Rafael Marquez: Ready to Fight

By Boxing News - 01/18/2011 - Comments

Image: Rafael Marquez: Ready to FightBy Francisco Hernandez: Legend Rafael Marquez has recovered from his shoulder injury and is ready to start fighting again. Rafael Marquez underwent surgery for a shoulder injury which forced him to retire in the ninth round of his last fight against Juan Manuel Lopez.

After six weeks of convalescence Marquez is ready to begin training for his next fight. Plans are in the works for a possible rematch with Juan Manuel Lopez, or a fight against Yuriorkis Gamboa, another possible opponent could be Japanese boxer Toshiaki Nishioka current super bantamweight champion.

In his last fight against Juan Manuel Lopez, Rafael Marquez had Lopez hurt and on wobbly legs in the fourth round and would have knocked out Lopez if the referee would not have stopped the action to save Lopez with the pretext of deducting a point from him. This gave Juan Manuel Lopez enough time to recover his senses and survive the round. Rafael Marquez’s shoulder impeded Marquez from keeping up the intensive pace of the fight and Juan Manuel Lopez began exerting control until Marquez could no longer move his arm and had to retire in the ninth round. If the shoulder had not become a factor in the fight it is likely that Rafael Marquez could have kayoed Juan Manuel Lopez in the late rounds, Juan Manuel Lopez looked mentally and physically hurt in that fight, he was about to crack, luckily for him Rafael’s shoulder gave out.

A fight with Yuriorkis Gamboa would be a good match up for Rafael Marquez. Gamboa is lighting fast and is one of the best skilled boxers in the world, but Marquez can counterpunch and knockout Gamboa if he catches him. Gamboa is also a question mark; he hasn’t been tested against great fighters. The only fighter of respect he has faced is Orlando Salido and Gamboa didn’t look good in that fight, Gamboa turned into a stinker despite looking invulnerable in his defense, he was too passive and played it safe to an extreme. Fans want to see if Gamboa’s boxing skills can hold up against a real fighter of substance, like Juan Manuel Lopez or in this case Rafael Marquez who knows what he is doing when he fights.

Another good fight for Rafael Marquez is against Toshiaki Nishioka the current super bantamweight champion. Most people remember Nishioka when he came down to Mexico and brutally kayoed Jhonny Gonzalez in the third round. Nishioka like most Japanese warriors likes to brawl, he is pure forward action. A fight between Nishioka and Marquez could be a candidate for fight of the year because of the ferociousness of the Samurai Nishioka and the unconquerable will of the Aztec Marquez.

Rafael Marquez motivation and desire to give the best fights in the world is not dead, it is not satiated. Marquez’s legendary fights against Israel Vasquez are considered legend and rank among the best in the history of boxing, but Marquez has two or three more pages to write in the chronicles of boxing, by this I mean he has about three more good fights left in him, and Rafael Marquez wants to make sure they are the best fights he can offer to the fans before he retires.

Any fight involving Rafael Marquez has the marks of greatness.



Comments are closed.