Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez won his lightweight debut Saturday night, stopping linear champion Joel Casamayor for the first time in the Cuban's career with a dynamic flurry late in the 11th round. Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KOs) moved up to lightweight in hopes of landing a third bout with Manny Pacquiao after going 0-1-1 against the Filipino pound-for-pound king. Marquez proved the extra weight didn't bother him in a comprehensive win over Casamayor (36-4-1), the 37-year-old champion who has unofficially ruled the division since beating Diego Corrales two years ago. Marquez was slow and tentative in the first three rounds, allowing Casamayor to take charge. When Marquez finally got aggressive, Casamayor wasn't able to keep up. Marquez left nothing to the scorecards in the final minute of the 11th when he floored Casamayor with a right hand that spun the Cuban's chin. Marquez then showed impeccable finishing skills, landing several big blows before a glassy-eyed Casamayor went down for good on consecutive right hands with about 7 seconds left. This TKO should be a big step in getting Marquez back to the top, particularly if a certain Filipino phenomenon happened to be watching. Pacquiao, who made his own lightweight debut in June, is expected to move back to 135 pounds after his big-money welterweight bout against Oscar De La Hoya, Marquez's promoter. “We moved up in weight, and we will fight anyone that our promoter wants,” Marquez said. “He was the best lightweight in the world, and he has strong counterpunches.” Bradley outpoints Cherry In Mississippi, undefeated Timothy Bradley successfully defended his WBC super lightweight title Saturday, outpointing Edner Cherry of the Bahamas in a unanimous decision at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Bradley (23-0) had winning scores of 119-109, 118-109 and 117-110. The 25-year-old Bradley was making the first defense of the title he took from Junior Witter on May 10. Earlier, Nate Campbell held on to his lightweight world titles Saturday without even entering the ring, as his defense against unbeaten challenger Joan Guzman was canceled. The bout was called off at Guzman's request. The Dominican Republic fighter had failed to make weight by three-and-a-half pounds on Friday, and while the fight had been expected to go on as a non-title bout, Guzman felt he was not healthy enough to fight due to dehydration brought on by his attempt to make weight. Forrest regains title In Nevada, Vernon Forrest dominated Sergio Mora from start to finish to regain the World Boxing Council light middleweight title Saturday with a unanimous 12-round decision. Mora had surprised Forrest with a majority decision victory to claim the belt on June 7. But Forrest emphatically avenged that defeat, using a strong left jab and big overhand right as he earned scores of 118-109, 117-110 and 119-108 at the MGM Grand. Forrest improved to 41-3, with 29 knockouts. Mora fell to 21-1-1, with five wins inside the distance.
