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Deadwood Mountain Grand in Deadwood, S.D. – In the Showtime telecast opener, highly regarded prospect Giovanni Marquez (1-0) became the seventh fighter in the history of ShoBox to make his professional debut on the series, extending the streak to 7-0 in those bouts as Marquez scored a four-round unanimous decision over a game Nelson Morales. The scores were 40-36, and 39-37 twice in the welterweight bout.
“I felt great,” said Marquez. “I hurt my left hand in the second round on a jab. I think I would have been able to stop him if I hadn’t hurt my hand.”
With his father and trainer, former world champion Raul Marquez, barking instructions from his corner, Houston’s Márquez – the 2021 national Golden Gloves 152-pound champion – dominated the welterweight affair, displaying his offensive skills and using his jab and uppercut effectively as the quicker and busier fighter. Marquez landed 30 percent of his total punches (85 for 280) compared to Morales at 21 percent (42 to 201).
“All the attention, it’s really not normal for a 21-year-old,” said the elder Marquez. “He handled all the pressure. I’m really proud of my son. I’m very satisfied.”
Added Giovanni: “It was a great experience. He was a tough, durable guy, but I feel like I handled everything, the cameras, all the attention pretty well. I started a little slow but after the first round I settled down and fought my fight. I felt fine without the headgear. We kept bumping heads, but he never hurt me. There was a lot of pressure on me, and I was a little nervous in the leadup to the fight, but once I got into the fight I relaxed and I felt comfortable. Overall, it was a great experience.”
Following a competitive first round, the 21-year-old Marquez dominated the second round, his confidence surging with every second that passed against the Dominican-born Morales.
“I think I did OK,” said the 30-year-old Dominican Republic-born Morales (2-1) now living in Scranton, Pa. “My strategy was to go in and box. He cut the ring off and applied good pressure. I can’t say too much because it wasn’t the best of me. He was OK. I’ll be back.”
The six other fighters’ victorious in their ShoBox pro debuts include Dominic Breazeale, Marcus Browne, Terrell Gausha, Errol Spence Jr., Rau’Shee Warren and Gary Russell, Jr.