Pablo Márquez (wrestler)

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Pablo Márquez (born June 4, 1973) is an Ecuadorian professional wrestler who became best known for his work in the United States during the 1990s. He wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under his real name and the ring names El Puerto Riqueño and Ubas, and in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Abu, later Babu.

Márquez trained in the United States under Larry Sharpe and began wrestling on the independent circuit in 1992. He made his ECW debut in October 1995 at South Philly Jam as El Puerto Riqueño. He challenged for the ECW Television Championship several times but never won the title. Notable early ECW appearances included losing to Stevie Richards at November to Remember 1995, to Taz at December to Dismember 1995, and to Bruiser Mastino at Holiday Hell 1995. In 1996 he competed at CyberSlam, had a no-contest with Super Nova at Hostile City Showdown, and lost to Louie Spicolli at Heat Wave. In 1997 he started wrestling under his real name and also used the nickname Ubas (Sabu spelled backward). He appeared on ECW Hardcore TV and other ECW programmes before leaving ECW when he was signed by WWF.

In WWF Márquez spent time in the Light Heavyweight division, wrestling two matches against Taka Michinoku in late 1997 and early 1998. He re-debuted on August 16, 1998, on Sunday Night Heat as Abu, who later became known as Babu, a gimmick in which he acted as a servant to Tiger Ali Singh. Although most of his WWF run was non-wrestling, he did have a few televised matches, including a November 9, 1998 Raw match against Al Snow (singled out by Singh, who then won) and a December 6, 1998 Sunday Night Heat tag match with Singh against Kurrgan and Luna Vachon (no contest). He also appeared on a 1998 Shotgun episode in a loss to Goldust. After leaving WWF, Márquez worked for various promotions.

In 1997 he defeated Bodacious Pretty Boy for the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation, and he returned to ECW for a couple of TV appearances in 1999, including a January 2 Hardcore TV loss to Yoshihiro Tajiri and a December 17, 1999 ECW on TNN three-way match that ended no contest. He wrestled for Jersey All Pro Wrestling from 1999 to 2000, and later found success in Puerto Rico with World Wrestling Council, where he won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship three times in 2003 and 2004. From 2005 to 2006 he wrestled in the International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico.

Beyond performing, Márquez taught at the Main Event Training Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and helped train several wrestlers. He was involved in a CCW storyline in 2007 and even served as a referee for a match in Spain in 2008. His career has included controversy, with a former trainee accusing him of sexual assault, and several other female trainees making accusations, though only one case proceeded to court. Márquez has stated in a 1998 interview that he had committed a crime in Ecuador in 1991. In 1999 he was detained in Newark, New Jersey for citizenship verification but was released without charges.

Throughout his career, Márquez contributed to training younger talent, notably helping wrestlers such as JT Flash, Kaotic Romeo Razel Quevedo, Celeste Bonin, Dirty White Boy, and Cruzz alongside Super Crazy.