Marquez Seeks Vacant Title in Main Event at the Pond

Mexico City’s Juan Manuel Marquez, the eighth-ranked featherweight in the world according to Ring magazine, will fight for the vacant North American Boxing Organization title tonight at the Pond against Cedric Mingo of Brockton, Mass., in the 12-round main event.

Marquez, 23, has won 18 consecutive fights after losing his professional debut by disqualification. One of those victories came April 29 at the Pond in an eight-round knockout of former world champion Julio Gervacio. Since then, Marquez has won 10-round decisions over Freddie Cruz and Daryl Pinckney and scored an eighth-round knockout of Rodrigo Valenzuela on Dec. 9 at the Forum.

Forum Boxing promoter John Jackson, who signed Marquez to a promotional contract, said he is trying to line up Marquez for a world title shot. Marquez is ranked eighth by the World Boxing Organization and 12th by the International Boxing Federation. A loss to Mingo (22-7, 10 knockouts), a 34-year-old left-hander, would seriously hurt Marquez’s title hopes.

In the 10-round semi-main event, undefeated junior featherweight Nestor Garza of Reynosa, Mexico, will fight journeyman Juan Manuel Chavez of Mexico City. Garza, 19, is 25-0 with 19 knockouts. He won a 10-round decision over Juan Soto on the same April 29 card that featured Marquez.

A stablemate of former world junior featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera, Garza is coming off a first-round knockout of Miguel Ochoa Dec. 13 in Reynosa. Chavez is 19-16-1 with seven knockouts.

The undercard begins at 7:15 p.m. The Garza fight starts at 8 and the Marquez bout will begin at 9. The other undercard fights will follow the main event. Tickets are priced at $100, $75, $65, $45, $30 and $15.