Raúl Márquez: “You Really Don’t See Any Size Difference”

Former super welterweight world champion Raúl Márquez (41-4-1, 29 KOs, 1 NC) joined host TJ Rives on the Big Fight Weekend podcast to discuss the upcoming clash between Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) and Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs). He also tells the podcast of his time training with the Charlo twins in Houston when they were teenagers. Márquez also speaks about his son, Giovanni, and what he does well in addition what he could work on.

You can listen to the entire interview and hear more from TJ Rives and Dan Rafael on the Big Fight Weekend podcast below:

On Canelo-Charlo

Márquez was present at the New York City press conference between Canelo and Charlo where he spoke to both men. Based on what he saw and heard, this is what he had to say on Canelo (comments have been edited for clarity and length):

“Canelo looked great. He looked like he is in the zone. He looks like he is hungry. You know, he realizes that maybe his last couple of fights, he hasn’t looked the best. But sometimes, being a fighter, you need some motivation, like this kind of motivation. A guy like Jermell that is trying to create history by moving up two weight divisions and take away Canelo’s titles. I think Canelo is very motivated, very respectful. There was a lot of respect towards each other. He seems like he’s ready to go. He’s in shape already.

With regards to Charlo, he had this to say:

“For Jermell, it’s dare to be great. You got to take risks in this sport. Honestly, it’s two weight classes. It’s a big challenge, not that many people have done it.”

“But if you noticed in the stare down, the size difference, you really can’t see it. Jermell is a tall guy, he’s got that advantage with the height, the reach. And I’ve known the twins since they were little, when they were at the gym, walking around, working out. I grew up with these guys when I used to get trained by Ronnie Shields. The work ethic is unbelievable. They never won the big tournaments but they always came back and they were always there working, trying to learn.”

“When you see him and Canelo up to each other, you really don’t see any size difference.”

On Giovanni Márquez

Recently, Giovanni Márquez (6-0, 4 KOs) fought on an OTX card in Atlanta, Ga. that was broadcast on DAZN. He defeated Nicky Vitone (9-3-1, 7 KOs) via second round technical stoppage. When asked about how it feels to be in his son’s corner, he said:

“You got to realize it’s my son. It’s always going to be nerve wrecking but I know how hard he works in the gym. I know how hard we work together. I know how hard we work on different things, different situations. And he rose to the top, he did what he had to do when you fight on a platform like that.”

At just 22 years of age, Raúl believes that Giovanni is showing the signs of a good fighter. When asked about what he does well, he said:

“What I think he does very well, and people might not think it’s that important, is taking the pressure. Every time Giovanni fights, because he’s my son, it’s a lot of exposure, he’s getting a lot of attention…every fight he fights, there’s people wanting to see, wanting to check out what Raúl Márquez’s son is about. This fight got a lot of attention and I like the way he is so focused and relaxed. That’s everything because when you get a fighter that is tense and tight and nervous, he’s not going to perform the same.”

As for things he could work on:

“There’s little things. Sometimes when he is throwing his shots, he might have his chin a little too up. Maybe work a little more on his defense. There’s always room to grow, no matter what. He’s going to be a world champion one day and I’m still going to try to improve with defense, with power, there’s a lot of stuff you can always be improving. You can never be too good in boxing, that’s the way I look at it.”