Juan Manuel Marquez scores quick KO, keeps November date with Manny Pacquiao

Live from the Plaza De Toros in Cancun, Mexico this past Saturday night, as well as courtesy of Top Rank TV’s live stream web cast, it was with the assistance of Likar Ramos 24-4 (18 KO’s) of Barranquilla, Colombia who would hang his chin in the air for the precision prone Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez 53-5-1 (39 KO’s) of Mexico City, Mexico that allowed Marquez to zero in with an all powerful 1-2 combination, as the bout would end abruptly at 1:47 of the very first round with Ramos hitting the canvass out cold. Laying flat on his back for perhaps over 5 minutes while medical personnel would attend to him, Ramos would later recover to ponder the devastation inflicted upon him by the future Hall of Famer Marquez.

In a bout where the possibility existed that Marquez could have came out on the losing end, putting his November 12th meeting with pound-for pound king Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao in jeopardy, and along with it a $5 million dollar payday, everything went as well as could be expected, as Marquez took no chances and made quick work of his opponent, who’s only two fights outside of his native Colombia both resulted in knockout losses courtesy of Mexican pugilists. Once at the hands of Jorje Solis for the WBA interim super featherweight title, and now once more against multi division champion and current Ring Magazine lightweight kingpin “Dinamita” Marquez.

In looking to stay sharp as well as get in some rounds against a southpaw in preparation for his third meeting with Pacquiao, it is questionable whether team Marquez got what they wanted from this fight in terms of rounds or strategical execution in facing a left hander, as Juan Manuel would barley break a sweat. No doubt Marquez will end up putting in much more work against lefties at the Romanza gym in Mexico City where he trains under the watchful eye of recently inducted Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, as “Dinamita” continue’s on in preparation for his upcoming bout against the Filipino superstar. Regarding his fight with Pacquiao, Marquez would draw comparisons to his facing Floyd Mayweather with that of his showdown with Manny by saying, “Mayweather is a great defensive fighter, and 1 or 2 punches wins him the round. With me and Manny Pacquiao, it’s going to be a war.”

Some may consider this fight something to build on and somewhat of a confidence booster for Marquez, but the reality seems to be that this was a play it safe type of fight in the selection of Ramos. And very well it should have been, as with the date already set to meet Manny in November for the WBO welterweight title, who would want anything to go wrong. After an impressive performance against Michael Katsidis in November of last year, and after giving Pacquiao all he could handle in their two previous bouts, the first of which resulted in a draw that many observers, including myself, would have Marquez coming back to pull out the victory, and the second a close split decision loss to Pacquiao, “Dinamita” has earned the right to fight Manny one more time as he nears the end of a brilliant career. Perhaps a mentally satisfying win against Ramos, but to get it done against Manny Pacquiao, who has improved markedly since his last meeting with Marquez in March of 2008, he is going to have to put in some real work, as this most recent fight in no way has physically furthered Marquez cause toward scoring that seemingly elusive victory against the “Pacman.” In a message to Manny after the fight, Marquez would say, “I just want him to prepare well because I’m going to be prepared so we can give the fans a great fight.” And fight fans should expect no less as Manny’s last real test was against Marquez, after Pacquiao has seemingly fought several opponents who’s flaws have contributed in one way or another to the Filipino’s recent string of victories.

Rafael Marquez outclasses set up opponent

On the undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Likar Ramos fight, Juan Manuel’younger brother Rafel Marquez 40-6 (36 KO’s), would gain the stoppage over light hitting Eduardo Becerril 12-8-2 (4 KO’s), who’s corner wouldn’t allow Becerril to come out for round 6 after being knocked down in round 4, and then subsequently overwhelmed with hard accurate shots from Rafael in the fifth round. Marquez simply had the upper hand over his outclassed opponent who possessed no deterrent force on his punches to keep the highly skilled Rafael off of him.

After losing a fight to Juan Manuel Lopez for the WBO featherweight title in November of last year, a fight where he had Lopez out on his feet for a time, a shoulder injury would perhaps prevent him from becoming a champion once more in a bout where he wasn’t nearly 100%. With this tune up type fight, Marquez looks to get back on track in hopes of attaining a title shot at perhaps Akifumi Shimoda, or Toshiaki Nishioka at junior featherweight, or even a previously rumored fight with featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa. As in the case of his brother Juan Manuel, his recent victory over Becerril doesn’t begin to approach the level of preparation necessary to take on the likes of the previously mentioned fighters. With that said, Rafael has his work cut out for him.

Source: diamondboxing.com