Friday, July 30, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rafael Marquez bears title, but scant name recognition

By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Rafael Marquez will defend his IBF bantamweight title against Heriberto Ruiz on Saturday at the MGM Grand. Photo by John Gurzinski.

For years, Mark Johnson was considered one of the best fighters in the world. At the same time, Tim Austin was building a reputation as one of the best bantamweights of all time.

But Rafael Marquez destroyed the legend of each.

Many experts think he is one of boxing's elite talents, but Marquez remains largely unknown outside of his native Mexico.

Marquez (31-3) -- who defends his IBF bantamweight title against Heriberto Ruiz (29-2-2) on Saturday at the MGM Grand -- isn't even the best-known fighter in his family, taking a back seat to older brother Juan Manuel, the featherweight champion who fought Manny Pacquiao to a draw in a memorable slugfest in May.

But Rafael Marquez shrugs off the lack of recognition.

"Obviously, I'd prefer to have everyone know about me, but I still have a job to do either way," Marquez said. "I feel like I'm the best and so I'll fight to prove that. Sooner or later, people will notice."

Marquez's struggle for recognition began with what is recorded as his first professional fight.

At age 20, Marquez fought former WBC champion Victor Rabanales, who was 33 and already had 39 victories. Marquez insisted the Sept. 14, 1995, bout was an exhibition, but it was counted on his record, giving Marquez an eighth-round technical-knockout loss.

It was a dubious start to what would become a world-class career. But Marquez has become accustomed to battling the odds and bucking the system.

"Ultimately, if you go out every fight and you show the people your heart and your skills, things will change," said Marquez, a protégé of legendary former champion Ricardo Lopez. "You have to take advantage of all the chances you get."

Bantamweights rarely get television exposure in the United States, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said, and consequently, they have trouble becoming stars.

Only in the last decade have classes below lightweight gotten main-event exposure on HBO and Showtime. But Arum said the bar, at least for the time being, seems to have stopped at featherweight.

"Years ago, even the featherweights couldn't be brought to the attention of the public," Arum said. "But bantamweights, unless there is an extraordinary compelling matchup, it's very, very difficult because HBO and Showtime aren't likely to use one of them as a main event. At best, they're going to go second banana on an (HBO) After Dark show. And then they can't carry a pay-per-view card.

"Rafael as a fighter is a tremendous talent. He is about as good as it gets as far as talent. He's a good kid, a nice-looking kid, but it's very, very hard to market him other than how we're doing."

Marquez has cleaned out the big names in the bantamweight division. Now he must wait for one of the other fighters, such as Joan Guzman or Oscar Larrios, to build enough of a reputation to make a big fight.

"Anybody, anywhere, any time," Marquez said. "I'm ready for whatever Bob Arum can give me. Bring it on."