the right direction, there is still a fight that still tempts him more than any, a rematch with Manny Pacquiao. Since the Marquez bout, Pacquiao has become a household name, even in the United States, by putting on three memorable performances against Erik Morales and gaining a tough win over Oscar Larios.

When Marquez had two titles around his waist, he felt like he was in the driver’s seat, but it now Pacquiao who is riding ahead by a significant distance. Viewed by most as one the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Pacquiao does not need a belt to secure a big money fight.

A rematch with Pacquiao appeared to in the works for 2007, when the Filipino bomber signed a seven-fight deal with Marquez’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. Several weeks later Pacquiao signed a four-year deal with Bob Arum of Top Rank, and renounced his deal with Golden Boy Promotions. A legal battle for Pacquiao has already begun, and because Marquez and Pacquiao are on opposite sides of the fence, a rematch will only happen if Golden Boy Promotions wins the lawsuit and regains promotional rights of Manny Pacquiao.

Should the court rule in favor of Top Rank, Marquez should not hold his breath on Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank sitting together at a negotiating table to put together a bout between him and Pacquiao.

Although he craves a rematch with Pacquiao, he knows the hurdles to make the fight will be tough when taking all of current hurdles into account. The backup plan is an all-Mexican war with WBC super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera, an equity partner in Golden Boy Promotions, who is also seeking a big name opponent for his March date with HBO.

"I'm hoping one day to fight Manny Pacquiao or Marco Antonio Barrera,'' Marquez said. "I love to face the best fighters. That's what keeps me motivated. I'm as good as any of them. I just need the fights to prove I'm one of the elite boxers in the world.''

The one thing Marquez can’t afford to do at this stage of his career is lose. If he wants Pacquiao, and Barrera, he must first beat Jaca, and for his sake – in impressively fashion.

[Castillofan]

to tell you the truth, i think marquez is a great fighter, i think he's better than MAB or EM...he can win against PAC any given day...PAC has improved a lot but he still leaves himself open from counter punches...during the PAC-EM III, they had 2 exchanges and morales is the one landing the bigger blows...

its a pity that JMM's career was mismanaged...

Mis-promoted is more like it.

Beristain manages Marquez and would only ever do what Marquez wanted; while of course trying to make sure that Marquez didn't get ripped off.

Morales could have looked a lot better than he idd in the third Pacquiao fight, but he wanted to fight; he didn't want to go out like Barrera with Juarez and skip around all night just because he could. He has too much pride to do that. He was physically beaten by Pacquiao last time, and he wanted to return the favor. When yous aw him sitting on the canvas shakinf his head, it was because he was looking for the answer to a question. Pacquiao gave him the answer, and even though he didn't like it, that was Morales' way of accepting that there was nothing he could do to change what was happening.

[PrtyBoyDlicious]

Anyone knocking Pacquiao out at this stage of the game would surprise me. I think you have to outbox him and Marquez has the talent to do that. I like the way he fought against Jaca, but I would not advise the same strategy, at least not for as long as he did it against Pacquiao. Marquez woul dhave to pick his spots, as Morales could have done. Morales didn't go in there with the mentality to box. Marquez may have fought Jaca to turn attention to himself and make Pacquiao believe that it would be the more attractive fight between them, especially with Pacquiao and all the hype surrounding him now. Pacquiao will believe he could knock out anyone. Then of course, Marquez could switch up on him.

to tell you the truth, i think marquez is a great fighter, i think he's better than MAB or EM...he can win against PAC any given day...PAC has improved a lot but he still leaves himself open from counter punches...during the PAC-EM III, they had 2 exchanges and morales is the one landing the bigger blows...

its a pity that JMM's career was mismanaged...