Marquez isn’t the best in the world, if he hasn’t been already

It’s a tad bit late, but the Juan Manuel Marquez bandwagon is beginning to get heavy. In light of his sensational and rather surprising stoppage win over crafty veteran Joel Casamayor, folks are finally start to wonder, is Marquez the best fighter in the world?

Maybe, maybe not. But at some point in time, he just may have been. To speak on behalf of those who’s been following Marquez’s career, it’s about damn time that this guy finally gets some recognition.

From the Forum of Inglewood to Mandalay Bay and MGM grand in Las Vegas, it was former foe and countryman Marco Antonio Barrera who captured stardom and support from his beloved fans of Mexico City.

Beloved or not, it’s Marquez who now stands tall while the likes of Barrera and Erik Morales are tailed at the end. No longer the pariah, Marquez has fully established and emerged himself as best of them all. It’s just too bad it took this damn long for one to notice.

It wasn’t too long ago when Marquez proved to many, that he clearly is one of the elite fighters in the game. Despite a draw and controversial decision loss to consensus top pound-for-pound fighter in the world in Manny Pacquiao, Marquez have shown in both outings that he probably was the superior fighter.

The sweetness of it all perhaps is a bit bittersweet after all. A win over a heavily faded but still formidable Joel Casamayor shouldn’t have been praised as much as it should’ve been. But accomplishing a task no men have ever accomplished, Marquez derailed the odds by stopping the wily old veteran, and in the process, scoring the most emphatic win of his career.

Credit where credit is due, but as superfluous as this may sound, this guy really deserves some extra credit for his patience and dedication over the last decade.

In retrospect, this really was a passing of the torch. Casamayor, who easily is one of the best ten or fifteen fighters of the last decade paid his dues and got something in return. His previous win over a young Michael Katsidis possibly marked the highlight of his career. And of all, it was the first time in years, he had scored a knockout in a significant fight.

Marquez provided same and in doing so, he not only won his third division title, but won the respects of many. In addition, there’s probably a place for him at Canastota upon sunset of what’s been a terrific career of the best Mexican fighter in the last decade.

GOT CARBS?

Jose Luis Castillo sure set a weighty trend didn’t he? Let’s connect the dots. Castillo, twice fails to make weight against Diego Corrales, who then subsequently failed to make weight against Joel Casamayor, who has a win over Nate Campbell, who was the victim of a no-show in Joan Guzman, who learned his ways from former foe Jorge Barrios, thus leaving out Timothy Bradley to shine, who was once a victim of the infamous ‘El Temible’ weight job.

BEFORE RICHARD STEELE STEPS IN….

In my last report, I’ve compared Timothy Bradley to the likes of Stevie Johnston and Shane Mosley. In reality, He’s more of a Meldrick Taylor with less moderate punching power/speed and perhaps slicker defense. Either way, this guy is as formidable as they come. The 140 pound division is wide open, and it wouldn’t hurt to see him against the likes of Kendall Holt, Mike Arnoutis, and of course, the winner of Ricky Hatton and Paulie Malignaggi. As for the 135 pound division, I rank the following in the top five - Nate Campbell, Juan Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez, Jose Santa Cruz, and Joel Casamayor. Pacquiao would probably rank in the third or fourth, but his big money bout against Oscar De La Hoya in December excludes him from the list. Prayers and condolences go out to the family of trainer Oscar Suarez, who passed away earlier this week. In shocking news to many, the man who worked with an impressive roster of Naseem Hamed, Acelino Freitas, and Omar Sheika, was taken away at the age of 49 due to pancreatic cancer. I think everyone who’s met him is in agreement here. He sure was one of the nicest boxing personalities in recent years. May he rest in peace. .