Juan Manuel Marquez looks to make history on Saturday as he guns for his fifth division world title against Timothy Bradley in their WBO Welterweight showdown at the Thomas & Mack Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dubbed as the battle between the last two men that defeated former pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, Marquez vs. Bradley is expected to be an action-packed slugfest from start to finish.
Marquez, who's coming off the greatest win of his career after knocking out Pacquiao in the sixth round of their welterweight fight last December, will try to become the first Mexican to win a World Championship belt in five different divisions.
The Mexican boxing legend turned 40 years old in August, but his advanced age didn't stop him from achieving new feats as a champion.
"When we thought about being a four-division world champion, the fifth was in our grasp and there for the taking," Marquez told ESPN. "My legacy will be taken to the next level if I win this fifth title, and it will be something that separates me from other Mexican fighters."
Bradley, on the other hand, promised to do everything he can to deny Marquez's quest of becoming a five-division world champion.
"[Marquez] wants to make history by being the first Mexican fighter to win world titles in five different weight divisions," Bradley said. "[Julio Cesar] Chavez, [Erik] Morales and [Marco Antonio] Barrera never did that. I know he wants to make history. But I want to make my own history, and beating Marquez and denying him of his ultimate goal, in the boxing capital of the world, will do just that."
Bradley, who pulled off a controversial split decision win over Pacquiao last year, said his next plan is to retire the greatest Mexican fighter in the era - Marquez.
"He is a legend, the greatest Mexican fighter of his era. He has a great trainer in Nacho Beristain. But they will never stop my will to win. I will win because I have to win. It's in my DNA. And I will be a bigger name because of my will to win. I have one goal: go into the ring, win and retire the great Juan Manuel Marquez," Bradley added.
Also in the undercard of Saturday's bout, Orlando Salido and Orlando Cruz will slug it out for the vacant WBO featherweight title.
Fight Card
- Welterweights: Timothy Bradley Jr. (30-0, 12 KOs) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KOs), 12 rounds, for Bradley's title
- Featherweights: Orlando Salido (39-12-2, 27 KOs) vs. Orlando Cruz (20-2-1, 10 KOs), 12 rounds, for a vacant title
- Featherweights: Vasyl Lomachenko (0-0, 0 KOs) vs. Jose Luis Ramirez (24-2-2, 15 KOs), 10 rounds
- Light heavyweights: Seanie Monaghan (18-0, 11 KOs) vs. Anthony Caputo-Smith (14-1, 10 KOs), 10 rounds
Schedule & Live Stream Information
Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Timothy Bradley fight will start at 9 p.m EST on HBO Pay-Per-View and Top-Rank TV. Ringside Commentary will be provided by ESPN boxing analyst Dan Rafael.
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