Juan Manuel Marquez on PPV: Five Notes on the Big Top Rank Card

On Saturday, April 14, Top Rank Boxing promoted a two-city pay-per-view event, featuring a Brandon Rios vs. Richard Abril-headlined card from the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. That was followed by a bonus main event featuring living legend Juan Manuel Marquez versus Serhiy Fedchenko for the interim WBO light welterweight championship, in front of 40,000 fans at the New Mexico City Arena.

The co-main event feature seemed to naturally suggest a future showdown between Rios and Marquez, two of the top-ranked 135-pound fighters in the world for the past few years. By the time the night was over, that possibility seemed less desirable, and certainly less likely as another headline on a pay-per-view.

Despite four competitive, well-contested fights, it was ultimately not a night that is likely to leave people feeling better about boxing.  

Once Again, Questionable Judging Overshadowed Everything Else

Brandon Rios wakes up this morning still officially undefeated, as he ran his record to 30(22)-0-1 with a split decision victory over Richard Abril. Nearly the entire boxing world will attach an asterisk to that in their minds, just as surely as most baseball fans throw one on Barry Bonds' eclipsing of Hank Aaron.

I have a hard time believing anybody who watched that fight could honestly think Brandon Rios deserved to win it or even come away with a draw.

Abril spent a good chunk of the night scoring from beyond Rios' own range with his jab and overhand right. When Rios managed to get inside, Abril turned his shoulders and used movement to make Rios miss, frustrating him. 

Abril certainly employed plenty of Octopus technique, tying Rios up. He was warned for grabbing and if he had lost a point for it, that might not have been out of line. But on accurately judged cards, a point would have been irrelevant. Abril should have won that fight eight rounds to four, maybe even nine to three. 

The Twittersphere lit up with outrage in the immediate aftermath. If fans and observers were outraged, I doubt very seriously that many were surprised. 

Fight fans have been complaining about decisions for as long as their has been judging in prize fighting. It's hard not to view the current state of judging as particularly egregious. Last year we had Erislandry Lara robbed against Paul Williams and Lucas Matthysse against Devon Alexander.

Already this year we have seen Gabriel Campillo unfairly lose a decision against light heavyweight darling Tavoris Cloud. If featherweight champion Orlando Salido had not managed to knock out Juan Manuel Lopez late in a fight he appeared to be easily winning last month, we would have probably seen an even more outrageous set of scorecards there.

Like it or not, some of this is inevitable in a judged sport. I don't always agree with judges' cards, but most of the time I give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they were able to see things from their ringside angle that I missed on television or from my seat in the press section. 

But it seems clear that the sport has been plagued more than usual lately by high-profile decisions that can only seem to be explained by incompetence or corruption. 

Juan Manuel Marquez Is Still Juan Manuel Marquez

Last night was a homecoming for Juan Manuel Marquez, his first fight in his native Mexico City since 1994. The future Hall of Famer opened a new high-tech stadium in front of 40,000 fans; the entire event was a testament to the strength and popularity of the sport in Mexico.

Crafty Ukranian Serhiy "The Professor" Fedchenko, 30(13)-2, was never a danger to win, but gave Marquez challenging rounds throughout the fight. Fedchencko stayed on Marquez's outside and forced the legendary counter-puncher into the unfamiliar role of chasing.

It will not be remembered as one of Marquez's all-time thrilling performances, but it more than demonstrated that he remains among the greatest boxer-brawlers on the planet. When he wanted to turn up the pressure and score heavily on Fedchenko, he was able to do so at will.

Nobody is going to confuse Fedchenko with a truly elite talent, but Marquez's workmanlike trouncing of the European pro sent a clear signal that even as he approaches 39 years of age, he remains at the top of the sport.

The Fact That This Card Was Pay-Per-View Is a Bad Sign for Boxing

Saturday night was originally supposed to be the super-fight showdown between Brandon Rios and Yuri Gamboa. This was to have been one of the year's most highly anticipated fights: an undefeated featherweight champion going up to challenge an undefeated lightweight champion; both of them big punchers. 

When Gamboa pulled out suddenly, Top Rank and HBO's plans were thrown into disarray. As Steve Kim of Maxboxing detailed in an interview with Top Rank President Todd duBoef, Top Rank and HBO were unable to come to terms on a replacement opponent for Rios.

The result was a pay-per-view that, frankly, didn't look much like a pay-per-view:

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“When we sign fighters, we have obligations to them,” explained duBoef. “I can’t make excuses or reasons why. Your career and family’s livelihood isn’t going to work because someone has to show an episode of ‘Homeland’ or show an episode of ‘Sex and the City’ or, to be even more relevant, ‘Game of Thrones’ or something like that. I can’t do that. So we have an obligation as a promoter to provide opportunities for our fighters, no matter what the case is. That’s our job. I would also echo this; look at UFC, for instance. They do over one a month that you are watching on pay-per-view because they didn’t have a more conventional distribution mechanism over the last 10 years. They now have FOX, obviously, so that was the place where you found their prizefights on a regular basis.” 

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I gritted my teeth and bought the event, largely because of Marquez's spot on the card. The promotion of the event seemed to suggest a summer showdown between Marquez and Rios. The idea seemed to be to keep the two of them active, give fans who really want to the chance to watch and set up the kind of high-profile matchup that HBO might take an interest in down the line.  

But good luck selling that now, when a good chunk of boxing fans are furious that Rios escaped with a split decision. Nobody who watched "Bam Bam" on Saturday could confuse him as being a fighter good enough to take on an all-time great like Marquez.

Viewed alongside ESPN's Friday night preempting of Michael Katsidis-Albert Mensah until well after 11 o'clock so that they could broadcast car racing (which is not even a sport), the picture that emerged over the weekend was not good for the sport of boxing, despite at least a few good fights actually taking place. 

Mike Alvarado Is Ready for a Title Shot Against Somebody

On the undercard, Colorado native Mike "Mile High" Alvarado improved his record to 33(23)-0 with an exciting 10-round unanimous decision over Mauricio Herrera, 18(7)-2. Somebody needs to put the 31-year-old Alvarado in a title fight. 

Alvarado's tilt with Herrera was easily the most exciting and competitive of the night. Herrera, who gave Ruslan Provodnikov his first career loss, challenged the more physically imposing Alvarado on the inside, employing tricky defense to make the fight extremely close during the first half. 

As the fight entered the later rounds, Alvarado pulled away, closing Herrera's eye and ultimately winning by a comfortable margin. 

Mercito Gesta Is a Decent Prospect

In the first fight on the PPV card, Filipino-American sensation Mercito Gesta ran his record to 25(13)-0 with a TKO of journeyman Oscar Cuero, 15(12)-8(2), in the eighth round. 

Cuero was an opponent picked to give Gesta some good rounds, so you can't read too much into Gesta's stoppage. However, Cuero has fought some decent prospects, like Dannie Williams, and he is a young but seasoned veteran. 

Gesta is a talent worth keeping an eye on.