By James Allen: Observers can be forgiven for wondering whether Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KO’s) was beginning to slip just a little bit as the his fight against Mike Alvarado (34-3, 23 KO’s) on May 17th approached. His last outing saw him suffer a lopsided points defeat to fellow Manny Pacquiao conqueror Timothy Bradley last October, where the younger man’s athleticism was a telling factor.
Ten months previously he had achieved what will be remembered as his most famous victory as he left long-time rival Manny Pacquiao face-down and motionless after landing a devastating right hand with only seconds left in the sixth round. However, the clinical finish combined with an earlier knockdown in the third flattered to deceive. Whenever the Pac-man let his hands go his superior speed and willingness for combat meant Marquez was taking a beating for prolonged periods, and it is a testament to his ring intelligence that he was able to harness Pacquiao’s recklessness and produce a spectacular finish despite looking slower than he had in previous contests.
Mike Alvarado had more concrete questions being asked about him. The 33-year-old had taken his first two losses in his last three fights; two wars with Brandon Rios in which they traded wins, followed by a brutal engagement with the ‘Siberian Rocky’ Ruslan Provodnikov where Alvarado was forced to retire on his stool by the violent pace that Ruslan had set, relinquishing the 140lbs title he had won only one fight before. How much did he have left going up against one of the most accurate combination punchers in the business?
Not enough as it turned out. Alvarado seemed content to remain at a distance in the opening third of the fight, making only an occasional foray in to punching range, where he was met more often than not with an accurate jab or solid left hook. The two fighters engaged more regularly as the fight progressed and it was here that the older warrior was able to display his talent, regularly ripping in three, four and five punch combinations with impressive accuracy. Alvarado for his part could not find the requisite distance to land his own effective strikes, often smothering his own work as he leaned in against the smaller Mexican.
Alvarado seemed unwilling to press the action, and despite landing the odd sharp left hook, was rather inactive in comparison with his past performances, meaning that the pace of the fight suited Marquez, who was willing to perform at this rate with no problem whatsoever. Perhaps he was laying a trap for the later rounds, or believed that picking his shots would be a more effective approach. Whatever the reason, his tactics made it difficult to see him winning any rounds in the first half of the fight, as Marquez offset many of his sporadic attempts with subtle head and lateral movement.
Far from resting on his laurels, Marquez chose to return fire whenever Alvarado found a modicum of success, increasingly so as the younger man began to chase the fight, and landed hurtful looking body shots when ‘Mile High’ chose to stand in front of him. He regularly threw his trademark flurry of uppercuts followed by straight shots to great effect, never seeming to slow or tire as he did so.
The eight round bore the fruits of Marquez’s labor. Having boxed beautifully for nearly the entire round with less than ten seconds to go he blasted Alvarado with a perfect one-two, opening a wound beneath the left eye and sending the younger man sprawling backwards halfway across the ring, ending up beneath the bottom rope. Marquez just stood in the neutral corner with his gloves on his hips, admiring his work as the count was answered at eight to finish the round.
If that was an overwrought moment, the next was Rocky-esque, as Alvarado dropped Marquez within the first minute of the next session with a clean right hand to the jaw as Marquez opened up for another of his beguiling combinations. It was Alvarado’s first, last, and only stand in a fight where he had been utterly dominated up to this point. The moment of glory was short-lived however, as Marquez rose to his feet at the count of three and picked up where he had left off; smashing in the increasingly bloodied face of a newly emboldened Alvarado with an impressive array of punches.
The rest of the fight could not live up to this peak despite some vicious exchanges that left the viewer impressed by the grit of both men. marquez closed out the show with no major hiccups, boxing with the same control he had done throughout and finished as the unanimous victor on the judges scorecards: 119-108, 117-109, 117-09. For ‘Dinamita’ this means a fifth meeting with Manny Pacquiao who has recently avenged a hotly debated loss to Timothy Bradley to regain the WBO Welterweight crown. For ‘Mighty’ Mike it seems the glass ceiling has been reached. He has mixed with decent opposition up to this point, but it is doubtful that names like Breidis Prescott, Mauricio Herrera and Brandon Rios will be mentioned in the same breath as Juan Manuel Marquez in years to come.
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