Marquez dominates Juarez, Guerrero blast Honario and De La Hoya on Pacquiao
By John Novoselac (Nov 4, 2007) DoghouseBoxing (Photo © German Villasenor)        
This fight was rescheduled from slightly over a month ago due to a hand injury sustained by reigning WBC 130 pound titlist Juan Manuel Marquez, who was originally slated to face tough South American brawler Jorge Barrios.  After some reshuffling, previous undercard fighter Rocky Juarez slid into the main event slot, who was previously set to fight Robert Guerrero.  Marquez is looking for a win to set up a potential mega fight rematch against iconic Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao, while Juarez seeks victory after coming up short in all previous world title attempts.
 
Round 1 started off as a feeling out contest, until Juarez sustained a cut over his left eye caused by an accidental headbutt.  Marquez set the pace as he sought to be the aggressor.  Juarez began round 2 with his solid left hook that has been noticeably absent in his last few fights.
 
Marquez, in his usual style, was countering off of Rocky's attempts to move forward.  Juan landed some nice left shots in round 2, though Juarez was able to pick off some of those shots.  Round 2 saw Marquez finding his range with his jab, and looking for the right cross.  He started to land with increasing success later in the round.
 
Marquez began his dominance in round 4, as he pounded Juarez with left hooks and right crosses, and worked the body nicely.  Juan was easily leading the fight, in the beginning of a shutout.  Though Marquez was dominant, the fight didn't lack excitement as the challenger Juarez was more than game.
 
Juan was using his uppercut masterfully in combination with the left hook in round 5, as Rocky struggled with the champion's speed and superior technique.  As the round went on, Juarez began to see some success with his once famous left hook, though it appeared to have little effect on the champion.
 
Round 6 saw a hard left by Marquez that fired up Rocky as he landed a beautiful uppercut of his own.  Marquez landed a nice right cross, and worked the body, though Rocky picked up the pace and came back later in the round.  Marquez
was showing his masterful pugilistic craft, as he worked combos to the head and body, and both fighters traded shots to end the round.
 
Rocky was improving noticeably as the fight progressed, though he still could not match the intensity, accuracy, and speed of the champ.  The action kept up, despite the one sidedness of the affair through round 7.  Marquez mixed up his shots continually through round 8, and Rocky matched the pace of the champ with a growing vengeance.  Marquez used the sought after but rarely used uppercut to fend off the increasing aggression of Juarez, stunning Rocky as the champ followed up with a vicious assault that sparked a fury to end round 8.
 
In round 9, Marquez went back to the body.  It appeared that around this time in the fight that Marquez may have injured his right hand, and he increased the use of his jab.  Juarez responded with some body work of his own, and was not discouraged by the superior skill of Marquez.  However, the speed was still too much for the challenger.  Marquez continued to work the jab through round 10, and both fighters faces were showing the effects of the warfare.
 
The heated affair continued in the 11th round, and Marquez continued to work behind his solid jab, and use the right cautiously.  Going into the 12th, it's very clear that Juarez needs a KO to win, and he increased the pressure.  Marquez wisely jabs and moves, but uses his right as well.  Rocky managed to land a nice left to the body, but to little avail.
 
As expected, Marquez walked away with a unanimous decision win.  This writer saw it as a shutout.
 
Undercard
 
Robert Guerrero needed only 56 seconds to dispatch of challenger Martin Honario, as he retained his IBF portion of the 126 pound title with a vicious TKO win set up by a southpaw jab and followed by a mean left.
 
Side Notes
 
In response to Dan Rafael's article last week detailing a conversation with Larry Merchant who suggested that Oscar De la Hoya fight Manny Pacqiuao, this reporter posed the question to Oscar, who was in attendance to promote the card, what his thoughts were.  His only reply, "Interesting."  That's it? Interesting, he repeated.
 
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Questions or comments,
e-mail
John at: jnovoselac@yahoo.com






Questions or comments,
e-mail
John at: jnovoselac@yahoo.com
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