Houston’s Giovanni Marquez wins first pro belt

HOUSTON – A few minutes after earning his first professional championship belt, Giovanni Marquez found himself in a minor scuffle at Red Owl Boxing arena. The second confrontation proved to be nothing more than trash talk and pushing and shoving between Marquez and veteran boxer Kurt Scoby.

Marquez and Scoby, who is nicknamed Scooby, have been building a rivalry on social media recently. Marquez, who had more than 100 friends and family in attendance Friday night, jumped on the ropes immediately after his eight-round bout with Esteban Muñoz.

He saw Scoby in the crowd, and they exchanged words. The Overtime Boxing crew then let Scoby in the ring after Marquez was declared the winner by unanimous decision over Muñoz.

“Today was just another day in the office,” Giovanni Marquez said after improving to 13-0. “It’s always a treat to fight in my hometown of Houston. Houston strong. Shoutout to the Raza, the Raza Mexicana. We’ll just continue the journey. This is just chapter 13. On to the next.”

Raul Marquez, the 1992 U.S. Olympian and former world champ, and Team Marquez stepped in before the confrontation escalated beyond trash talk. 

Overtime drama

“We’ve been going back and forth on social media,” Marquez said of Scoby. “He decided to pull up and call me out. We’re going to get the fight going pretty soon.”

Scoby, 30, has 119,000 followers on his Instagram account. Marquez, 24, has almost 10,000 Instagram followers. 

Scoby, who is angling for a fight with Marquez, called out Marquez when Marquez was sparring with Devin Haney last month. As Marquez’s star rises, it’s difficult to tell if Scoby genuinely dislikes Marquez or merely wants to build up interest for an eventual fight.

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Whatever the case, Marquez took a positive step Friday night before his hometown crowd. He improved to 13-0 against a veteran, tough fighter. 

Two of the judges scored the fight 78-74. The third had Marquez winning 79-73. With the unanimous decision, Marquez won the WBA Continental America Gold super lightweight championship belt.

Giovanni Marquez focused on bigger belts

The Marquezes conceded that the WBA Continental America Gold belt is a minor one in the world of boxing. Nonetheless, it’s a belt. 

“It’s exciting. It’s good,” Giovanni Marquez said. “And it’s a good belt, but we’re coming for the real title. Soon we’ll get there.”

Marquez vows to get with his promoter and team to decide the next step in his career. The former Golden Gloves amateur champion now has a pro belt on his resume.

“It’s his first belt,” Raul Marquez said of Giovanni. “It’s not a big one. But it’s connected with the WBA, Alberto Mendoza, which is good. It’s a good thing for Gio to work hard.”