Against Mayweather, underdog Marquez swings at greatness

LAS VEGAS — When a fighter is as special as Juan Manuel Marquez, it shouldn't take this long for him to reach this level.

In 16 years as a professional, however, Saturday's bout against Floyd Mayweather at MGM Grand will be just the second time he has headlined a pay-per-view event (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET).

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A featherweight for most of his career, this is the first bout for Marquez above lightweight (135). The non-title fight is being billed as a welterweight matchup even though it will take place several pounds under the 147-pound limit.

Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs), the pound-for-pound king before he took a two-year layoff, is a heavy favorite.

"It doesn't matter with me when the people say Mayweather (will) win," says Marquez, a Mexico City native who has rarely been an underdog. "I will put my Mexican heart inside the ring."

Until recently, when there was talk of all-time great Mexican fighters, the role call would read, in order: Julio Cesar Chavez, Salvador Sanchez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

It wasn't until five years ago that Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) started to creep into the picture, and that came on the heels of a draw in his first encounter with Manny Pacquiao.

Marquez was dropped three times in the first round, his nose broken on the final one, but got up to not only finish the 12-round featherweight championship fight but he won more rounds against the hard-punching and mythical pound-for-pound king.

In 2007, Marquez finally got a shot at Barrera and won a unanimous decision. He never fought Morales, who fought a trilogy with Barrera from 2000-04, the last two PPV shows.

"All the time I been behind Morales and Barrera. I know it's my time," says Marquez of feeling left out when he was promoted by Bob Arum of Top Rank, which also handled the careers of his countrymen.

"I'm very angry … Three fights (with) Barrera and Morales? What happened to Marquez? My promoter didn't give me the opportunities."

Marquez, 36, signed with Golden Boy Promotions in 2006. Despite being at an advanced age — particularly for fighters in the lighter weight classes who rely more on speed and reflexes than power — he has risen to new heights.

Even though he lost a close split decision in a rematch with Pacquiao 18 months ago, Marquez rose from the canvas again in what was another classic. He won the lineal lightweight crown from the long dominant but underrated Joel Casamayor, becoming the first to knock him out.

Earlier this year, Marquez kept up a blistering pace to become the first to knock out Juan Diaz with beautifully timed uppercuts from both hands in what is a leading candidate for Fight of the Year.

He realizes Mayweather will require him to raise his game even more. And he expects Mayweather, who has fought as heavy as 150 pounds, to impose his perceived advantage in strength.

"I think Mayweather is going to come out with everything in the first round. He's not going to wait," Marquez says. "If that happens it's going to be a great fight."

The anticipation is so great for Marquez that he revealed he'll do anything — including drinking his own urine for extra vitamins in the second installment of HBO's 24/7: Mayweather/Marquez— to win.

The sight of Marquez, who is followed into the bathroom by cameras, downing the warm, yellow liquid in a clear glass without the slightest cringe has created a national buzz. That 24/7 episode is one of the network's two top-rated shows since they began airing two years ago, according to Mark Taffet of HBO PPV.

"A fighter who's lost before, he's got doubt. There's a blueprint on how to beat Marquez," Mayweather says. "There's not a blueprint on how to beat Mayweather. …

"But I'm not going to drink urine or nothing like that. (That's) crazy."

A win of this magnitude would put Marquez alongside, and maybe even above, his idol, Chavez (107-6-2), a legend from Culiacan who knocked out Meldrick Taylor with two seconds left in their junior welterweight championship bout in 1990.

A win, he says, "it'll make Mexican people crazy. Me, too."

No lien: There is no longer an Internal Revenue Service lien on Mayweather's purse, meaning that the IRS will not show up at today's weigh-in to collect the roughly $6 million Mayweather was believed to have owed.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2009-09-17-marquez-mayweather-adv_N.htm