Posts Tagged ‘Rafael Marquez’

.

Victory for Juan Manuel Lopez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena

Zab Judah wins by split decision

Johnson earns final spot in ‘Super Six’

Saturday 6^th November, 2010.

Juan Manuel Lopez retained his WBO featherweight title with a technical knockout over Rafael Marquez live on SHOWTIME® from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. In the evening’s co-feature veteran boxer Glen Johnson earned the final spot in the Super Six World Boxing Classic Semifinals with a knockout win over Allan Green.

—————-

In an IBF and WBO jr welterweight eliminator, former two-division world champion Zab Judah (40-6, 27 KOs) won a split decision over previously unbeaten KO artist Lucas Matthysse (27-1, 25 KOs) on Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. For the first nine rounds, it was a tactical battle with Judah concentrating on head shots while Matthysse focused on the body. That all changed in round ten when Matthysse dropped Judah with a hard shot to the head, and further punished Judah in rounds eleven and twelve. It wasn’t enough, however, as Judah prevailed 114-113, 115-112 on two cards while the third card was 114-113 for Matthysse.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Rafael Marquez is not letting anything out of the bag in advance of Saturday’s WBO featherweight title showdown against champion Juan Manual Lopez on SHOWTIME. All he would show reporters was a few minutes of shadowboxing at a media day earlier this week.

. Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Puerto Rican superstar and WBO featherweight world champ Juan Manuel Lopez and Mexican legend and future Hall of Famer Rafael Marquez participated in an open workout at Fortune Gym in Hollywood on Monday, just five days before their rivalry fight on Saturday, Nov. 6, LIVE on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ:

“It’s definitely not going to be an easy fight. Marquez has been in some wars, so that’s what I’m preparing for.

“I had a real good camp in Puerto Rico and then in Las Vegas last week. I’m definitely ready to get in the ring.

“I think sometimes if you knock out a guy like this early in the fight then the people won’t be happy. I’m hoping this will be a real long fight so people can see it and enjoy it.

Referring to the Puerto Rico-Mexico rivalry:

“I think it is the biggest rivalry in boxing. We’ve had some great fights, but it’s not just the fights. We’ve also had some great fighters, some true legends. Facing a guy like Marquez makes the fight that much bigger. It does carry a lot more weight for me than any regular fight. This is much bigger than that.”

MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States – 6 November - WBO featherweight title

RAFAEL MARQUEZ:

“I feel good at this weight. I’m happy to finally be here.

“I think the key to this fight will be conditioning. Whoever is better conditioned to go the 12 rounds will be the winner.

“I’ve fought guys with great records before. If you know what you’re doing in the ring and you’re smart you won’t have any problems. So I’m not worried about him having a perfect record.

“I don’t think you can rely on experience to do everything. Obviously I have more experience, but I’m not putting any stake in it. You have to be well conditioned and prepared.”

On having changed trainers:

“It got to the point that Nacho (Beristain) wasn’t training me anymore. It was just time to move on. (New trainer Daniel) Zaragoza has taught me a lot. He’s lefthanded, and I’m fighting a lefty, so he opens up a lot more opportunities for me.

On winning a title in a third weight division:

“This fight is something that I need, I want and that I’m capable of doing.”

About the Puerto Rico-Mexico rivalry:

“For me, it’s not something that’s extra. All I know is we’ve had some great fighters and some of the best fights in the world.”

.

Short Bio — Juan Manuel “Juanma” López Rivera (born June 30, 2024) is a Puerto Rican boxer. As an amateur, Lopez represented Puerto Rico at numerous international tournaments including the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games, 2003 Pan American Games and the 2004 Summer Olympics. López’s professional career began in 2005. As a professional he won his first nine fights by knockout before winning his first decision. On September 30, 2024 he defeated Jose Alonso to win the WBO Latino super bantamweight Championship, a regional championship sanctioned by the World Boxing Organization. On June 7, 2008, Lopez defeated Daniel Ponce de León by technical knockout to win the WBO super bantamweight championship. He held the title until January 23, 2009, vacating it after defeating Steven Luevano for the organization’s featherweight championship.

WBO Super Bantamweight Champion — 2008 Jun 7 – 2010 Jan 23 (Vacated)

WBO Featherweight Champion - 2010 Jan 23 – (present)

.

Short Bio — Rafael Márquez Méndez (born 25 March 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican boxer. He is a former world champion at the IBF / IBO Bantamweight (118 lb) and WBC Super Bantamweight (122 lb) divisions.

Márquez comes from a strong boxing pedigree. His older brother, Juan Manuel Márquez, was the former WBA and IBF Featherweight World Champion, former WBC Jr. Lightweight World Champion, and current WBA, WBO, and Ring Magazine Lineal Lightweight World Champion.

IBF Bantamweight Champion - 2003 Feb 15 – 2007 Mar 16 – Vacated

WBC Super Bantamweight Champion - 2007 Mar 3 – 2007 Aug 4

.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with PR Best Boxing, Zanfer Promotions, Gary Shaw Productions and SHOWTIME, Lopez vs Marquez will take place on Saturdayat the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be televised live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Southpaw Lopez (29-0, 26 KOs) is 27-years-old and has been fighting professionally for five years. He is a consensus top-10 pound-for-pound fighter and is widely considered a rising star. A win over Marquez would easily be the most significant of his young career. Conversely, Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs) at 35-years-old is well into the second half of a remarkable career. He has fought in 11 world title fights in his 15 years as a pro and he is a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. A win over Lopez would give him a world title in his third weight division.

“This has become the most important fight of my career,” Marquez said.

JunaMa, the pride of Puerto Rico, earned his first world title by stopping defending WBO junior featherweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in the first round in June 2008. After retaining the 122-pound belt five times, winning four by knockout, he abandoned the division to challenge WBO 126-pound champion Steven Luevano on Jan. 28, 2010. Lopez knocked out Luevano in the seventh round.

In his most recent start and lone featherweight title defense, Lopez won his debut on SHOWTIME with an exciting second-round TKO over Bernabe Concepcion on July 10 in Puerto Rico.

Lopez dropped Concepcion in the first minute of the opening round, but Concepcion rallied to score a knockdown at the conclusion of the session. Lopez floored Concepcion twice in the second before the referee halted matters at 2:37.

“I’m looking forward to showing my skills against a great champion like Rafael Marquez, one of the all-time greats and a future Hall of Famer,” Lopez said. “It will be the biggest fight of my career.”

It will be the first fight for Marquez, a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight champion, since he evened the score with Vazquez at two wins apiece with a dominant third-round knockout last May 22. The fourth encounter of perhaps this era’s greatest boxing rivalry was fought at featherweight; the initial three were at super bantamweight (122 pounds).

The second and third installments between Marquez and Vazquez were named Fight of the Year in 2007 and 2008, respectively, by The Ring.

Besides Vazquez, Marquez boasts victories over world champions Tim Austin, Mauricio Pastrana and Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson (twice each). After he ended the six-year reign of the previously unbeaten Austin with an upset eighth-round knockout in February 2003, Marquez successfully defended the title seven times before moving up in weight to face Vazquez the first time in March 2007.

If successful against Lopez, Rafael and brother Juan Manuel will become the first siblings to win world titles in three different weight classes.

Both Lopez and Marquez bring an exciting style of fighting into the ring. Both are two-division world champions and they boast a combined record of 68 wins with an astounding 61 knockouts, 90 percent. The impending fight is an important crossroads fight for both men, but they are at very different points in their careers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Two-division world champion Rafael Marquez took his training up a notch last week as he prepares for his world title battle against undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez on Saturday, November 6, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The rumble between the pride of México and Puerto Rico, respectively, will be televised live by SHOWTIME Championship Boxing. The 12-round world championship bout, originally set for Sept. 18, had to be rescheduled after Marquez injured his right thumb.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Promoter Gary Shaw has confirmed that the featherweight battle between Rafael Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs) and WBO champion Juan Manuel Lopez (29-0, 26 KOs) is heading to the MGM Grand on November 6. Showtime will televise. The fight was previously scheduled for September 18, but Marquez suffered a right thumb injury which caused a postponement.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dan Rafael has written on his Twitter page that the delayed 126-pound fight between Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez is re-set to go ahead on November 6th. Apparently, Gary Shaw, co-promoter of Marquez, told Rafael that the fight will still take place in Las Vegas, at The MGM, the first Saturday in November.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Vasily Jirov “The Tiger” – Calls on Green

Former IBF Cruiserweight Champion, Vasily Jirov “The Tiger” is set to return to action and has been actively in search for an opponent.

His manager Ivaylo Zhirova Hotze said “I talked to the Danny Green, and I think that after his easy victory over Paul Briggs he will be looking for a good fight. Hopefully, the popular Australian fighter will take us on, this fight will not disappoint the fans “- said Hotze.

Welterweight Unification Fight - WBC/IBF

A junior welterweight unification between WBC/IBF junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander and WBO king Timothy Bradley is very close to conclusion.

Their promoters, Don King and Gary Shaw, met with HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg, and Senior Vice President of Sports Kery Davis on Thursday. A deal was reached, which includes a 50-50 split between the fighters.

Now all that remains is for the fighters to accept the deal.

Linares Vs Chavez in Japan

Two-division world champion Jorge “Niño de Oro” Linares will be fighting next on October 24 in Tokyo against former world champion Jesus “Matador” Chávez.

The Chavez Vs Linares clash will be at a contract weight of 132 pounds and take place on the world championship card featuring WBC super featherweight world champion Toshiaki Nishioka against Rendall Munroe in the main event.

Guillermo Jones Vs Valery Brudov

WBA cruiserweight world champion Guillermo Jones will be defending his crown against Valery Brudov from Russia, with the fight landing at the Roberto Duran Arena in Panama City on October 2. The fight will be a part of the WBA’s KO Drugs fight night. After two years and one month since winning the belt, Jones would be making his first defense.

Rafael Marquez – out for September 18th

According to Fight News, former bantamweight and super bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez (39-5, 35 KO’s) injured his thumb and will be unable to fight World Boxing Organization featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez on September 18th. The thumb injury, which occurred while Marquez was on a bus, will take approximately two months to heal. In the meantime, WBO featherweight champion Lopez will be looking for a replacement to step in for Marquez on the 18th of next month.

Tomasz Adamek Vs Michael Grant

Former two-division champion Tomasz Adamek takes on Michael Grant this Saturday night in a 12 round bout at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites