Juan Manuel Marquez-Cesar Cuenca For Vacant WBO Title?

If all goes as expected, Juan Manuel Marquez will return to the ring on April 21 undefeated Argentinean César Cuenca (42-0, 1KO) in Morelia, Chiapas or Cancun. A source indicates the possibility of a vacant WBO junior welterweight title being at stake, although it’s not exactly clear if the belt at stake will be the interim or the full title.

The current WBO champion, Timothy Bradley, will move up to the welterweight division to challenge the WBO champion at 147, Manny Pacquiao, on June 9th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Cuenca is ranked at number 1 by the WBO at 140, and Marquez is the WBO champion at 135.

“All I know is that I’m fighting on April 21, but I don’t know the opponent or the opponent. But if [the opponent] is Cuenca, then I’ll have to look for him on Youtube, because honestly I don’t know him and I’ve never seen him fight,” Marquez said.

“Going by his record, I believe that he’ll be difficult, a good boxer and fast. If he’s ranked in the first position [by the WBO], he must have done something.”

Marquez expects to fight three times in 2012, including a fight in July and then another contest in the fall – which he hopes is a fourth meeting with Pacquiao.

By Salvador Rodriguez

Salvador Rodriguez covers boxing in Mexico for The Record.

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