In boxing there is no better
way to get a close and intimate look at a fighter than when you are a top
level trainer preparing your charge to do battle against the fighter of
mention. When looking at the career of the great Juan Manuel Marquez, many
have high praise but very few know the fighter from Mexico City like trainer
Don House does.
Nearly ten years ago to this
day House was helping guide the career of then WBA Featherweight champion
Freddie ‘Lil’ Hagler’ Norwood as they prepared for an HBO televised encounter
with Marquez. At the time Marquez had yet to make a huge impact in the sport
but House knew what his team was getting into when assessing Marquez’
potential as a fighter.
On the undercard of Floyd
Mayweather’s WBC Super featherweight title defense against Puerto Rican Carlos
Gerena, Marquez and Norwood would engage in a somewhat sloppy, close, and
controversial showdown. After trading apparent knockdowns with Norwood in a
somewhat uninspiring affair, Marquez would leave the ring dejected as he was
on the wrong side of a unanimous decision verdict.
Reflecting back on his
fighter’s clash with Marquez, House will be the first to tell you that the
decision should have actually went the other way. When opening up further
about his first remembrance of Marquez, it is evident that House has an
immense amount of respect for the fighter nicknamed ‘Dinamita’ and the growth
he has shown inside the ring.
After a candid one on one conversation earlier
this week, House opened up to the Examiner and let his mind drift ten years
back to a time when Marquez was still experiencing some of his first learning
curves in the sport. In his own words, this is what House had to say about the
Norwood-Marquez showdown, Marquez’ epic battles against Manny Pacquiao, and
what he thinks of the September 19th match-up between Marquez and
Floyd Mayweather Jr…
Ten Years Ago…
“Ten years ago to this day I was working with Freddie Norwood, who was
the WBA Featherweight champion of the world at the time. I thought Freddie was
one of the best fighters out there but when we signed to fight Juan Manuel
Marquez I knew we were in a tough fight. I always knew that Marquez was
special, even back then when nobody really knew of him. I knew it wasn’t going
to come easy.”
The Buzz on Juan Manuel…
“Actually there wasn’t a big buzz on him leading into the fight but I
knew he was a dangerous guy just because I was involved in the spot and aware
of his abilities as a fighter. The thing that’s unfortunate is that even to
this day Marquez hasn’t gotten the praise that he’s worthy of, so of course
ten years back he was definitely under the radar a bit.”
Preparing for Marquez…
“We worked Freddie to death in training camp for the fight. At the time I was
training out of Top Rank in Las Vegas alongside Kenny Adams and we also had
Diego Corrales and Vince Phillips in camp with us. We had a multitude of good
fighters in the gym and Freddie really seemed to be ready for the fight.
Personally I felt that Freddie was a great fighter but his problems always
seemed to be with himself, as he had constant trouble outside of the ring.”
The Night of the Fight…
“Even though it happened years ago I remember the fight like it was
yesterday. The fight was close. It was somewhat of a toe to toe fight. We
really weren’t sure how strong Marquez was because we had only seen tapes of
him. We did know that he was going to be busy and coming forward. I do
remember Freddie hitting the canvas and when Marquez dropped him I thought we
were in trouble. Freddie did get right back up though. Neither guy performed
their best and it was hard for some people to call a winner. After the fight I
went up to Marquez and told him that if he kept doing what he was doing that
he would one day become a world champion.”
Marquez’ career after Norwood…
“Marquez has obviously had a great career following his first loss but
I still think he should have had more success, to be honest. I just personally
feel he was worthy of the same accolades of guys like Marco Antonio Barrera
and Erik Morales. Marquez was on the level of those guys but just didn’t get
the attention for some reason.”
The Pacquiao Encounters…
“In his fights against Pacquiao, Marquez really showed a lot of heart and
toughness. I know in the first fight I was impressed because he was dropped
three times yet still found a way to fight on. That showed me that he had
cajones as big as the world. I actually feel he boxed the crap out of Pacquiao
for the rest of the first fight. That’s why I’ve always considered him a
terminator, because he always comes forward. I thought that both of the
Marquez-Pacquiao fights were extremely close. I remember that Juan showed me a
lot with his performances in each fight.”
Sizing up the Juan Manuel Marquez-Floyd Mayweather
showdown…
“I actually think that Marquez has a really good chance of winning
that fight. Floyd likes to lay back against the ropes and a guy like Marquez
needs to stay away from his head and just try to work his body. I had a
fighter, Almazbek ‘Kid Diamond’ Raiymkulov, and one day when he was sparring
Floyd I told him to strictly stay away from the head, especially when he’s up
against the ropes. In that sparring session Kid Diamond stayed right on him
and gave Floyd all kinds of trouble. If I was Marquez I would do the same
thing and just stay on Floyd the whole fight. If he does that and fights with
the same heart and skill that he has shown in the past I could see him walking
away the winner.”
