3. Name: Juan Manuel Marquez Mendez
Birthday: August 23, 1973
weight class: Light Welterweight
Height: 5'7"
Reach: 67"
Boxing Records: 54 wins ,
6 losses, 41 KOs, 1 draw
Trainer: Nacho Beristain
Biography
Third in pound for pound, Juan Manuel Marquez has thrilled fight fans for close to 15 years with his pinpoint accuracy and fight ending power. Best remembered for his dominant decision win over Marco Antonio Barrera in 2007 and his thrilling two fight series with Manny Pacquiao, this former WBA, IBF, and WBO featherweight champion and former WBC super featherweight champion has plenty left in the tank as he chases after the big fights in the coming years.
Born in Mexico City, Marquez is one of eight children whose father was an ex-pro boxer with 35 fights to his credit. Entering the gym for the first time at the age of eight, Juan and his brother, current bantamweight world champion Rafael, quickly took to the sweet science and he began fighting in amateur tournaments at 13.After a 35-1 amateur career that included a pair of Golden Gloves tournament wins, Marquez entered the pro ranks at the age of 19 on May 29, 1993 and lost his first bout via disqualification to Javier Duran.
Marquez wouldn’t lose again for another six years as he tore through the fight scenes in Mexico and California, compiling a record of 29-1 that included a win over Agapito Sanchez and an NABO title, which he defended seven times.
This success earned him a shot at the WBA featherweight title on September 11, 1999, where Marquez lost by a controversial decision to then-unbeaten champion Freddie Norwood.
Determined to get back in the title picture, Marquez was back in the ring two months later, stopping Remigio Molina in eight rounds. Nine more wins would follow, and two fights after he stopped Robbie Peden in ten rounds for the NABF and USBA titles, ‘Dinamita’ got his second world title shot, this time against veteran Manuel Medina for the vacant IBF crown on February 1, 2003.
Pac-Marquez IV is ESPN's Fight of the Year
Posted at 12/30/2012 8:37 PM | Updated as of 12/30/2012 8:39 PM
MANILA, Philippines – The historic fourth encounter between
great rivals Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao of the Philippines and Juan Manuel
Marquez of Mexico continues to receive honors from boxing media, with
ESPN becoming the latest to proclaim the fight as the best of 2012.
In his 2012 Fight of the Year story for ESPN.com, Dan Rafael notes that when the fourth fight was announced, “many were disappointed.” “Not because it probably wouldn’t be a good fight, but because of general fatigue over the match-up. Give us something fresh, many said,” Rafael wrote. Pacquiao and Marquez have already fought three times, the most recent taking place in November 2011, which Pacquiao won via a controversial majority decision.
“The first three fights between the great rivals were excellent – rousing battles at the highest level of boxing that were competitive and compelling,” Rafael said. “Even though Pacquiao led 2-0-1, all three decisions were highly controversial and could have gone either way.”
“So when they did meet (for the fourth time), expectations were for another exciting fight even if it hadn’t been the fans’ top choice of a match for either man,” he added.
“That hardly matters now, however, because their fourth fight – rounds 37- 42 of a historical series – turned out to be the best of the bunch.”
Rafael notes that the fight “offered a festive and raucous atmosphere, thrilling two-way action, multiple knockdowns, blood, and one of the most significant and violent knockouts in history.”
The bout saw Pacquiao get knocked out with one second left in the six round by a crushing right hand from Marquez. “The shocking conclusion – the 2012 ESPN.com knockout of the year – was simply the end of what turned out to be the 2012 ESPN.com fight of the year,” Rafael wrote. Before the sixth round knockout, Marquez already floored Pacquiao midway through the third round, the first time that the Filipino icon had touched the canvas throughout their saga.
Pacquiao was able to register a knockdown of his own in the fifth round, which Rafael called “the best round of the rivalry.” The Filipino landed a huge left hand in the second minute of the round that forced Marquez to take a knee. “Pacquiao looked like he was closing in on a stoppage in the sixth round after continuing to land heavy, damaging shots,” Rafael said.
“But then Pacquiao got a little lazy on defense and Marquez stepped into a full-force right hand that knocked Pacquiao out cold to bring the epic fight to an abrupt and stunning conclusion,” he added. Yahoo! Sports also hailed the fourth bout between Pacquiao and Marquez as their 2012 Fight of the Year.
Among the other contenders for ESPN’s Fight of the Year was the
seven-round war between Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado last October 13
in California. “From the moment this junior welterweight fight was made,
expectations were sky-high for a memorable battle. They more than lived
up to the hype, one brutal punch at a time,” Rafael said. “For the
entire fight, they blasted each other with hard shots like a game of
rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots.”
“The fight was even on two scorecards going into the seventh round, but Rios finally got to Alvarado, hurting him with a right hand and pouring it on until his head snapped back, forcing referee Pat Russell to stop the fireworks-filled slugfest.”
Also a contender was the March 10 clash between Orlando Salido and Juan Manuel Lopez, which Salid won via a tenth round technical knockout.
“The outright brawl will go down as one of the most exciting title fights in the storied Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry,” Rafael said.
The flyweight unification clash between Brian Viloria and Hernan “Tyson” Marquez in November was also a top contender for Fight of the Year honors.
“Often, it’s the little guys who deliver huge action and that was the case in this fight that lived up to the hype,” Rafael said.
Other Fight of the Year contenders included the April 14 bout between Mike Alvarado and Mauricio Herrera, and the welterweight title clash between Roberto Guerrero and Ander Berto last November 24.
In his 2012 Fight of the Year story for ESPN.com, Dan Rafael notes that when the fourth fight was announced, “many were disappointed.” “Not because it probably wouldn’t be a good fight, but because of general fatigue over the match-up. Give us something fresh, many said,” Rafael wrote. Pacquiao and Marquez have already fought three times, the most recent taking place in November 2011, which Pacquiao won via a controversial majority decision.
“The first three fights between the great rivals were excellent – rousing battles at the highest level of boxing that were competitive and compelling,” Rafael said. “Even though Pacquiao led 2-0-1, all three decisions were highly controversial and could have gone either way.”
“So when they did meet (for the fourth time), expectations were for another exciting fight even if it hadn’t been the fans’ top choice of a match for either man,” he added.
“That hardly matters now, however, because their fourth fight – rounds 37- 42 of a historical series – turned out to be the best of the bunch.”
Rafael notes that the fight “offered a festive and raucous atmosphere, thrilling two-way action, multiple knockdowns, blood, and one of the most significant and violent knockouts in history.”
The bout saw Pacquiao get knocked out with one second left in the six round by a crushing right hand from Marquez. “The shocking conclusion – the 2012 ESPN.com knockout of the year – was simply the end of what turned out to be the 2012 ESPN.com fight of the year,” Rafael wrote. Before the sixth round knockout, Marquez already floored Pacquiao midway through the third round, the first time that the Filipino icon had touched the canvas throughout their saga.
Pacquiao was able to register a knockdown of his own in the fifth round, which Rafael called “the best round of the rivalry.” The Filipino landed a huge left hand in the second minute of the round that forced Marquez to take a knee. “Pacquiao looked like he was closing in on a stoppage in the sixth round after continuing to land heavy, damaging shots,” Rafael said.
“But then Pacquiao got a little lazy on defense and Marquez stepped into a full-force right hand that knocked Pacquiao out cold to bring the epic fight to an abrupt and stunning conclusion,” he added. Yahoo! Sports also hailed the fourth bout between Pacquiao and Marquez as their 2012 Fight of the Year.
Other contenders
“The fight was even on two scorecards going into the seventh round, but Rios finally got to Alvarado, hurting him with a right hand and pouring it on until his head snapped back, forcing referee Pat Russell to stop the fireworks-filled slugfest.”
Also a contender was the March 10 clash between Orlando Salido and Juan Manuel Lopez, which Salid won via a tenth round technical knockout.
“The outright brawl will go down as one of the most exciting title fights in the storied Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry,” Rafael said.
The flyweight unification clash between Brian Viloria and Hernan “Tyson” Marquez in November was also a top contender for Fight of the Year honors.
“Often, it’s the little guys who deliver huge action and that was the case in this fight that lived up to the hype,” Rafael said.
Other Fight of the Year contenders included the April 14 bout between Mike Alvarado and Mauricio Herrera, and the welterweight title clash between Roberto Guerrero and Ander Berto last November 24.
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