Juan Manuel Marquez Must Walk Through Fire, 'Put Fear' Into Mayweather

Juan Manuel Marquez has said that he is willing to walk through fire, to die in the ring in order to take down undefeated six-time champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr., on Saturday night.

"But that fire," said noted boxing scribe, Michael Katz, "might be doused by Marquez's own blood."

"Marquez has been cut and bloody in so many of his fights. And when you reach Marquez's age, and the skin goes, it goes. It just doesn't get any better," said Katz, who has covered boxing for over 40 years and been ringside for several of Marquez's bouts.

"When a fighter has been in as many wars as Marquez has," Katz said, "there's no telling when the skin might not hold up."

A former five-time champion over three weight classes, the 36-year-old Marquez will be fighting at his highest weight ever when he enters the ring against Mayweather in their non-title matchup at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.



"There are not too many fighters who have had the privilege of fighting a great athlete like Floyd Mayweather. Now it is my fighter's turn," said Marquez's trainer, Nacho Beristain, of a fight billed as "Numero Uno," and televised on HBO pay-per-view to be contested at a catchweight of 144 pounds.

"Juan Manuel Marquez is a great athlete in his own right. He has great technique and work ethic in everything that he does," said Beristain. "We have worked so hard for this fight and we believe that we have the chance to win."

As the underdog against the 32-year-old Mayweather (39-0, 25 knockouts) -- a larger, faster, masterful defensive specialist with deceptive power -- Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) knows that he will require all of the skills he can muster if he is to win a clash of athletes considered to be among boxing's best, pound-for-pound.

Dominant as a featherweight (126 pounds), super featherweight (130) and lightweight (135), Marquez is trying to make the leap to welterweight -- with a ceiling of 147.

"I know people are betting against me, but it doesn't matter to me. I have my mind and I have my concentration, and I have the motivation to win," said Marquez during a press conference Wednesday at the MGM Grand.

"This fight is a different weight for me. I worked very hard. I built up my speed and my strength," said Marquez. "In my mind, Floyd Mayweather is the number one pound-for-pound fighter, and to be number one, you have to fight number one."


Mayweather floored hard-punching Diego Corrales five times for the latter's first loss in 34 bouts in defense of his 130-pound World Boxing Council title in January 2001.

But Mayweather has never faced a fighter with the resilience of Marquez, who has the uncanny ability to clear his head, refocus and make adjustments after shaking off early damage.

"If Marquez gets Floyd in trouble, I'll be surprised, but not shocked," said Doug Fischer, co-editor of RingTV.com. "But that's because Marquez has done things in his career that are, quite frankly, unbelievable."

Marquez's face was masked in blood as he overcame adversity during bouts with Manny Pacquiao, Jimrex Jaca, Marco Antonio Barrera, Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz -- even rebounding for knockouts over Jaca, Casamayor and Diaz.

Down three times in Round 1 during his May 2004 fight against Pacquiao, Marquez rose and battled to a draw.

"It seemed like Marquez was done after the third knockdown, but he came out and, I thought, actually won the second round," said Fischer.

"Marquez got his head together while having to breathe through this broken nose that was pouring with blood, and actually figured out Pacquiao," Fischer said. "He executed his game plan to where many people thought that he had won the fight."

Against another Filipino, Jaca, in November 2006, Marquez survived a cut caused by a fifth-round, accidental head butt -- with blood streaming from a gash over his left eye -- to stop his rival in the ninth round.

Down in the seventh round of his March 2007 clash with Barrera, Marquez -- cut around his right eye -- persevered to win a decision.

Marquez rose from a third-round knockdown against Pacquiao during their second meeting in March 2008 on the way to losing a disputed split-decision.

"A lot of people know that I won the fight with Pacquiao in 2004," said Marquez, only the fourth Mexican to win titles in different weight classes. "And I also know that I won the fight with Pacquiao in 2008."

Whether Marquez's punching power will rise with him against Mayweather remains a question -- even as the aging warrior dispatched of Casamayor and Diaz in the 11th and ninth rounds, respectively, at 135, and, 134 1/2 pounds.

"When they start the fight with Mayweather, pressure will be very important," said Marquez, who must disrupt Mayweather's speed by moving in behind his educated jab. "It will be important to connect punches and very important to work the body."

The fact that Marquez starched the slick, counter-punching former champion Casamayor for the first time in Casamayor's career makes Marquez an upset candidate, Fischer said.

"I never thought Marquez would knock out Casamayor, who was used to fighting at lightweight, was naturally heavier, and was a crafty fighter and a devil in the ring," Fischer said. "Anybody who can do that is a special individual, and you never want to count somebody out who can do that."

Marquez's victory over Casamayor was on Sept. 13, three days before Mexico's annual Independence Day. Mayweather-Marquez takes place three days after, and Marquez looks to draw on the strength of his countrymen.

"I want to dedicate this fight to the Mexican people who are going to be there, and all of the Mexican people around the world," said Marquez.

Although Fischer was impressed from ringside at Marquez's ninth-round knockout of Diaz in February, the fact that Marquez was staggered by Diaz -- with just 17 knockouts on his 35-2 record -- does not bode well against Mayweather.

"Diaz shook him. Marquez's legs stiffened up and buckled a couple of times," said Fischer of Diaz, whom Marquez also stopped for the first time in his career. "And Diaz is not a power-puncher."

Two of Marquez's four losses were against slick, boxing types -- then-unbeaten Freddie Norwood of Missouri in September 1999, and still unbeaten Chris John of Indonesia in March 2006 in John's hometown.

The loss to Norwood, for the WBA featherweight crown, was on the undercard of Mayweather's seventh-round knockout of Carlos Gerena in defense of his WBC super featherweight title.

"Norwood did what Mayweather could do, which is stay on the outside and keep moving. And if Marquez got close, Norwood just tied him up," Katz said.

"Marquez has to put the fear into Mayweather so that Mayweather starts fighting defensively," Katz said. "That means walking through punches and hurting Mayweather -- either to the body or to the head. Otherwise, Mayweather's good enough to pot-shot this guy."

But Marquez has trained to pursue Mayweather for all 12 rounds, searching for openings and looking to out-land and outsmart him.

"I will put all of my energy into this fight. The combinations in this fight are very important. The combinations to the body, to the head are what I've worked on," said Marquez.

"Mayweather is elusive and a counter-puncher. I am going to go after him," Marquez said. "There is a chance he might try to come after me, but I know that I am going to go after him."