Marquez vs. Juarez on Saturday night

By Boxing News - 11/01/2007 - Comments

World Boxing Council super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (47-3, 35 KOs) defends his title against American Rocky Juarez (27-3, 19 KOs) on Saturday night at the Desert Diamond Casino, in Tucson, Arizona. Marquez, 34, has finally healed his hand injury which caused the postponement of their bout seven weeks ago. At the time, there were rumors that the fight was postponed not because of an injury to Marquez but rather because of dismal ticket sales.

This time, nothing has changed, as this fight has received very little press from the boxing public despite the fact that it’s the biggest American staged fight this weekend, and is being shown on Showtime. Part of the problem, it seems, is Marquez’s choice of opponent.

Though Juarez, 27, is a decent fighters, he’s also been beaten twice in the past year to the washed up Marco Antonio Barrera, lost twice by decision. Not a good a sign if you want to create ticket sales. Marquez has also had his problems, losing a one-sided decision to Chris John in March 2006. While Marquez has had three excellent wins since then, beating Terdsak Jandaeng, Jimrex Jaca and Marco Antonio Barrera, none of the wins have erased the tarnish from the clear cut loss to Johns.

Should Marquez get by Juarez, almost a given, there are rumors of Marquez taking on Pacquiao in a rematch of their May 2004 bout which resulted in a draw. Pacquiao has done little since then, aside from lose to Erik Morales and then beat a weight drained Morales in two subsequent rematches and an unneeded rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera. Should Marquez land a bout with Pacquiao, there’s a strong possibility that he might be able to knock him off, because the Filipino start appears to be mainly fighting for money at this point in his career and doesn’t look as strong as he formerly did.