Raúl Márquez (born August 28, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held IBF junior middleweight title between April and December 1997. Márquez also represented the U.S. at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Personal life Márquez resides in Houston and works as a color commentator for Showtime. He is married to Jeannette Marquez. He is a father of four boys and one daughter. Raúl Jr., Arturo, Giovanni, Liam and Alina. His son Giovanni was a top amateur boxer who turned professional in March 2022.

Amateur career Márquez came to the U.S. in 1976 and began his boxing amateur career. His highlights included:

1987 United States Jr. Olympic welterweight champion 1989 United States amateur welterweight champion 1991 United States amateur light middleweight champion 1991 AIBF light middleweight world amateur champion Represented the United States at the 1992 Olympics at light middleweight. His results were: Defeated David Defiagbon (Nigeria) 8–7 Defeated Rival Cadeau (The Seychelles) 20–3 Lost to Orhan Delibaș (Netherlands) 12–16

Professional career Márquez began his professional career after the 1992 Olympics and got off to an impressive start, winning his first 25 bouts.

IBF light middleweight title challenge All those bouts set up a shot at the Vacant IBF Light Middleweight Title against Anthony Stephens. Márquez won by TKO to capture the belt. Raúl successfully defended his title twice, including a victory over Keith Mullings, before getting TKO'd by Mexican legend Yori Boy Campas.

Márquez vs. Vargas In 1999, Márquez challenged then-undefeated IBF light middleweight champion Fernando Vargas, but was dominated and stopped in the eleventh round. Márquez took on another elite fighter in 2003, Shane Mosley, in a fight which ended in a bloody no contest after a clash of heads. In 2004, now campaigning at middleweight, Márquez took on the much stronger and then-undefeated Jermain Taylor, who won by TKO after Márquez's corner decided to pull him out in round nine.

IBF middleweight title run On June 21, 2008, Márquez defeated Giovanni Lorenzo by unanimous decision in an IBF middleweight title eliminator. The fight took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Márquez applied pressure, while Lorenzo tried to box from the outside. Márquez's workrate gave Lorenzo problems, for which he often no answer. Márquez was cut over the right eye in round ten, but Lorenzo was docked a point for a headbutt in the same round and the fighters continued to fight after the bell. Scores were 114–113 across the board for Márquez.

On November 8, 2008, at the age of 37, Márquez lost to then-undefeated Arthur Abraham via sixth-round technical knockout at the Bamberg's Jako Arena, in what was the 8th defense of his IBF middleweight title.

Broadcasting Márquez currently works on the announcing team for Showtime on their Spanish-language broadcasts, as well as the English-language ShoBox: The New Generation series. He has also worked for HBO, NBC, Telefutura and many other networks.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes47Loss Arthur AbrahamRTD6 (12)Nov 8, 2008 46Win41–3–1 Giovanni LorenzoUD12Jun 21, 2008 45Draw40–3–1 Bronco McKartMD10 Mar 29, 2008 44Win40–3 Jay PinaTKO2 (10)Aug 8, 2007 43Win39–3 Jonathan CornTKO1 (10)Mar 16, 2007 42Win38–3 Elco GarciaKO7 (10)Sep 22, 2006 41Win37–3 Sergio RiosTKO5 (10)Jul 8, 2006 40Win36–3 Miguel HernandezTKO9 (10)Apr 29, 2006 39Loss35–3 Jermain TaylorRTD9 (12)Jun 19, 2004 38Win35–2 Humberto ArandaKO4 (10)Oct 23, 2003 3734–2 Shane MosleyNC3 (12)Feb 8, 2003 36Win34–2 Anthony BrooksUD8 Mar 8, 2002 35Win33–2 Roberto BaroKO7 (10)Aug 23, 2001 34Win32–2 Tony MenefeeTKO4 (10)May 18, 2001 33Win31–2 Rob BleakleyTKO5 (10)Feb 15, 2001 32Loss30–2 Fernando VargasTKO11 (12)Jul 17, 1999 31Win30–1 Michael LermaUD10Mar 19, 1999 30Win29–1 Jose FloresUD10Sep 25, 1998 29Loss28–1 Yori Boy CampasTKO8 (12)Dec 6, 1997 28Win28–0 Keith MullingsSD12 Sep 13, 1997 27Win27–0 Romallis EllisTKO4 (12)Jul 5, 1997 26Win26–0 Anthony StephensTKO9 (12)Apr 12, 1997 25Win25–0 Rafael WilliamsRTD5 (12)Jan 10, 1997 24Win24–0 Scott SmithKO2 (10)Dec 6, 1996 23Win23–0 Skipper KelpUD12 Mar 5, 1996 22Win22–0 James McCrayTKO6 (8)Jan 30, 1996 21Win21–0 Ernie HouserTKO4 (8)Jul 9, 1995 20Win20–0 Floyd WilliamsUD10 Apr 11, 1995 19Win19–0 Alain BonnamieUD10 Jan 10, 1995 18Win18–0 Jorge VacaUD10 Nov 5, 1994 17Win17–0 Darryl CherryTKO6 (10)Oct 1, 1994 16Win16–0 Alex RiosKO1 (10)Aug 23, 1994 15Win15–0 Jacobo GarciaKO1 (6)Jul 27, 1994 14Win14–0 Patrick SwannTKO9 (10)Apr 16, 1994 13Win13–0 John JeterPTS8 Feb 22, 1994 12Win12–0 Reggie StricklandTKO1 (8)Jan 14, 1994 11Win11–0 Eduardo AyalaPTS8 Jul 24, 1993 10Win10–0 Tommy SmallUD8 Jun 26, 1993 9Win9–0 Mark AllmanTKO1 (6)May 28, 1993 8Win8–0 Jose Angel GarciaTKO4 (6)Mar 23, 1993 7Win7–0 Leo EdwardsTKO3 (6)Feb 27, 1993 6Win6–0 Tyrone HaywoodTKO1 (6)Feb 6, 1993 5Win5–0 Andre BrownTKO1 (6)Jan 9, 1993 4Win4–0 Ivory TeagueTKO2 (6)Dec 1, 1992 3Win3–0 Jose GonzalezRTD1 (6)Nov 13, 1992 2Win2–0 Andre WatkinsKO1 (6)Oct 24, 1992 1Win1–0 Rafael RezzaqTKO4 (6)Oct 3, 1992

See also List of Mexican boxing world champions List of light-middleweight boxing champions

References

External links