Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Joel Casamayor to become the new lightweight champion of the world tonight in Las Vegas.
Marquez brutally knocked Casamayor out in the 11th round, knocking him down once with a right hand on the chin and then knocking him down again and ending the fight with another right just a few seconds later. Although the fight wasn't for the lightweight title belts of any of the alphabet soup sanctioning bodies, it was for the more significant Ring Magazine lightweight title. The real lightweight champ is the Ring champ, and now the true champ is Marquez.
Marquez said after the fight that he hopes to fight Manny Pacquiao again. That could happen some time in 2009, and it would be a great fight, as the first two fights between Marquez and Pacquiao have been.
The 37-year-old Casamayor falls to 36-4-1, with the first knockout loss of his career. The 35-year-old Marquez improved his record to 49-4-1, and he adds another title to his resume.
