Masterclass: Juan Manuel Marquez defeats Mike Alvarado in a thriller

Inglewood, Calif.- Juan Manuel Marquez may not yet know if he wants to face Manny Pacquiao for a fifth time, but Saturday night he left no doubt that he still has what it takes to fight at the highest level of the sport, as he defeated Mike Alvarado by unanimous decision.

In a masterful performance, the 40-year-old four division titlist displayed all of the boxing spirit that makes him one of the greatest fighters of his generation. From his awe-inspiring combination punching, power, and still impressive hand speed, to his legendary recuperative powers, resiliency, and willingness to exchange, the Mexican fighter enthralled a raucous crowd of 12,090 at the Forum in Los Angeles.  Marquez, whose last fight at the Forum was in 1998, is now 13-0 at the venue.

Here is the DSH round-by-round recap of tonight's fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Mike Alvarado at the Forum:

MAIN EVENT
Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs)
(12 Rounds – WBO Welterweight Eliminator)

Round 1: Slow start for both fighters. Marquez lands a few glancing right hands as Alvarado starts very cautiously. Marquez is the one pressing the pace, which isn’t all that fast. Marquez hasn’t landed anything big, but the few shots he has landed are about all the action in the round. Now Marquez lands a lead right...and Alvarado answers with one of his own. Another looping right by Alvarado glances off Marquez’s left ear, but doesn’t do much damage. 10-9 Marquez, 10-9 Marquez

Round 2: Alvarado lands a nice left hook counter to start the round, Marquez lands a right uppercut and follows up with a 1-2 combo. Both still feeling each other out in this round. Marquez initiates the infrequent exchanges but Alvarado counters well. Neither fighter has been hurt. Marquez is landing the right more consistently and has used the jab well. Already some swelling over the right eye of Alvarado. 10-9 Marquez, 20-18 Marquez

Round 3: Alvarado is clearly trying to be patient in the fight, but he is simply methodically losing that way because Marquez is just the master at out-thinking his opponents.  Marquez begins to go to work with classic combinations to the body and head. Marquez is the busier and more accurate fighter again in this round. 10-9 Marquez, 30-27 Marquez

Round 4: Alvarado will have to start taking more chances if he wants to win some rounds. This round is fought at a quicker pace with Alvarado seeking to turn up the heat. He lands some good early shots, but soon he is eating Marquez combinations and feeling left hooks to the body. Marquez lands two big rights and a left hook to end the round. Can Alvarado continue to take those shots over 12 rounds? 10-9 Marquez, 40-36 Marquez

(Crowd boos Timothy Bradley wildly when the monitor shows him)

Round 5: Good uppercut from Alvarado to start the round, but JMM throws several combinations and adds left hooks to the body that land. JMM is really investing in shots to the body, especially that left hook, which sometimes he turns into a left uppercut. The Master is teaching and we should all take notice. Even at 40 he is awe-inspiring. The round ends with a flurry by both fighters. 10-9 Marquez, 50-45 Marquez

Round 6: Alvarado looks good for the first minute or so of the round. Marquez lands a couple of jabs and avoids a big right as the fight slows in the middle of the round. Three punch combo punctuated by a right cross for Marquez. Both exchange body shots. Alvarado trying to exchange with Marquez but the hands are not as quick. Tremendous exchange to close the round. 10-9 Marquez, 60-54 Marquez

Round 7: They trade solid right hands to open the round. Alvarado is landing, even as the crowd goes wild for every Marquez punch. But Marquez is just able to throw punches in bunches like very few fighters in this era. Marquez lands a big uppercut and right hand, but Alvarado walks through it. He has quite a chin. More big shots by the Master, rights and lefts to the head and body. Alvarado has heart, but he's up against a Legend who still has it. 10-9 Marquez, 70-63 Marquez

Round 8: What a grueling way for a 40-year old to fight! Will he get tired? Alvarado must be hoping so. Another clean 1-2 by Marquez. Alvarado appears to be waiting to counter, but he tends to get the worst of those exchanges. Marquez hits first…and then counters Alvarado's counter effectively as well. Strong right hands by Marquez drive Alvarado back. Huge right knocks Alvarado under the ropes and almost out of the ring! Amazingly, he gets up just as the bell rings! 10-8 Marquez, 80-71 Marquez

Round 9: What a show. Marquez goes down on a right from Alvarado! What have we here? (True Story: I was so shocked by this I instinctively grabbed a nearby Miguel Cotto who was making his exit and urged him to watch what just happened!) Marquez gets up and then starts throwing bombs. A right hand from Marquez causes a cut under Alvarado's right eye. The exchanges come fast and furious as both fighters land big shots. Perhaps the round of the year! 10-8 Alvarado, 88-81 Marquez

Round 10: Another big right hand from Alvarado in the 10th forces Marquez to hold for a second. The pace slows as both take a break from the last round. Big right hands from Marquez as he continues to stalk Alvarado around the ring. Alvarado appears to be looking to catch his breath this round. 10-9 Marquez, 98-90 Marquez

Round 11: Marquez continues to shoot straight shots down the middle through the guard of Alvarado. Two great left hooks for Alvarado and Marquez responds with a left uppercut. Marquez is still the busier fighter and continues to invest in shots to the body, especially the left hook. He is still quick on his feet and actively feints. Alvarado lands a huge right hand and Marquez nearly goes down…the referee says no knockdown…and the replay shows he was correct that it was not. Close round. 10-9, 108-99 Marquez

Round 12: Marquez throwing leather as the crowd chants his name to begin the 12th. Alvarado winging rights and lefts but missing early. Alvarado throws a flurry of punches that mostly miss. Marquez lands a left hook cleanly. Marquez throws clean shots up the middle, but Alvarado takes them well, as he has most of the night. Huge right hand from Marquez to end the round that staggers Alvarado. 10-9 Marquez, 118-108 Marquez

What a fight! Largely dominated by Marquez through 8 rounds, the 9th round knockdown by Alvarado turned a great fight into an all-out war.

UD Juan Manuel Marquez: 119-109, 119-109, 117-108



Here was our analysis of the undercard action in Los Angeles from earlier tonight:

Oscar Valdez (10-0, 9KOs) vs. Noel Echevarria (11-2, 6 KOs)
(8 Rounds – Featherweight)

An entertaining fight like so many Mexico-Puerto Rico bouts, both guys came out swinging and giving it their all. Valdez’s power shots are the most eye-catching element in the first half of the fight, as he repeatedly lands power shots to the Puerto Rican fighter’s face and body.

By the 6th round Echevarria’s face provides ample of evidence of Valdez’s systematic aggression. The referee appropriately stops the fight after the 6th giving Valdez the TKO victory.

Oscar Bravo (21-3, 9 KOs) vs. Diego Magdaleno (25-1, 10 KOs)
(8 Rounds – Super Featherweight)

A slow start in Round 1 draws catcalls from fans (This crowd gets antsy quickly).  Magdaleno wins each of the first three rounds, based on his aggressiveness.

In the 4th round the fight begins to pick up when the southpaw Magdaleno lands two big left crosses that drive Bravo back. He follows this up with some body shots and another left cross to score a knockdown. Magdaleno tries to finish the fight that very round with thudding left hands as Bravo mostly covers up and is saved by the bell.

Magdaleno immediately goes on the attack in the 5th looking to finish what he started. Stalking Bravo around the ring, Magdaleno continues to apply pressure and it appears one solid shot would force Bravo to desperately hold on once again. But Bravo is able to slow the pace and weather the storm in Round 5.

A mostly dull round Round 6 and 7 followed. Magdaleno looks for a knockout to start the 8th but by the end of the round appears resigned to the fact it’s not happening tonight. In any case, he owned the 8th as well, concluding the fight with a solid right hook. The easy unanimous decision comes as expected, with scores of: 80-71, 80-71, and 79-72.

Selcuk Aydin [GER](26-2, 19KOs) “Turkish Warrior” vs. Viktor Postol (25-0, 10 KOs) [UKR]
(12 Rounds – WBC Super Lightweight Eliminator)

Postol comes out with his renown trainer Freddie Roach.

Round 1: Postol gets rocked by a winging left hook that buckles him, backs him into the ropes, and nearly knocks him down. Postol invites Aydin to come forward before grabbing him around the neck and “accidentally” tossing him to the canvas. That big shot gives Aydin Round 1. 10-9 Aydin

Round 2: Aydin continually swinging for the home-run left hook like Joe Frazier, and lands another solid one in the 2nd. Postol is tested to keep Aydin’s pressure at bay. When the fight slows, Postol is quicker, busier, and lands often enough, but it is unclear if he has the power to hurt Aydin. Round 2 goes to Aydin as well. 10-9 Aydin; 20-18 Aydin

Round 3: Postol is the busier fighter in this round and is able to avoid any of Aydin’s big power shots. He moves well and lands his “pitter-patter” shots consistently to take the round. 10-9 Postol; 29-28 Aydin.

Round 4: Postol is able to get off first consistently and land several combinations. The crowd, rather unfairly, boos the action. Apparently they don’t appreciate Postol’s finesse boxing skills. Nonetheless the Ukranian is effectively avoiding most of Aydin’s wild rights and left hooks and piles up the points to take the round. 10-9 Postol, 38-38 even.

Round 5: More efficient work from Postol as he even backs up Aydin who seems frustrated at this point. The “Turkish Warrior” doesn’t know how to duplicate the success he had in the early rounds. He tries to bait Postol several times but nothing works in this round. The crowd boos again. 10-9 Postol; 48-47 Postol.

Round 6: Postol is patiently seizing his opportunities by moving and then dictating when and where the fight takes place. He consistently throws combinations and one punch seems to land cleanly each time. None of these punches appear to hurt Aydin, but they do frustrate him – and the crowd, who have no patience for this type of fight. 10-9 Postol; 58-56 Postol

Round 7: A nice right uppercut from Postol buckles Aydin early in the round. Hmm. So maybe he can hurt him. Solid left and right uppercuts land for Postol throughout the round even as Aydin comes forward. Later in the round Aydin back again, clearly trying to do something different to allow his heavier hands to get him back into the fight. 10-9 Postol; 68-65 Postol

Round 8: Postol is quicker, busier, and throws from all angles. Those factors with his reach advantage give him the decided advantage. Postol make lack the big punch power to please crowds, but he is clearly highly skilled. Aydin lands a right hand that briefly knocks Postol off balance. While it’s unclear if the punch actually did that much damage, it encourages Aydin to get more aggressive in that round. Postol basically retreats for the last minute of the round, a closer one than the last few. 10-9 Postol; 78-74 Postol

Round 9: Same movement and activity by Postol, same story. If he avoids Aydin’s wild shots, he will cruise the rest of the way. The question is whether he will make an extra effort to close the show. 10-9 Postol; 88-83 Postol.

Round 10: Postol lands a solid combination early in the round that drives Aydin to the ropes, but doesn’t follow up. Aydin’s face is really swelling up. Aydin lands a decent looping right hand, but misses everything else. Postol is mostly able to potshot his opponent but Aydin’s occasional swing for the fences are closer than Freddie Roach likes no doubt. Postol 10-9; 98-92 Postol.

Round 11: Aydin’s best chance is to land a huge shot in an exchange if he has any chance of knocking out Postol in these next two rounds. Postol continues to pour it on and starts throwing combinations in bunches. Aydin loses a point for hitting behind the head. It hardly matters as Postol begins to pour it on. A big right hand followed by a huge right uppercut and Aydin goes down in a heap. Aydin fell awkwardly – I hope he didn’t tear his knee.

The referee stops the fight immediately for an 11th round TKO.

Postol runs to the rope smiling and nodding as if to tell the crowd: “I heard you booing – take that!”
Great finish for Postol, who was seriously putting the hurt on Aydin over the last few rounds and was being unfairly booed by the crowd. He executed the gameplan to perfection and wore his fighter down for the nice late stoppage.


By Manish Pandya
Staff Editor for TheDailySportsHerald.com