Best ignored fighter in boxing?

He's a featherweight. Undefeated in more than 40 fights, less than 30 years old. Hasn't fought a guy with anything close to a losing record in at least six years.

Manuel Medina, who most people felt defeated Johnny Tapia in his last big fight and was ripped off, couldn't make it out of the seventh round with this guy. When Naseem Hamed was on top, he ducked this fighter ruthlessly.

The following boxers are W's on his resume: Agapito Sanchez, Darryl Pinckney, Julian Wheeler, Freddy Cruz, Enrique Jupiter, Julio Gamboa, Robbie Peden. Some of them lasted the distance, others didn't.

Most observers who watched Freddie Norwood fight this guy thought that Norwood lost. The judges (and, truth be told, this writer) were in the minority who felt otherwise. Okay, so I exaggerated. The boxer to whom I am referring is not officially undefeated -- but he easily could be. He officially lost to Norwood, who may have been the best 126-pounder in the world at the time. He also officially lost the first fight of his career, a disqualification due to an accidental headbutt in the first round of a fight he would have certainly won.

So officially, Juan Manuel Marquez, the least talked-about, most-deserving top contender in boxing, is 40-2 (32). It is a record that has been compiled against fighters who are much more used to winning than to losing. At the time Marquez fought them, his 23 opponents since late-1996 have won almost six times the number of fights they've lost, a combined record of 608-128-18, for an average of 26-6-1. And, with the exception of the Norwood fight, every time Juan Manuel -- "Johnny Boy" to his camp -- stepped in the ring, he left no doubt about his superiority.

Marco Antonio Barrera is the featherweight champion of the world. Erik Morales has proven over 24 rounds against Barrera that he is his equal. Johnny Boy should get the chance to see where he fits in with those guys. He has already proven that he is better than just about everyone else.

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The tortoise and the hare?

Francisco Bojado began his career with a bang, appearing on the undercard of Zab Judah-Reggie Green. Despite Judah's 10th-round knockout of Green, it was Bojado who stole the show with a spectacular second-round knockout of Detrick Castor. Afterwards there was that palpable electricity around ringside that only a phenom can create.

Rocky Juarez began his career with a whisper, if not a whimper, as he won a workmanlike four-round decision over Pascali Adorno.

Bojado failed his first test against Juan Carlos Rubio, losing on points over 10 rounds. Juarez, on the other hand, just knocked out the 20-2 Jason Pires. When Bojado and Juarez both turned pro, few would have predicted that Juarez would develop into the better fighter. I wonder what a poll of boxing insiders would reveal about the stock of the two young pros today.

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The main event!

This week on Friday Night Fights we have Emmanuel Augustus (formerly Emmanuel Burton) in against Omar Weis. Augustus is best known for losing the fight of the year to Mickey Ward -- on Friday Night Fights -- in 2001. Weis is best known for beating Hector Camacho Jr., on our Tuesday Night Fights. Augustus and Weis also both lost very close decisions to Antonio Diaz -- both of those fights were on our air, too. They are two good fighters in an incredibly deep 140-pound division.

Expect a fast-paced, back and forth tussle between well schooled, subtly skilled contenders. The kind of fight your father tells you about from when he used to watch the original Friday Night Fights back in the good old days. In fact, sit your dad down in front of the TV this Friday. There may not be quite as many of them, but some of these new days are pretty good, too.

Max Kellerman is a studio analyst for ESPN2's Friday Night Fights and the host of the show Around The Horn.