Rafael Marquez
Rafael Marquez was born in Mexico City, Mexico on March 25th, 1975 and is the Boxer. At the age of 49, Rafael Marquez biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 49 years old, Rafael Marquez has this physical status:
Rafael Márquez Méndez (born 25 March 1975) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2013.
He is a two-time world champion in two weight classes, having held the IBF bantamweight title from 2003 to 2007; and the WBC, Ring magazine, and lineal super bantamweight titles in 2007.
He also held the IBO bantamweight title from 2005 to 2007, and challenged once for WBO featherweight title in 2011.
Márquez was known for his formidable knockout power and relentless pressure fighting style.
His older brother Juan Manuel Márquez is also a professional boxer and multiple-time world champion.
Professional career
Márquez began his boxing career with an eighth-round knockout loss to former WBC Bantamweight champion Victor Rabanales.
He gained notice by defeating two division world champion and prospective hall of fame member Mark Johnson (40-1-0) by a split decision. Márquez defeated Johnson in the eighth round of an IBF bantamweight title eliminator match.
He came from behind to defeat Tim Austin (25-0-1) to win the IBF Bantamweight championship on February 15, 2003, which was deemed a major surprise. Up until that defeat, Austin had been undefeated in ten national championship fights. Márquez continued to defend his title seven times. His notable title defenses included two victories over former light flyweight champion Mauricio Pastrana, a decision victory over Ricardo Vargas and two knockout victories over former and future IBO Bantamweight champion Silence Mabuza, who lost for the second time on August 5, 2006.
Márquez won the WBC and lineal super bantamweight champion Israel Vázquez in seven rounds, despite a weight division. Márquez retained his title after being defeated by Vázquez in the sixth round when the referee called a match off in July 2007. The rematch was dubbed the year's best fight of the year. Rafael lost a split decision in the third round of their trilogy, with scores of 113-112 and 114-111 to Vázquez, with one judge seeing it 114-111 for Márquez. If not for a point deduction for a weak blow in the tenth round, Márquez may not have lost this fight. Marquez and promoter Gary Shaw said the punch was on the belt line and should not have triggered any deductions. Márquez was able to knock Vázquez down for the first time in the trilogy, but Márquez was defeated by Vázquez in the final seconds of the 12th round, giving Márquez his third victory and giving Márquez his fifth defeat.
In the Ring magazine's pound-for-pound rankings, Márquez ranked third. He was voted as the Ring Magazine's top Bantamweight boxer and was ranked as the best bantamweight boxer in the world. He was the top-ranked boxer in the Super Bantamweight division before losing to Vázquez.
Márquez, who recovered from the trilogy with Vázquez, was inactive for more than a year. In the featherweight division, he returned to the ring on May 23, 2009 by scoring a 3rd-round TKO over José Francisco Mendoza (21-2-2) in the featherweight division.
Márquez's 4th and final match with Israel Vásquez was announced in the first week of May 2010. Vázquez and Márquez fought in Los Angeles, California, for the fourth time after three epic battles. The match was appropriately titled "Once and Four All" and was broadcast live by Showtime. Márquez won a third-round TKO over Vázquez, ending their string of two victories each. "The fifth one may be a possibility if the fans vote for it," Márquez said later. That's what I live for. Israel Vásquez is a vain warrior."
He was supposed to face undefeated WBO Featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez on September 18, 2010, but the match was postponed by several weeks as a result of a thumb injury that barred him from participating. Márquez will ultimately miss the match by 8th-round TKO after being unable to continue due to a shoulder injury. Márquez said after the match, he had chosen to continue with the fight despite a right shoulder injury suffered before the game because he did not want to cause a second postponement. In the third round, Márquez re-aggravated the injury after a flurry of punches. He also expressed his eagerness to face Lopez in a rematch. Márquez sustained a hairline fracture in his right shoulder blade during the fight, and the attack would take 6 months to recover.
Márquez made his comeback in Cancn on the same day as his brother Juan Manuel's against Eduardo Becerril on July 16th. Both fights were tune-ups and the younger Márquez brother was ably coping with his opponent, knocking him down once more on the way to a 6th-round TKO.
On October 1st, Márquez fought WBC Super Bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Marquez was disqualified by a majority decision.