MARQUEZ SEEKS RESPECTABILITY.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES

BOXING

A fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera always seemed a natural. They are both from Mexico City, they're the same age and have been in, or near, the same weight class.

But they both made their bones fighting out of the Forum under the Forum Boxing Inc., banner in the 1990s, and it has never been common for fighters working for the same promoter to engage each other in a bout. A promoter isn't going to go out of his way to get one of his star fighters knocked off.

Then again, Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions doesn't have a problem with it. The company now promotes Marquez and Barrera, and they will get it on next Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. At stake will be Barrera's World Boxing Council super featherweight belt. It will be available on HBO pay-per-view.

"We are looking to do the best fights with the best fighters," said Eric Gomez, Golden Boy matchmaker and vice president. "That is what the public wants. These two warriors want to fight each other, want to face each other and give back to the boxing community."

With that, Marquez will finally get the chance to make an indelible mark on the sport. Make no mistake, Marquez, 33, has had a terrific career. He is 46-3-1 with 35 knockouts and has held the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation featherweight belts, as well as the World Boxing Organization interim featherweight belt.

But whereas everybody knows Barrera, Marquez has had a much more difficult time becoming a recognizeable figure. He said he wasn't thrilled with how Forum Boxing handled him, but there's something else. Or, should we say, someone else.

That would be his little brother, Rafael Marquez, who has stolen some of Juan Manuel's thunder. All the time both were boxing out of the Forum, Juan Manuel was considered the better fighter. Rafael was known as the younger brother who was going to be good, but would never be his big brother's equal.

That's why the opening of a conference call Tuesday promoting the Marquez-Barrera showdown was interesting, to say the least. Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy, said this is "a great matchup between the two greatest fighters from Mexico, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez."

Oh? Well, Rafael Marquez, 31, is in the top 10 of every respectable pound-for-pound poll, in the upper half of many. The same cannot be said for Juan Manuel Marquez, though he is borderline top 10. Heck, Rafael Marquez is higher in some polls than Barrera.

It would seem Schaefer's statement was an insult to Rafael, who last Saturday moved up in weight and took Israel Vazquez's WBC super bantamweight belt via seventh-round technical knockout. But Juan Manuel didn't exactly see it that way.

"Obviously, it's arguable," Marquez said. "There are people that feel that Rafael should be up there and I feel very proud and happy for that fact. And if Richard Schaefer makes a comment that it's the two best Mexican fighters, then you can argue that fact as well. I don't feel bad about it."

A little jealously, perhaps, on the part of Juan Manuel Marquez?

No way, he said.

"There is no rivalry whatsoever," Marquez said. "It is motivation. We both work hard, we both want to be champions, we both want to win."

One thing is for sure, should Marquez beat Barrera (63-4, 42KOs), his place in boxing history will be secure. And it would not be an upset if Marquez does just that. Remember, their most famous common opponent is none other than Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao stopped Barrera in the 11th round in November 2003. Six months later, in May 2004, Pacquiao decked Marquez three times in the first round. But Marquez exhibited uncanny mettle, got up from the knockdowns and fought Pacquiao tooth and nail to a draw. Many ringside experts had Marquez coming back to win by a point or two.

Marquez is no joke. But he probably hasn't fully proven his worth in the eyes of many.

"I have wanted this fight for over four or five years," Marquez said.

Burgos injury probe continues

Armando Garcia, chief executive officer for the California State Athletic Commission, said Wednesday he is investigating the events surrounding the brain injury suffered by Victor Burgos at the hands of Vic Darchinyan during their flyweight title fight last Saturday at Home Depot Center.

Garcia said little else about the fight that left Burgos seriously injured. Burgos, who lost via a 12th-round technical knockout, had post-fight surgery late Saturday to remove a blood clot on his brain. On Tuesday, he had come out of a medically induced coma and was responding to verbal commands given by doctors. He remains hospitalized at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance.

"I don't mean to be evasive or anything, but the state has decided to respect the family and not make any comment," Garcia said. "I have to do some checking so I can finish up the report. At some point, I think we will be able to talk in detail. And when I give you point A to point B, you are going to feel good about this terrible, terrible tragedy."

Two things crossed the minds of several ringside reporters last Saturday: Why didn't referee Jon Schorle stop the fight sooner? And why didn't the Burgos corner, headed by Roberto Sandoval, save him further punishment by throwing in the towel?

The observation here was that Schorle could have stopped the fight earlier than he did in the final round. But that doesn't mean Burgos' injuries were not already present before he halted the proceedings.

Asked about that, Garcia again balked.

After Burgos got up from what was ruled a slip in that 12th round, he staggered even as Schorle was waving on the fight to continue.

Darchinyan threw two more punches. One appeared to miss, the other landed to the head; it was not, however, a tremendous blow. Schorle then stepped in.

As for the corner, Burgos more than likely came into the fight with the mentality that he would give his life in the ring. That is not uncommon in Mexican fighters.

A good showing against a fighter like Darchinyan was only going to boost the career of Burgos, a 32-year-old fighter who, though decent, has toiled in relative obscurity.

He wasn't about to quit. And he would not have wanted his trainer to quit for him. Burgos was asked between the 10th and 11th rounds if he wanted to continue, and he said yes.

It's not always someone's fault when something like this happens.

The commission did a good job of rapidly getting Burgos on a stretcher. Bottom line is, this is a vicious sport. Brain injuries are going to happen. It's a bummer, but it's reality.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Juan Manuel Marquez, left, delivers a punch again Orlando Salido during their 2004 featherweight title bout in Las Vegas.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

(2) Victor Burgos, left, takes a punch from Vic Darchinyan in the seventh round of their flyweight bout on March 3 in Carson.

Stephen Carr/Staff Photographer

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