By Rey Anthony: MEXICO CITY, In his quest for redemption, Future hall of famer Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez (54-6-1 39KO) outclassed WBO #4 contender Serhiy “The professor” Fedchenko (30-2-0 13KO) of Ukraine in a 12 round light welterweight battle for the interim WBO title in front of a packed New Mexico City arena in Distrito Federal, Mexico. Televised by HBO Pay-Per-View and promoted by Top Tank Inc. It was Fedchenko’s first professional fight outside of Europe.
While in front of his home crowd for the first time in 18 years, Marquez did not fail to disappoint his fellow countrymen. The two fighters were in a classic feel each other out round during the opening of the fight Fedchenko was visibly awkward in his fighting style but he was able to contain Marquez’ counter punching abilities which made him the aggressor of the fight. It is a style that we rarely see from Dinamita.
The fight progressed and Fedchenko’s comfort started to build up but it was Marquez’ stiff jab, quick and hard combinations both to the head and the body were the more effective weapon despite Fedchenko’s lead off jabs and slippery defense.
The third round was the only round that proved to be a challenge to Marquez. Fedchenko started showing signs of confidence. He started loosening up, might be a little too loose when he started to drop his hands in front of his opponent.
The fight was all about Marquez who was visibly bigger and more muscular than his previous fight last November as he also tried to put on a show in front of his own crowd. His quick fluid combinations and sharp body punches started digging into Fedchenko who just started to wear down round by round.
Despite the punishment he was receiving during the fight, Fedchenko, was able to withstand Marquez’ relentless assault. One of which was a sharp right uppercut and right hook combination during the 7th round.
As Fedchenko just started to solely rely on his legs strength by keeping his distance from Marquez’ pursuit. The crowd’s disappointment can be heard during the final rounds of the fight. A lot of whistling can be heard from the stands which according to one of the announcers from Mexico said “it is a bad thing in Mexico”.
Marquez tried to close the show with a good finish and give the crowd what they want behind their chant “Si Se Puede” which roughly translates to “yes it is possible” by throwing his fierce combinations that backed up and snapped his opponent’s head back that also put the crowd on their feet. But Fedchenko was just too slippery in his defense that his head was just not there to be hit and get knocked down. After 12 grueling rounds, the judges scored unanimously in favor of Ring Magazine’s number 6 Pound for pound fighter. Juan Manuel Marquez.
Marquez, who is 38 years old, is 7 years older than his opponent but did not show any sign of aging in the ring. After contemplating retirement after his last fight back in November of 2011, a couple of viable opponents are being considered for his next fight including fellow Mexican Erik “El terrible” Morales. But it can be recalled that prior to accepting a fight, he was pushing hard for a guarantee that his next fight will be against an opponent of his choice. His impressive performance showed his hunger and determination to score a much awaited fourth fight against his Filipino nemesis current number one pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao.