06.11.07 – by Joshua “Travz” Travilla: Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez (48–3–1, 35 KOs) successfully defended his World Boxing Council super featherweight title on Saturday night, defeating by 12-round unanimous decision four-time world challenger Rocky Juarez (27–4, 19 KOs) of Houston, Texas, at the Desert Casino in Tucson, Arizona. The final judges’ scores were 120-108, 118-110 and 117-111, all for Marquez.
Marquez started the fight with his usual style opting to fight in a slow, methodical manner and later became more aggressive by confusing Juarez with a mix combinations to the head and body, which was effective at wearing down Juarez’s defense.
Juarez, who sustained an accidental head butt in the early rounds that hampered his vision for most of the fight, tried to trade shots with Marquez, hitting him with leaping left hooks and hard body shots. However, Juarez punches had little effect, as Marquez would always bounce back with a flurry of punches.
Many in the boxing communities see Juarez as a one-dimensional fighter, who does things over and over again regardless of the outcome. Personally, I think he needs to reinvent himself, perhaps by throwing more jabs, and develop some lateral movements. These to things are primary weapons for any boxer in this particular weight class.
All in all, Juarez showed an excellent attitude and great sportsmanship, despite the accidental clash of heads. He didn’t let it get him down and continued fighting hard until the very end of the fight. He showed a true heart of a future world champion.
For his part, Marquez said later that he wants to fight Manny “The Pacman” Pacquiao (45–3–2, 35 KOs), widely considered the best super featherweight in the world, for his next outing. Marquez is eager to settle the score for their last bout which ended in a draw during their IBF/WBA featherweight championship in 2004. A win over Pacquiao would likely make the 34 year-old Marquez the most popular boxer in Mexico, possibly even more popular than Marco Antonio Barrera.