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Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the few today who can lose and still remain a consensus top 10 pound-for-pound fighter. He is that good.
If he had his druthers, he would be tuning up for his third fight with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in order to continue to prove that. But since that is not going to happen just yet, Marquez is doing the next best thing by moving up in weight and challenging Joel Casamayor for his interim lightweight world championship.
They will get it on Sept. 13 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It's not exactly what most would consider a pay-per-view main event. But HBO will indeed televise this Golden Boy Promotions card on its pay-per-view arm for $44.95.
The parties got together Tuesday at a news conference in Los Angeles to formally announce what has the potential to be a thriller. Casamayor might have just turned 37 on Saturday, but he showed last March that he is as vicious as ever when he stopped Michael Katsidis in the 10th round.
Casamayor was down once, Katsidis three times in a brutal fight. It was the first loss for Katsidis, a heavy hitting 27-year-old with an all-out attacking style.
In other words, Mexico's Marquez might be the early betting favorite, but he could be in for one of the most punishing fights of his career by taking on Cuba's Casamayor. Not only has Casamayor been a full-blown lightweight for four years, he can be very dirty in a given fight.
Marquez was not even a big 130-pound junior lightweight when he lost a split decision to Pacquiao in their second fight last March. And he's two months away from stepping into the ring with a hard-nosed 135-pound lightweight who will not hesitate to rough him up.
But you don't think that's going to scare Marquez, do you? Not a chance.
"He wanted the third fight with Pacquiao real bad," said Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez, who said a deal offered Pacquiao was rejected. "So Juan Manuel said, 'Get me the next best thing.'"
Gomez said Nate Campbell, another lightweight champion, turned down Marquez.
"So the next best thing was Casamayor," Gomez said.
Gomez, like everyone present Tuesday, agreed that Marquez more than has his hands full with Casamayor. Heck, he could have fought a tuneup fight and no one would have complained. Then he could have approached Pacquiao again for something early next year.
Chances are that Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, wants to let a third fight between Pacquiao and Marquez build to a fever pitch before making it. By early next year fans would be hot for that. Marquez certainly deserves it. As his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, attests.
"He had great fights against Manny Pacquiao," De La Hoya said, "which both could have gone either way."
In their first fight in May 2004, Marquez got off the canvas three times in the first round. He came back to earn a 12-round draw. There were more than a few reporters who had Marquez winning. This one had Marquez coming all the way back to win by one point.
But again, there is no Marquez-Pacquiao III, so Casamayor it is.
"Casamayor is a great fighter, a great boxer, a great champion," Marquez said. "This fight at 135 is going to be very difficult for me, but possible to win."
Marquez went on to say that he wants to win for his country, for his Mexican people because the event is coming around the Sept. 16 Mexican Independence Day.
Well, the only way Marquez is going to feel he has his independence is if he gets that third fight with Pacquiao and finally emerges victorious. The thing is, he has put himself in a position where he has to move up in weight and take on a rugged guy like Casamayor -- and win.
If Marquez gets bombed because he just isn't big enough to keep the left-handed Casamayor (36-3-1, 22 KOs) off him, it is doubtful Arum and Pacquiao would still entertain a third fight.
Marquez apparently couldn't care less about the risk.
"Moving up to 135 isn't going to be an easy task," De La Hoya said. "But Marquez, like the champion he is, is going to continue fighting the best to prove he is the great fighter he is."
This isn't just promoter rhetoric. Let's face it: Marquez has never received his just recognition even though he has been one of the best fighters in the world for the better part of this decade. Even Casamayor was impressed about Marquez making this move to challenge him for his belt. He said other star fighters over the years have not stepped up to the plate in this fashion.
"Nobody has wanted to fight me," Casamayor said. "Not (Marco Antonio) Barrera, not Pacquiao, not (Erik) Morales. It just shows what kind of a fighter Marquez is."
Marquez, 34, is going to have to be all that and more if he is going to make this move up a success. With a record of 48-4-1 and 35 knockouts, Marquez has a more than respectable knockout ratio. But he's not a one-punch knockout artist, and it's somewhat difficult to fathom that he is going to be able to dissuade Casamayor from coming full steam ahead.
Katsidis couldn't discourage Casamayor with his legitimate lightweight power punches.
"I never thought that kid (Katsidis) would be that tough," Casamayor marveled, looking up and rolling his eyes for effect. "He was a lot tougher than people thought. It was a great fight, not only for me and Katsidis, but for the fans."
The hope here is that Marquez-Casamayor provide fans another great fight. The $44.95 demands it.
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