Who would you say was the better fighter, H2H and achievement wise? To me I think Edwin Rosario and Rafael Marquez were similar to each other in terms of style and characteristics. Both were seek-and-destroy type KO artists with good textbook boxing skills, nice offensive tools, good counter punchers, and deadly finishers. But both were also vulnerable fighters with leaky defense and bad recuperation when hurt bad and were involved in tough grueling battles while also showing a ton of heart. Skill wise I think Rosario showed better footwork and angles but was less consistent due to his problems outside the ring, although Marquez did become the top fighter in his weight class. Rosario has wins over Ramirez, Viruet, Davis Jr, Randall, Bramble, Jones, Garza Marquez has wins over Vazquez (x2), Too Sharp, Austin, Mabuza, Pastrana, Ruiz
I think Marquez was better though Rosario perhaps had a higher ceiling due to even scarier power. He went wayward too quickly but still had an excellent career.
My initial reaction when I saw this title was that I'd go with Rosario relatively clearly here, but on closer consideration it's a little tighter than I thought. But I'm still with Rosario on this. One drawback for Rosario is that for all his belts across two weights, he was never by consensus or by lineage 'the man' in a division, whereas Marquez did achieve this distinction by beating Vazquez first time out...But of course, his status as top dog only lasted a few months. Both have a very impressive name on their record outside of title fights - Randall is about on terms with Johnson all things considered, I guess. But outside of that I prefer Rosario's championship victories over Marquez's, particularly his chopping down of Bramble and his first fight with Ramirez. And while the scorecards say it was only the knockdown which made the difference, I do think he beat Davis a little easier than others seem to. Not a huge amount in it but I'm happy giving this one to Rosario.
Bump. I still think they're both relatively close. Both were so damn entertaining to watch despite their obvious flaws.
For me its Rosario. Drugs ruined what could possibly have been a legit great fighter. That footwork he had was so much fun to watch for me. Yes definitely Rosario
Drugs were a big part of Rosario's troubles, but he was also unlucky with injuries. Breaking his right hand against Ramirez crippled his momentum. He struggled with hand and wrist problems chronically after that. And I believe he had some problems with his back or his ribs around the time of his career resurgence. Those injuries problems can sap a man's performances in the ring, and the time off really eats away at a career. By contrast Marquez was a happily married family man who was as lucky at avoiding injuries as Rosario was unlucky. Both Rafa and JMM never seemed to be injured. I lean toward Marquez. If he'd fought in an era like Olivares did we would have a much better idea of where he stands. For my money, after he beat Johnson (X2) and Austin he got a big swell of confidence. He had the talent, confidence, and experience to blossom into a very formidable champ. Unfortunately, beating Pete Frissana and Heriberto Ruiz doesn't make you a rival to Olivares or Zarate at 188.
Marquez. He was a more dominant champion and performed better against world class opposition. Rosario never really beat Ramirez tbh. He wrecked Bramble. That's his best win. He also wrecked Garza who was a decent fighter. Rosario struggled against Davis and Randall. Davis was a good contender, Randall was a nobody at the time. Rosario came pretty close to beating prime Camacho. That was a great performance. Marquez beat Mark Johnson twice. First fight was a controversial shitshow but unlike Rosario-Ramirez where it was Rosario who got stopped in the rematch (great effort tho), Marquez stopped Johnson. And Johnson actually went on to beat Montiel at 115 and even defended his title against a top 10 super flyweight. Marquez stopped an undefeated Tim Austin. Marquez defended his title 7 times and each time was against a top 10 fighter (Ring Magazine). Marquez beat Vazquez in his first fight at 122 lbs. He lost his next two fights to Vazquez (both highly competitive fights). That was the end of Marquez. I think Marquez was the superior boxer and the more accomplished fighter.
