Five keys for Juan Manuel Marquez
At 40, it's remarkable that four-division champion Juan Manuel Marquez can still make a claim as one of the sport's pound-for-pound elites.
Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs), who made his pro debut nearly 21 years ago as a junior featherweight, can move one fight closer to his goal in Saturday's welterweight title eliminator against Mike Alvarado at The Forum in Inglewood, California (HBO, 10:15 p.m. ET/PT).
A victory over Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs) would put Marquez in position to fight for a fifth world title in as many weight classes, becoming the first Mexican-born fighter to do so. But he will need to get past a determined fighter in Alvarado to get there.
Here are five keys Marquez should consider entering Saturday's fight:
Weather the storm
When Marquez has faced defeat over the past 15 years, it has come against the sport's most elite boxers. As much as Alvarado is fun to watch, he clearly doesn't fit that description. Thus the all-action brawler's best chance at success will be in the early rounds by cornering Marquez and imploring his size and will. While Marquez's technical advantages should serve him well over the full 12 rounds, he will need to tread carefully in the early going against a bigger, younger and stronger opponent.
Expect the very best
It could be easy for Marquez, based upon Alvarado's defeat to Ruslan Provodnikov, to assume his opponent is, at 33, already a shopworn fighter. Not only has Alvarado been in five straight hellacious wars, he saw his iron will seemingly broke by Provodnikov when he asked out of their title bout last October. But Provodnikov is a different animal altogether, and despite coming off of a loss, Alvarado now finds himself in the biggest fight of his career against a future Hall of Fame fighter. Marquez should prepare for the very best of whatever Alvarado has left.
Watch your output
Without question, Marquez's greatest strength is his precision counterpunching skills. But one criticism of the Mexican legend in his close defeats has been his tendency to rely too much on his own marksmanship in favor of volume punching. Should his bout with Alvarado remain close heading into the late rounds, Marquez will need to make sure he has done everything in his power to sway the judges in his favor and avoid allowing Alvarado to steal rounds on activity alone.
Play the angles
Marquez will need to fall back on his craft and experience in order to use Alvarado's aggressiveness against him. The veteran should have ample opportunity to do so, thanks to Alvarado's tendency to square up as he comes forward. By moving laterally to land hooks and uppercuts from multiple angles, Marquez can begin his process of systematically chopping down the tree in front of him.
Don't get old
It sounds silly in theory, and clearly something Marquez lacks control over. But one of these days, he will walk into a ring and actually feel his age. It's inevitable. And to avoid facing the same demise of many great fighters before him who have hung on one fight too long, Marquez needs to respect the danger in front of him. That means fighting smart, staying off the ropes and avoiding letting machismo trump common