By Miguel Rivera

After suffering his TKO loss to Cristian Mijares (47-6-2, 22 KOs), former champion Rafael Márquez (41-8-0, 37 KOs) blamed his performance on a stomach problem that began nearly two weeks ago. At the time of the ninth round stoppage, Marquez was losing on two of the three official scorecards. Marquez, 37-years-old, took issue with the cards and referee Lupe Garcia's decision to stop the fight.

"Twelve days ago I ate at a fish restaurant and something was wrong. I went to the emergency room because I could not withstand the pain in my stomach. I was vomiting a lot, But I still wanted to move forward with the fight, so it is not an excuse," said Marquez.

Marquez also blamed a stomach issue for withdrawing from a fight with Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. on October 6th.

"Mijares made a good fight, but he did not stop me. It was the wrong decision in the ninth to stop it. It was unfair because I was winning the fight. I don't know what fight the judges were watching," Marquez said.

"Mijares is a great fighter, has good speed and a jab, but both of us were landing good shots. I repeat, I do not understand why he stopped the fight."

Marquez, who promised to retire if Mijares won, does not plan on retiring in the near future. He wants a rematch instead and claims both Zanfer Promotions and Mijares agreed.

"Of course [I won't retire], I'll be here for a while. I asked Zanfer to give me a rematch and they accepted. Then I asked Mijares and he told me 'yes.' So I will better prepared when we meet again."