Marquez Finishes Fedchenko. Rios Escapes Abril.

By Chuck Johnson

Juan Manuel Marquez - Photo Credit: Will Hart

Fighting at home for the first time in 18 years, future Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez added a world title belt in his fourth weight class Saturday night with a unanimous decision against Sergey Fedchenko.

The 12-round WBO junior welterweight title bout was televised on HBO Pay-Per-View and drew a crowd of more than 30,000 at Mexico City Arena.

Marquez, who previously won world titles at featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight, and is best known for his three closely-contested fights against Manny Pacquiao, was fighting for the first time since his third tough loss to Pacquiao in November.

Read More at HBO.com

Taking Care of Business

By Nat Gottlieb

Juan Manuel Marquez, Sergey Fedchenko

A fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Brandon Rios would be a dream. But before those two can meet, they first have to take care of a pair of tricky opponents who would like nothing better than to turn that dream into a nightmare.

In a split doubleheader, Juan Manuel Marquez will face European junior welterweight champion Sergey Fedchenko in Mexico City, while in Las Vegas the unbeaten Rios must get by Richard Abril, an unusually tall lightweight who has exceptional hand speed and ring mobility.

Marquez is one of the great ring technicians, but getting a handle on Fedchenko may prove tricky. The 30-year-old Ukrainian has an uncanny in-ring ability to figure out opponents, earning him the nickname, "The Professor." He is unpredictable, alternating between two distinct fight styles. At times, Fedchenko (30-1, 13 KOs) has attacked aggressively with constant pressure. Other fights he uses his legs and fast hands to box circles around opponents. So which version will Marquez have to deal with?

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HBO Boxing 2011 By the Numbers

By Kieran Mulvaney

Photo Credits: Will Hart With 2012 underway, and a new season of HBO Boxing close to kicking off, here are a few facts and figures by which to remember the boxing year that has just passed.

1
The number of rounds it took for the long-anticipated meeting between junior middleweights James Kirkland and Alfredo Angulo to explode into the war we all thought and hoped it would be.

177
The total number of punches thrown by both men in that dramatic first round.

2
Photo Credits: Ed Mulholland Bantamweight champ Fernando Montiel was supposed to provide, at the very least, a stiff challenge to Nonito Donaire, who was moving up from the junior bantamweight division. But two rounds was all it took for Donaire to flatten Montiel with a monstrous left hook that launched the Filipino Flash on the road to potential stardom.

5
The number of times Sergio Martinez knocked down Sergiy Dzinziruk during his middleweight title defense in March.

0
The number of times Dzinziruk had been floored previously in his professional career.

6
The sixth round was the highlight of the fast-paced clash between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto. Each man had already officially been down once when Berto dropped Ortiz and seemed to be closing in for the kill. But then a powerful left hand sent Berto to the canvas – and prompted HBO commentator Emanuel Steward to erupt in enthusiasm.

4
The number of rounds it took for Ortiz’s star, which had risen in the wake of his Berto win, to come crashing down to Earth: An intentional headbutt of Floyd Mayweather was followed by a point deduction and then, while Ortiz was attempting to apologize to Mayweather for the headbutt (for what appeared to be the third time), Floyd’s left hook and a right hand dropped Ortiz for the count.

36
Photo Credit: Will Hart The total rounds that Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez have fought, without a clear winner emerging from their rivalry.

114-113
The average score, in favor of Pacquiao, of the nine scorecards that have been handed in over the course of the three fights he has fought with Marquez.

86
The sum of punches Miguel Cotto landed on the surgically repaired right eye of Antonio Margarito, en route to a tenth-round stoppage that avenged his controversial defeat three years earlier.

2
The points deducted by referee Joe Cooper from Amir Khan during Khan’s junior welterweight title defense against Lamont Peterson. The deductions would prove decisive in handing Khan a narrow loss, the second defeat of his career.

26
The number of cards televised in 2011 on World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark, and HBO PPV.

Boxing's Best Of 2011

By Eric Raskin

The 12 Days of Christmas are fun and all, but for fight fans, the end of 2011 is all about seven days of boxing. From December 26-29, HBO will replay the seven most memorable boxing matches of the year, including Fight of the Year candidates, history-makers and record-breakers, featuring some of the biggest superstars in the sport.

One thing all seven fights had in common was that they featured at least one combatant with something serious to prove (which is a not-uncommon ingredient in fights that turn out to be as great in the ring as they appear on paper). We’ll break down the action of all seven fights, with a little help from HBO commentator Max Kellerman.

Read More at HBO.com

Styles Make Fights: Pacquiao, Marquez, Mayweather and More …

By Kieran Mulvaney

In the wake of Manny Pacquiao’s controversial win over Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, promoter Bob Arum underlined the old boxing adage that ‘styles make fights.’ He reminded media at the post-fight press conference that George Foreman thumped Joe Frazier both times they fought, Frazier went nip-and-tuck three times with Muhammad Ali, but Ali took apart Foreman. So what, if anything, does that mean for the Pacquiao-Marquez rivalry, any upcoming HBO clashes and, down the road, a possible Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather superfight?

Pacquiao-Marquez

Photo Credit: Will HartThe third fight underlined what had been well established by the previous two: that Marquez and Pacquiao have each other’s number. Marquez is sufficiently effective to nullify Pacquiao’s strengths, but his style in doing so is unlikely ever to be enough to render him an obvious winner. He is at his best when his opponent comes at him, enabling him to return fire with counterpunching combinations. That can disrupt his foe’s aggression, but sometimes a reliance on sitting back and waiting for your opponent to make his move first, no matter how effective, can make it difficult to clearly elevate yourself over him, at least in the eyes of the judges.

Upcoming HBO Fights

Photo Credit: Ed MulhollandWhat can the ‘styles make fights’ dictum tell us about upcoming HBO matchups? Frankly, that the bouts may be more closely-fought than is immediately apparent. Both Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Saul Alvarez enter their contests as big favorites over Peter Manfredo Jr and Kermit Cintron respectively. But both Mexican fighters are more comfortable against opponents who are there to be hit and willing to exchange, and while Manfredo does not have the quick hands of Sebastian Zbik, who gave Chavez all he could handle recently, he doesn’t have clay feet like Andy Lee, whom JCC Jr sent into retirement last year. And if Alvarez can have early-round problems against blown-up welterweight Alfonso Gomez, he could be in a world of hurt against Cintron – who, as Alfredo Angulo can testify, can be surprisingly dangerous when allowed to box and move. Conversely, Cintron has been known to fold mentally under pressure of the sort Alvarez brings. It all promises genuine intrigue …

Pacquiao-Mayweather

Photo Credit: Ed MulhollandMarquez is a counter-puncher. Mayweather is a counter-puncher. But they are different sides of a similar coin. Marquez thrives on being attacked and responding with flurries; Mayweather seeks to stymie his foe’s offense entirely and pick his man apart with lightning-fast solo punches. Will that have the same effect against Pacquiao as JMM’s counter-combinations? As the dust settles over the coming weeks and months, we should learn whether or not we will soon have the chance to find out for sure, the only way that matters: In the ring.