Five for fighting?

Friday, May 6, 2005 | 9:59 a.m.

Fight aficionados have compared them to lighter, more wiry versions of Hearns, Hagler, Leonard and Duran.

They're the Big Four of the featherweight and super featherweight divisions, delighting boxing fans by fighting each other in an ongoing, electrifying series of memorable bouts.

Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.

But Saturday at Mandalay Bay will find another 126-pounder rapping at the door, demanding entry to the club.

Victor Polo wants to make it a quintet.

"I think just the fact I'm here fighting for the championship shows I do belong," Polo said at a training session this week at Mandalay Bay. "I'm always fighting real fighters, and I'm always fighting for championships.

"I think I have proven myself as one of the best fighters out there."

Polo (34-4-3, 24 knockouts) challenges Marquez (43-2-1, 33 KOs) for his IBF and WBA featherweight titles in the featured undercard bout Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

In the main event, Jose Luis Castillo (52-6-1, 46 KOs) and Diego "Chico" Corrales (39-2, 32 KOs) clash in a world lightweight championship unification fight. Showtime will televise the card (9 p.m., tape-delayed in the West).

Polo, a sleek Colombian southpaw, has fought four times for the world featherweight title but has an 0-3-1 record to show for it.

If not for a series of strange twists of fate that reads like a tragicomedy -- along with at least one instance of questionable scoring -- he could well have been 4-0 in those fights.

The most frustrating of the decisions for Polo came in January, when he fought Scott Harrison for the WBO title in Harrison's hometown of Glasgow, Scotland.

Polo opened a cut by Harrison's left eye in the first round, and most observers who scored the fight thought he did enough to upend the champ in his own house.

The judges scored it 116-113 for Polo, 115-113 for Harrison and 114-114.

"All the fights have been close, but the last one against Harrison was a robbery," Polo, 34, said. "There is no question I won that fight. ...

"As far as I'm concerned, I am the champion without a crown."

In his previous title shot, against Julio Pablo Chacon in 2002, Polo slipped on a mat on the ring apron during an exchange of punches in the ninth round. The slip was ruled a knockdown, so instead of coming away with a close victory, Polo ended up on the short end of a split decision.

In 2001, Polo lost a split decision -- which was greeted by boos from the crowd -- to Derrick Gainer on Gainer's home turf of Tampa, Fla., and in 1999 he lost to Manuel Medina at the Orleans when the fight went to the scorecards after an accidental head butt.

"Most of the time it seems like I'm fighting the guy in his own hometown," Polo said, "and that makes it hard to get the decision. Here, we're at a neutral site. Both of us are from different places, so hopefully it will work out better for me."

Even Polo's opponent in Saturday's title fight seemed to show a little sympathy.

"Victor Polo is a great fighter; he's just had a lot of bad luck," Marquez, 31, of Mexico City, said. "You have to have some luck to become champion, but he's a great fighter.

"He's a technically sound fighter who has a lot of skills. It's going to come down to whoever is better prepared."

It has been nearly one year since Marquez's dramatic performance against Pacquiao, also a left-hander, at the MGM Grand. Marquez was floored three times in the first round last May 8 before recovering to escape with a 12-round majority draw.

"I learned a lot against Pacquiao, but the most important thing was not to be overconfident," said Marquez, a superb counterpuncher. "I underestimated Pacquiao going into that fight, but there will be no more underestimating opponents. I'm very serious now."

archive