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INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Juan Manuel Marquez fought 12 times at the Forum in the early days of his record-setting career, and the Mexican champion fondly remembers almost every round. Even as an unknown featherweight prospect, Marquez loved the crackling atmosphere of the 1990s fight cards at the once-Fabulous Forum, where Lakers owner Jerry Buss indulged his passion for boxing by putting on hundreds of shows. Hollywood glitterati and hard-core fight fans mingled in Buss famed arena, which fell into decline after the Lakers and the NHLs Kings moved downtown to Staples Center in 1999. The Forum still holds a beloved place in the minds of California sports fans -- and after 13 years of inactivity, the building is back in the boxing business. Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs) gets the privilege of re-christening a building where he has never lost. "I feel very happy, because I get to fight in a great place," said Marquez, who made his Forum debut in 1995. "It is a beautiful, historical place." Marquez is hoping to revive the excitement when he takes on Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs) on Saturday night at the Forum, which has been rehabilitated by The Madison Square Garden Co. with everything from a fresh coat of red exterior paint to a thoroughly refurbished interior. Marquezs welterweight showdown with the hard-punching Alvarado live on HBO is the first fight card since 2001 at the Forum, where dozens of Mexican and American boxers got their first big fights. Its also the place where Top Ranks Bob Arum promoted Muhammad Alis second fight with Ken Norton in 1973, back when Jack Kent Cooke owned the building. "I really missed it when they closed the Forum as an entertainment and sports venue," Arum said. "They used it as a church for a while, and nothing pleases me more than that it is back as a sports venue and hosting a boxing event." Arum put together a compelling main event for the Forums return. Although both fighters are coming off a loss, Marquez and Alvarado are among two of the worlds most entertaining fighters at their weights, with Alvarados boldness and brawling instincts contrasting nicely with Marquezs skill and counterpunching. Marquez has won world championships in four weight classes, and a victory over Alvarado would set him up for a shot at a fifth title at 147 pounds. The winner of this bout is likely to fight Manny Pacquiao in the fall, which means Marquez would get a fifth bout with the Filipino congressman after winning their fourth meeting by spectacular knockout. "I concentrate only on this fight," Marquez said. "Maybe in the future Ill think about that fight, but right now, the most important fight of my career is against Alvarado, because he is a strong fighter and a tough fighter." Alvarado is eager to bounce back from a difficult loss to Ruslan Provodnikov, who stopped Alvarado and took his 140-pound title last fall. While Alvarado would love the career-changing opportunity of a fight with Pacquiao, hes grateful for the chance to fight Marquez, who ranks right alongside Pacquiao among their generations best boxers. "Im here to put on a better show and perform at a higher level," Alvarado said. "This is where I belong, and Im going to show that this weekend." Although the main event is compelling, the return of boxing to the Forum will evoke fond memories for veterans of the fight game. Arum is hoping the card creates new excitement in Inglewood for future visits in an area already featuring several excellent boxing venues, including the outdoor StubHub Center in Carson. "I see that a lot of the fighters (for this weekend) are staying at the Marriott at the airport," Arum said. "When we did the Ali-Norton II fight, that was the fight headquarters as well. That was what, 41 years ago? Oh my, I was a thin, young handsome guy. Now Im an old, fat guy. It was a great night, a good fight. Norton gave Ali trouble. The fight at the Forum was very close, and Ali pulled it out." Adidas Superstar Australia Sale . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive. Adidas Superstar Australia . And by all indications, the team is expected to select phenom Connor McDavid with their selection. The Buffalo Sabres, who were knocked down to the second overall pick after finishing with the worst regular season record, are expected to take the other generational player in Jack Eichel. http://www.wholesalesuperstaraustralia.com/. But Josh Bailey scored the shootout winner to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in a battle of the Eastern Conferences two worst teams. Cheap Adidas Superstar . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into. Cheap Superstar Australia . Funny, they looked like longtime friends during Pittsburghs 5-1 demolition of Dallas on Tuesday night. Quick to the puck and even quicker to the net, the Penguins top line overwhelmed the suddenly struggling Stars as Pittsburgh bounced back from a dismal weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia by jumping on Dallas early.QUEBEC -- Welterweight Chad (The Disciple) Laprise won a split decision over Olivier Aubin-Mercier on Wednesday to become the first Canadian winner of the UFCs "Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show. The judges scored it 28-29, 29-28, 30-27 for Laprise, who finished strongly in what was a very close fight. "I cant describe what I am feeling right now. People are asking me what it feels like to be the first winner of The Ultimate Fighter from Canadaa and all I can say is I feel blessed," said Laprise. "Olivier was tough. I knew he would be, hes a southpaw and has a very difficult style to figure out. He is young and will come again. "Right now, I feel so happy right now, so proud. I just had Dana White hand me a TUF finale trophy. I cant describe whats going on in my head." Laprise (9-0) got on his knees in the middle of the cage after the fight. Aubin-Mercier (5-1), seemingly favouring his right foot, hung on to his cornermen. The welterweight and middleweight finals of "The Ultimate Fighter Nations," which pitted Canada against Australian, were all-Canadian affairs after the Aussies were eliminated earlier. Torontos Elias (The Spartan) Theodorou stopped Edmontons Sheldon Westcott via second-round TKO in the middleweight final. After Theodorou (10-0) came into the music of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Westcott (9-2-1) ran into the arena to Imagine Dragons, almost wiping out as he turned a corner. It was a frantic opening as Westcott looked to take the fight to the ground quickly, hoping to bring his submission game into play. The bigger Theodorou fought him off and started punishing him with knees. Theodorous size and wrestling skills took their toll. He dumped Westcott midway through the second round and hammered him. The referee eventually stepped in to stop the beating at 4:41 Canadian coach Patrick (The Predator) Cote, who fought Australian coach Kyle Noke in a welterweight bout later on the Colisee Pepsi card, was runner-up to Travis Lutter on Season 4 of "The Ultimate Fighter," which featured veteran fighters looking for a second chance. Aubin-Mercier stalked Laprise, who looked to counter from the outside, as he waited for the right moment to try a takedown. Laprise stuffed two attempts in the first round but was cut under the left eye as the crowd chanted his opponents name. Laprise was finally taken down a minute into the second round, to the delight of the crowd. But he quickly got back up. Aubin-Mercier kept coming but never got his ground game going. Laprise denied another takedown to open the third but was bundled down soon after. Again he got back up quickly. Aubin-Mercier connected with kicks as Laprise continued to fight from the counter position. Laprise finished the fight with a flourish of blows. Wednesdays card marked the UFCs first visit to Queebec City.dddddddddddd In addition to being teammates on the show, Laprise and Aubin-Mercier have also trained together at Montreals Tristar Gym, home to former UFC weltwerweight champion Georges St-Pierre. "Theyre both my friends," said GSP. "Both very nice guys." St-Pierre, however, picked Aubin-Mercier to win. The former champion has closer ties to Aubin-Mercier than Laprise -- they have known each other longer, live close to each other and Aubin-Mercier was an important training partner ahead of St-Pierres last fight against Johny Hendricks. Aubin-Mercier, 25, does most of his training at Montreals H2O Gym, A former member of the Canadian judo team, he advanced to the TUF Nations final by beating a pair of Australians: Jake Matthews by decision and Richard Walsh by submission. A native of Windsor, Ont., Laprise now makes his home in London, Ont., and trains mostly out of Adrenaline MMA Training and Fitness. Laprise, 27, won a unanimous decision over Australian Chris Indich before defeating Kayan Johnsons jaw via a brutal knockout to advance to the final. "It was difficult seeing the aftermath with Kajan and his jaw breaking, obviously," said Laprise. But both knew what they had signed up for. "That could easily just as well been me," Laprise said. Johnson returns to the cage in June to face lightweight Tae Hyun Bang at UFC 174 in Vancouver. Like others on the show, which wrapped up filming in December, Laprise was unable to talk about what happened until the episodes aired. "Keeping it a secret for so long was definitely tough," he said. Both Laprise and Aubin-Mercier have spent most of their fight career at lightweight (155 pounds) but competed at welterweight (170) on the show. Laprise normally walks around at 190 pounds. "Im probably one of the biggest lightweights in the division," said the five-foot-10 Laprise. "So me fighting at 170 is actually awesome." Laprise added after the fight: "Id like to drop down to 155 pounds now, Im a little small for 170 pounds. But I will fight anyone the UFC want me to. Im here to fight." Fighting aside, Laprise is a man of faith. After weighing in Tuesday, he donned his trademark large cross to square off with Aubin-Mercier. "I truly believe that God put me here for a reason. And thats to share his light through fighting. Everybody that sees me fight, they know Im a Christian. Hopefully I represent God well." He found religion at the age of 21. "My life has changed dramatically since and Im very grateful for that." Living with 15 other fighters under the same roof with cameras everywhere for six weeks during filming of the TV show was a challenge however. "It was tough, man," he said. "Youre constantly on film, every single day." ' ' '