OVER THE HILL MARQUEZ GETS FOE WITH WEIGHTY ISSUES
Marquez “Owned” By Bradley
San Francisco, CA– Most of you don’t remember the Freddie Norwood-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on HBO in 1999. The match stunk so bad that at the post fight party the HBO hierarchy at the time boldly stated, “Marquez is done on HBO.” Almost 16 years later, JMM is still around and yes appearing on HBO this Saturday night vs. Mike Alvarado at the revamped Los Angeles Forum.
MARQUEZ AN ALMOST .500 FIGHTER OF LATE
Mike “Starved” Alvarado
Having gone 5-3 in his last eight fights, he’d be 4-4 had he not hit the “chin lottery” and knocked out Manny Pacquiao in 2012 at a point and time when JMM was getting shellacked. The loss to Tim Bradley in October 2013 was a “pathetic” attempt by JMM to resemble a world class fighter. By the end of 12 rounds, Bradley had dominated the slower, older Mexican mauler whose only claim to fame is losing to and then beating Manny Pacquiao.
WHAT MAKES JMM A “GREAT” FIGHTER?
All of this hyperbole about his being a “great” fighter is just that. Marquez is a good fighter, one that is usually well prepared for battle. But don’t confuse him for a knockout artist, a fighter that spews excitement like Marvin Hagler, no JMM is just a guy that happened to give Manny Pacquiao trouble. Outside of that, what has he done since losing his WBA 126 lb. strap to Chris John in 2006? Even though he bested an old and worn out Marco Antonio Barrera, Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, the only real JMM “highlight reel” type of stuff is the Pacquiao fights.
HOW GOOD IS MIKE ALVARADO?
Mike Alvarado is a fighter of unknown quality seeing he was unbeaten and fighting out of that pugilistic capital that is Colorado “under the radar” per se until he was stopped by Brandon Rios in October 2012. The Colorado based fighter won a 12 round Unanimous Decision over Rios in a rematch, which set up Alvarado (now 34-2, 23 KOs) for the WBO 140 lb. title fight with Ruslan Providnikov in which he was smacked at will until the stoppage in round nine.
ALVARADO “DEAD MAN” WALKING IN RING
Looking like a man who had “starved” himself into a state of anorexia I haven’t seen a fighter that drawn at a weigh since the late Johnny Owen. The weight for this fight is 140 lbs. So here comes the $64,000 question. Why in the hell would Alvarado try and fight again at 140, seeing he was physically incapable of fighting at that weight? At 5’9, Mike Alvarado is cruising for a bruising that could bring about his 3rd loss, all by TKO.
JMM IS ON THE WAY OUT!
IF JMM LOSES…HE’S TOO OLD
Marquez has little to lose here. Now 40 going on 64, his reflexes said adios a while back and JMM is merely fighting for a chance to go one more time with Manny Pacquiao. If JMM (55-7-1, 40 KOs) wins, he wouldn’t sign a suicide pact and meet Provodnikov. With Floyd Mayweather being a turd, Pacquiao-Mayweather, although I still think it’s a mismatch in Floyd’s favor, that fight ain’t happening. Thus, it’s all about another Pacquiao fight.
YOUNG GUYS SHOULD BE ABLE TO BEST JMM
At 33, one can only wonder if Alvarado can run roughshod over Marquez, for if he doesn’t it will be a slow typical JMM fight. Very few fireworks are expected in the grand arena that is the L.A. or Inglewood Forum. I am hoping that there is a significant Mexican undercard, for if there isn’t, this return to the Forum would not be all that glorious for the desired Hispanic (mainly Mexican) demographics expected to pack the house.
FORUM BOXING WAS THE BEST PROMOTION IN USA!
At one point, the Forum was the hottest boxing program in the country. Forum Boxing, headed by “JJ” aka John Jackson and Antonio Curtis making matches, there was always drama and good fights at the Forum 12 years ago. It was the last place I interviewed deceased heavyweight contender Jerry Quarry, I’d go there as much as I could or catch the fights on the now defunct Sportschannel. Even meet jazz icon Miles Davis at one of LA Laker owner Jerry Buess.
CHANCE TO EXCEL OR DROWN FOR ALVARADO
As previously stated, Alvarado is 5’9, Marquez is barely 5’7. The reach edge goes to Alvarado by a miniscule amount, meaning about two inches. For Alvarado to win, the Colorado fighter will have to use his height, reach and feet to carry him to victory. Whether he has the skills to beat an aging old man remains to be seen. Before I go realize this, the Top Rank matchmakers that chose Alvarado to face JMM, don’t make many mistakes!
Pedro Fernandez