Marquez Will NEVER Fight Pacquiao Again

Published

7 years ago

November 22, 2013

Juan Manuel Marquez will never fight Manny Pacquiao again.

Think about the journey Marquez took to beat Pacquiao. It was not one of those ‘Fighter A got beat and came back one year later to get his revenge against Fighter B’ type of situations.

And it was not one of those ‘Fighter A dominates a weight division for years only to get beat by Fighter B and Fighter A never gets a rematch’ type of situations either.

Marquez’s boxing career is not like Oscar De La Hoya or Pernell Whitaker or Sugar Ray Leonard or Marvin Haglers.’ Marquez’s journey to knock out Pacquiao, the way we’ve never imagined to see the man get knocked out, is unprecedented. Marquez fought Pacquiao for the first time in 2004 to a draw. They fought each other three more times in eight years.

Marquez was never satisfied until he won. Today Marquez has the last laugh.

Twenty years from now, no one remembers Marquez lost a decision to Timothy Bradley ten months after he beat Pacquiao (the two are seen rumbling in their last fight, in Chris Farina-Top Rank photo) . At least they don’t remember it off of the top of their head. And no one will remember a potentially uneventful fifth fight between Marquez and Pacquiao.

Only boxing nerds like me care to review the third fight between Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. And only boxing nerds like me care to review Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield II.

We’re talking about the average boxing fan/mainstream sports fan. Marquez is thinking of his place with them.

The victorious image of Juan Manuel Marquez standing over a fallen Manny Pacquiao will be remembered forever. Marquez wants to keep that.

Manny Pacquiao will talk about the Juan Manuel Marquez knockout loss for the rest of his life. A win over Brandon Rios on Saturday won’t make us forget it.

Marquez won’t fight Pacquiao again for the 16 fights and eights years of going to the gym and sparring and wrapping his hands and unwrapping his hands. For every one of his training camps in between the first Pacquiao fight and the last one, Marquez won’t fight Pacquiao again.

Don’t expect Marquez to listen to eager boxing fans like you and me that just want a fifth encounter between the two greatest rivals in boxing this side of the 21^st century.

Marquez, if he appreciates history, will never fight Pacquiao again.

When Marquez says that he has moved on, I believe him. I believe Marquez out of respect to Jersey Joe Walcott and Joe Louis, and Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver.

If Marquez were a dice player he’d get knocked out in a fifth fight against Pacquiao. You can’t play craps all night and quit after you win your first big roll. That’s not proper etiquette. A fifth fight with Pacquiao is an unnecessary gamble for Marquez.

There is no reason for ego to take over a 40 year-old that has reached the top of his professional life and accomplished his greatest professional dream.

I’m telling you, Pacquiao will never get his revenge against Marquez. How can any of us change Marquez’s mind? Erase history and get rich.

Here are two rematches that turned out being a disaster for Fighter A over the last 15 years.

Roy Jones Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver II May 15, 2004? (Is it sad that I know that date by heart? I remember where I was when Jones lost to Tarver…. Think about it all the time!)

In March 2003, Jones gained 25 pounds of muscle to move up from light heavyweight to heavyweight and win a portion of the heavyweight title. He lost all 25 pounds of muscle and the reflexes that came with them in less than seven months to move back down to light heavy and beat Antonio Tarver.

The Prideful Mistake – Jones let his pride get the best of him and granted Tarver an immediate rematch. Jones got knocked out in two rounds.

Hasim Rahman vs. Lennox Lewis II November 17, 2001

In April 2001, Rahman shocked the boxing world with his one punch knockout over then champion Lennox Lewis.

The Prideful Mistake – Instead of looking for new challengers and trying to reinvent the division, Rahman granted Lewis an immediate rematch and got knocked out in the fourth round.

Here are two rematches the boxing world wanted that never happened.

Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko

In June 2003, Lewis accepted the Klitschko challenge on two weeks notice and came in to the fight out of shape and uninspired. Klitschko was ahead on all three scorecards before an eye injury forced the ring doctor to stop the fight.

No Rematch – There were reports of 50 million dollar offers to Lewis for a rematch but he didn’t budge. Lennox Lewis left us speculating. Smartly.

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ike Quartey

In February 1999, Quartey gave De La Hoya all he could handle for 12 rounds but lost a disputed decision. After a tense first five rounds, De La Hoya knocked Quartey down in round six and went for the KO. Quartey returned fire and knocked De La Hoya down in the same round with a counter left hook. De La Hoya was seemingly discouraged and played catch up the rest of the way until he knocked Quartey down again in a spectacular 12^th round. De La Hoya won a split decision by an unjustifiable wide margin.

No Rematch – Although Quartey went down twice, many thought he did enough to win the fight. De La Hoya never granted The Bazooka a rematch. De La Hoya moved on to fight big names and Quartey never reached the pinnacle again.

How many times do you hear a story about a guy that moved up four weight classes to knock some one out? That’s the story Marquez wants us to tell. He closed the Manny Pacquiao book and so have I.

Let’s move on.

If Marquez and Pacquiao never fight again I’d be happy with it. My hope to see Mayweather and Pacquiao fight would be that much greater.

Hey, maybe I’m wrong. I’m just using history to defend my point. After all, history has a way of repeating itself.

You can follow Ray on Twitter @RayMarkarian

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Raymond Markarian

Boxing Odds and Ends: The Sept. 26 Horn of Plenty and Other Notes

Published

3 days ago

September 15, 2020

Arne K. Lang

Boxing-Odds-and-Ends-The-Sept-26-Horn-of-Plenty-and-Other-Notes

Considering the constraints, the month of September has been a pretty good month for professional boxing. And the month will close with a flourish. Eight world title-holders will be in action on the 26^th, the last Saturday of the month.

Five of the belt-holders will appear on the SHOWTIME PPV doubleheader featuring the Charlo twins. The most intriguing fight on that card finds Jermall Charlo risking his belt and his undefeated record against rugged Sergiy Deveryanchenko. At last glance, Jermall was a consensus 17/10 (minus-170) favorite. In baseball, a 17/10 favorite is a heavy favorite. In boxing, not so. A serious handicapper who wouldn’t think of laying 17/10 in a baseball game would have no hesitation about laying these odds in a boxing match.

When Deveryanchenko steps into the ring, 51 weeks will have elapsed since his last fight, his bruising tiff with Gennadiy Golovkin. Jermall Charlo hasn’t been on the shelf for quite that long, having last fought in December.

A more interesting match on this particular Saturday, at least in the eyes of this reporter, will unfold earlier that day in Munich when the curtain finally comes down on Season 2 of the long-drawn-out World Boxing Super Series. Two titles will be on the line when Mairis Briedis (26-1, 19 KOs) meets Yuniel Dorticos (24-1, 22 KOs).

Briedis’ lone defeat came at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in a very competitive fight. Briedis won five rounds on two of the cards and won six rounds on the other. Dorticos’ lone defeat came on enemy turf in Sochi, Russia when he was stopped with eight seconds remaining in a doozy of a fight with Murat Gassiev.

Forget the titles; titles are a dime a dozen. These two guys are plainly the two best cruiserweights on the planet.

“The tickets are flying out the door and we expect to sell out within hours, if not days,” said co-promoter Kalle Sauerland at a pre-fight press conference.

That assertion was made way back on January 22 when the fight, originally targeted for late December of last year, was headed to Riga, Latvia, on March 21. That date didn’t work, nor did the re-scheduled date of May 16, and ultimately Riga didn’t work either.

Whatever tickets were sold, had to be refunded. There will be no fans in attendance when Briedis and Dorticos finally lock horns on Sept. 26 at a TV studio in Munich. The fight will air on DAZN in the U.S.

“Rest makes rust” was an often-heard caution when big gamblers of yesteryear dissected a boxing match. The late, great pricemaker Herb Lambeck reflexively shied away from boxers that had been inactive for a considerable period of time. For him, the Briedis-Dorticos match would likely be a head-scratcher. Both combatants have been inactive since June 15 of last year when they appeared in separate bouts on the same card in Riga, Briedis’s hometown. And they aren’t getting any younger. Briedis is 34 and Dorticos is 35.

The odds got nicked down somewhat when the site shifted from Riga with fans to Munich without, predictably so as Briedis, the first fighter from Latvia to win a world title, has an avid local following.

Briedis, the superior boxer, is a consensus 9/5 favorite. That seems a shade high as he won’t be able to feed off the crowd – there won’t be a crowd – and Dorticos, the Cuban KO Doctor, has a better chance of ending the fight with one punch. It wouldn’t be shocking if the fight followed a similar tack as the recent fight between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin.

In case you missed it, Whyte was dominating his Russian adversary when things changed in a flash in the fifth round. Out of nowhere, Povetkin, the underdog, unleashed a picture-perfect uppercut that left Whyte flat on his back, unconscious before he hit the canvas. There have been other smashing one-punch knockouts this year – Ryan Garcia’s demolition of Francisco Fonseca comes quickly to mind – and there may be a few more, but it’s hard to visualize anyone topping Povetkin in the voting for Knockout of the Year.

By the way, if he wins it, Povetkin, 41, would be the second-oldest boxer to score the Knockout of the Year. George Foreman was 45 when he knocked out Michael Moorer in 1994. The source is The Ring magazine which has been issuing this award since 1989.

And if you happen to know the youngest fighter to score The Ring Knockout of the Year, then you’re pretty sharp. No, it’s not baby-faced Naoya Inoue, who is older (27) than he looks. The honor goes to the long-forgotten African-American/Filipino southpaw Morris East who was 19 when he knocked out defending WBA 140-pound champion Akinobu Hironaka in 1992.

In a rarity, it didn’t take long for Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte to agree on a rematch. They will meet again on Nov. 21. The venue is undecided, but Eddie Hearn is hopeful that he can pot the fight somewhere outside his backyard “fight camp” with fans in attendance. The first lines on the fight show Whyte the favorite in the vicinity of 13/5. Povetkin-Whyte II will be a nice appetizer for the Errol Spence vs. Danny Garcia match that goes off later that day.

In an unrelated development, Fury-Wilder III is purportedly going to Allegiant Stadium, the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders, in late December. Bob Arum anticipates a crowd of 10,000-15,000 with social distancing protocols in place.

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Meekins vs. Kawoya: File It Under Bizarre

Published

3 days ago

September 15, 2020

Ted Sares

It was August 8, 1988. The location was Resorts International in Atlantic City. The main event featured New Yorker John Wesley Meekins (18-1-2) vs another New Yorker (via Uganda and Denmark) Mohammed Kawoya (11-3).

The rangy and skilled Meekins with a stellar amateur career was a clear favorite over the lesser known Kawoya who had fought only once in the US, losing to Jorge Maysonet on cuts at the Felt Forum. Meekins was expected to move on to a world title fight after dispatching Kawoya.

Meekins enjoyed a successful career between 1984 and 1994, fighting the likes of Davey Montana, Mike Mungin, Harold Brazier, Saoul Mamby, Santos Cardona, Darrin Morris (who won his last 16 fights in a row), and Terence Alli. He would lose to a prime Meldrick Taylor (20-0-1) in 1989 with the IBF World Super Lightweight title at stake.

On June 15, 1990, Meekins beat Santos Cardona over 12 rounds to win the NABF light-welterweight championship, but would lose it to Terence Alli some seven months later. It was downhill after that and he retired in November 1994 with a record of 24-5-2 after being stopped by so-so Darryl Lattimore.

Back to Meekins vs. Kawoya

This one did not go as expected. After being decked in round 2, Kawoya dropped Meekins in the opening seconds of round 3. An exciting fight with multiple knockdowns and furious exchanges was in progress and the fans loved it.

An aroused Meekins then went after the Ugandan with a vengeance and set up one of the most bizarre endings that few boxing fans have ever heard about, much less witnessed, as he again dropped Kawoya this time with a fast left hook. He then went for the kill. Referee Paul Venti sensed it and moved in—perhaps prematurely– as Meekins unleashed what he hoped would be a fight-ending volley of hard shots.

As soon as Venti stepped in to stop the fight, Kawoya landed a right that dropped Meekins and had him crawling on the canvas and holding on to the ropes devoid of his senses for at least ten seconds. The punch was thrown at the exact moment that Venti ended matters and Venti didn’t realize what had occurred.

While Kawoya thought he has scored a clean KO and celebrated wildly, the fact was that Venti had ended the fight a fraction of a second before and his decision would stand.

The fans not only enjoyed a great fight, they witnessed something truly memorable—something that had to be seen to be believed; namely, a winner struggling to get up and a loser celebrating what he thought was a knockout.

Kawoya pulled out of the rematch because of a throat infection and Saoul Mamby took his place as a late sub. The Ugandan never fought again, while Meekins never got the title shot that a more impressive effort might have gotten him.

Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com or on Facebook and welcomes comments.

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Price and Programming Lineup for Sept. 26 Charlo Twins PPV Doubleheader

Published

5 days ago

September 13, 2020

The Sweet Science

Price-and-Programming-Lineup-for-Sept-26-Charlo-Twins-PPV-Doubleheader

PRESS RELEASE — SHOWTIME Sports has announced the price and programming lineup for the first-of-its-kind pay-per-view doubleheader on Saturday, September 26, featuring two stacked fight cards each headlined by one of the world champion Charlo twins in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions. THE SHOWTIME PPV event, CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER, is available for purchase at a suggested retail price (SRP) of $74.95 and includes six compelling fights, five of which are world championship bouts.

THE EVENT

The first card of the SHOWTIME PPV telecast will be headlined by undefeated WBC Middleweight World Champion Jermall Charlo defending his title against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Brandon Figueroa will defend his title against Damien Vázquez in the co-featured bout, while WBO Bantamweight World Champion John Riel Casimero faces off against Duke Micah in the pay-per-view opener. Following the main event and a 30-minute intermission, the second three-fight card headlined by WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Jermell Charlo facing unified 154-pound World Champion Jeison Rosario will begin. Luis Nery will battle Aaron Alameda for the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship in the co-feature, while former unified champion Danny Román faces former champion Juan Carlos Payano in a WBC Super Bantamweight title eliminator bout to open the second three-fight card of the pay-per-view.

TELECAST TEAM

The announce team for the SHOWTIME PPV telecast is comprised of the most experienced and decorated boxing team on television. Veteran sportscaster Brian Custer is the host. Versatile combat sports voice Mauro Ranallo handles blow-by-blow action alongside Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and four-time world champion Abner Mares. Two Hall of Famers round out the telecast team: boxing historian Steve Farhood as unofficial scorer, and world-renowned ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr.

THE JOURNEY: CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER and DIGITAL PROGRAMMING LINEUP

In the leadup to the unprecedented two-event pay-per-view, SHOWTIME Sports will produce and premiere THE JOURNEY: CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER, a 30-minute show that chronicles the unique story of Jermall and Jermell, twins born one minute apart in Houston, Texas, as they rise through the ranks and put themselves in position to become global boxing stars. Voiced by SHOWTIME boxing host Brian Custer, THE JOURNEY: CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER features rarely seen footage and gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at their most pivotal career moments, motivations, and life outside of the ring.

THE JOURNEY will premiere on SHOWTIME on Sunday, September 13 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT and will be available for free on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and all SHOWTIME On Demand platforms.

SHOWTIME Sports will also release new episodes, of the original, digital franchiseRING RESUME which examines the career progressions of boxing’s top stars, available on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel. Beginning Monday, September 21, the SHOWTIME Boxing Snapchat page will focus on high-energy fight and training camp highlights featuring the Charlos. In addition, the Snapchat page will feature the Charlos’ RING RESUMES and THE JOURNEY to expand reach to young audiences with short-form, fast-paced storytelling. Plus, Brendan Schaub and Kenny Florian will preview the keys to the fights on BELOW THE BELT BREAKDOWN, available on the BELOW THE BELT YouTube channel.

MORNING KOMBAT INTERMISSION

Combat sports aficionados Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell will host a 30-minute intermission show after the conclusion of the Charlo vs. Derevyanchenko main event and the start of the second three-fight card. The duo, hosts of the popular live combat sports talk show and podcast MORNING KOMBAT, will also host live streams of the main events press conference and official weigh-in in addition to providing in-depth coverage on MORNING KOMBAT throughout the week. The official weigh-in and main events press conference will stream live on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page.

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