Juan Francisco Estrada-Tyson Marquez: Post-Report Card

by Cliff Rold

Some get more than others. Every division gets their turn.

There will always be fights, and plenty of good ones. Only with the right timing, the right pairing, to de get something more.

We get THE fight.

If things continue on the track they’re on, it might just be Flyweight’s turn. Last Saturday, unified titlist Juan Francisco Estrada got a gutsy showing from former titlist Tyson Marquez. He also got seven knockdowns and a fifth title defense of his WBA and WBO belts.

Will he get a rematch with Roman Gonzalez in 2016?

The last time a fight this good emerged at 112 lbs. or below was probably Michael Carbajal-Chiquita Gonzalez in 1993. That didn’t happen in a straight line. It looked like THE fight when both men were undefeated and held titles in mid-1990 but Gonzalez got upset and it simmered a few more years. We could see a hiccup along the way. Brian Viloria is certainly capable of an upset of Gonzalez next month. 

If Gonzalez holds up his end of the bargain, there will be little excuse for them not to throw down again. We already know what they’re capable of together. We saw it in 2012. In the time since, both have gotten better, accomplished more, and separated from the pack in one of boxing’s deepest, most exciting divisions in recent years.

Let’s go to the report card.

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Estrada A; Marquez B/Post: A; B

The pre-fight report card Marquez would “show off the heart he’s known for and might have some good things to say in the first few rounds but he won’t win many.” For about three rounds, Marquez had some very good things to say. That he got up from four nasty knockdowns and stayed in the fight late was the latest display of his tremendous courage.

He was never seriously in the fight. When Estrada decided to fight up to his full talent, it wasn’t really close. Beginning in the fourth, Estrada started moving his head more and working to counter. In rounds six and seven, he focused to the body and all the wars Marquez had been through came bubbling to the surface.

With four knockdowns, the end seemed at hand.

Estrada had to wait a few more rounds. He didn’t quit throwing downstairs, but his commitment to the body waned. It was like he went looking for a poster board head shot. He got that, but he took unnecessary blows waiting for it.

As good as he is, and Estrada is very good, he is showing a knack for not taking over fights as completely as he could. In this fight, a defense against Richie Mepranum, and a non-title affair against Joebert Alvarez, a case could be made that he loses a little bit of focus.

That could be a lasting flaw. It could also be a result of needing the right challenge to keep him dialed in. He was brutal last year against Giovani Segura and dialed in for his title win over Viloria. When he has a foe perceived as dangerous, he appears to respond better than when he knows he’s supposed to win. Regardless, he closed the show in violent style and seven knockdowns is a good night.

No one is more dangerous at Flyweight than Gonzalez. There will be violent style both ways if, and when, we get to the rematch.  

Report Card and Staff Picks 2015: 75-20

Cliff’s Notes…

Marquez just can’t hang at the upper levels anymore and one hopes he starts thinking about retirement. At 27, he’s been stopped four times in his last ten fights and this was the most brutal of the bunch. He gave more than his share at the office…More than a third of Deontay Wilder’s professional rounds have come in 2015. That’s a good thing. He needs them and, for that alone, Johann Duhaupas served his purpose…Kazuto Ioka and Juan Carlos Reveco did their parts for a rematch later this year. If he wins, will Ioka get into the mix with the top of the class again at Flyweight in 2016?

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at