Worldly culture was in a surplus at the MGM Grand Marquee Ballroom on Saturday night when Rafael Marquez did battle with Toshiaki Nishioka of Japan, with Nishioka’s WBC Super bantamweight strap on the line.
The hard hitting, and hard headed Marquez started the fight strongly, dictating the bouts methodical pace with well timed combinations, not without eating a number of solo right hands from Nishioka. The Japanese world champion, making his U.S. debut carried out a strategy that centered around footwork and a carefully selected offensive attack early on, landing sporadic shots over Marquez’s cover.
Following the bout Marquez expressed frustration with Nishioka’s reluctance to bring the fight to the center of the ring, and that element seemed to give the former world champion trouble in the second half of the bout. Marquez was never quite able to develop a consistent rhythm in the later rounds. A cut on the head of Nishioka halted action in the 8th round, and prompted an offensive assault from Marquez, who seemed inspired by the sight of blood. Nishioka weathered the storm and lived to see the last four rounds, where he would prove to prosper.
The 9th round was the root of a trend that would carry on through the remainder of the fight, Nishioka’s lead left hand. Marquez simply could not find an answer for Nishioka’s go to punch, which he began to follow up with combinations as the fight wore on. Nishioka’s efforts would not go unnoticed by the judges in his Las Vegas debut, as they awarded him a unanimous decision, with a potential showdown with world champion Nonito Donaire emerging as the hot topic in the aftermath of the bout.
In other action featherweight prospect Jesse Magdeleno stopped Isaac Hidalgo with a brutal first round attack. Nicaraguan light flyweight world champion Roman Gonzalez put his superior skills on display with a two round drubbing of Omar Soto, and short notice opponent Jose Angel Beranza stunned Christopher Martin with a split decision win.
