Giovanni Marquez dropped journeyman Ariel Vasquez twice en route to a knockout win in round two Friday night at the Bayou Event Center in Marquez’s hometown of Houston, Texas. (photo by Hossana Rull)
The 21-year-old improved to 2-0, 1 knockout.
Friday marked Marquez’s return to action since making his pro debut on March 11, defeating Nelson Morales by unanimous decision. That fight took place in Deadwood, South Dakota and it opened a ShoBox telecast.
Family and friends filled the venue to watch Marquez, who received the loudest cheers of anyone on the card even though his fight was not the main event.
From the opening bell, Marquez fought a composed fight, working behind a consistent jab against the southpaw Vasquez. Towards the end of the opening round, Marquez backed Vasquez up against the ropes with a barrage of punches. Marquez then turned southpaw, throwing and landing a left cross to the head that dropped Vasquez face-first to the canvas. Vasquez beat the count and was able to make it out of the round.
Vasquez was game and decided to stay in the pocket, but Marquez was the quicker and sharper fighter, varying his offense by attacking the head and body. The end came in the second round as a series of jabs forced Vasquez to momentarily turn away from Marquez, who backed Vasquez against the ropes and landed a three-punch combination that prompted a stoppage at 2:52.
Vasquez, who resides in Managua, Nicaragua, drops to 15-36-3, 9 KOs.
Raul Marquez, Giovanni’s father and trainer, was impressed with the way his son broke down Vasquez, who had lost his previous four bouts, all by decision.
“I thought Giovanni did well Friday night, given Vasquez has faced a lot of young fighters and prospects and had not been stopped by them,” Marquez told Boxingscene Saturday. “When he fought on ShoBox, I thought he did okay, given the circumstances of cameras always on you. Some of these fighters that have 10, 15 fights end up freezing and being overwhelmed by the platform, and Giovanni handled it as well as he did.
“(Friday) night, he looked much better. We worked on things in the gym, including working behind a consistent jab and sitting down on his punches. I thought Giovanni did well sitting down on his punches against Vasquez and going to the body as well. Obviously, there’s still a lot to work on, but I’m pleased with the result. I wanted Giovanni to dominate, but I really wanted that knockout. He’s getting better. We’ll go back to the gym and learn and move on to the next one.”
Marquez, a 1992 U.S. Olympian and former world titleholder at 154 pounds, provides color commentary on ShoBox telecasts and on the Spanish feed for Showtime Championship Boxing telecasts.
Also on the card promoted by Forris Washington, bantamweight Melissa Oddessa Parker of nearby Spring, Texas defeated Canada’s Mikenna Tansley (5-1, 1 KO) by unanimous decision over 10 rounds. Oddessa Parker retained the IBO world Female title belt and improved to 6-0, 2 KOs.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing