Marquez still has the fire: eyes Pacquiao trilogy, not Khan

source: Ernest Gabion | boxingscene.com

It won’t follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, which was 2009's Fight of the Year.

But the 12-round lightweight championship rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz was far from a letdown, as Marquez added another superb performance to his legendary career with a well-earned unanimous decision at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday evening.
Scores were 116-112 118-110 117-111 for Marquez, who makes the second successful defense of the lineal championship he wrested from Joel Casamayor nearly two years ago.

Both fighters worked their strengths in the early going. For Diaz, it was a whirlwind of activity and movement that has overwhelmed who have stood in front of him. For Marquez, it is an assassin type approach, picking apart game plans as easy as any other fighter in the game today.

While Marquez for the most part dominated, it wasn’t without taking punishment himself. For as technically sound as Marquez is, Diaz seems to have his number. The Houston native caught him cleaner and more often than just about any other fighter not named Floyd Mayweather.

This fight was more on a technical level and while it kept Diaz in the game, trying to match boxing profiency with a master like Marquez is hardly a recipe for success. This was no different for Diaz who tried to box more this time out. It was a catch 22 situation for Diaz – does he box and hope to stay in the fight, or try and get inside of Marquez knowing he could take more punishment but give more in return?

Early on, Diaz seemed to have found a new successful weapon early on using a crisp jab reddening Marquez' face. Marquez in turn is so adept at what he does that even with Diaz' early round success you can sense Marquez was still in control of the fight.

Largely forgotten was Diaz' inside game and while this may have kept Diaz upright, it took away from the effectiveness he had in the first fight never really hurting Marquez and in turn keeping him in Marquez' office.

This pattern held true from the fourth round onward. While Diaz had some success landing and marking up his opponent’s face in the process, Marquez began to hunt down the game Baby Bull, putting together the beautiful combinations that brought him the victory in their first clash.

The fifth and sixth rounds were the same, as Diaz was unable to prevent Marquez from inflicting damage from the outside.

Marquez hurt Diaz in the sevent, connecting with a right hand over the top forcing Diaz to keep away for the rest of the round. Diaz absorbed more punishment in the eighth and ninth rounds, but wasn’t prepared to roll over and play dead.

A sense of letdown was evident in Diaz’ demeanor as the rounds hit double digits, but never to the point of resignation. The former lightweight titlist picked up the intensity, treating Marquez’ swollen eye as a bullseye as he looked to dial in with his left hooks. The strategy backfired, instead playing right into the game plan of Marquez, who picked apart the future lawyer for his troubles.

It was anticipated that neither fighter would leave anything behind in the 12th and final round. Neither Juan disappointed in that regard. It was a fitting end to a very good fight for two fighters who have provided boxing fans with 21 rounds of entertainment at the sport’s highest level.

In the end, it’s only Marquez who remains at the elite level. It was a much needed big win for the soon-to-be 37 year old, who improves to 51-5-1 (37KO). The victory is his first since he and Diaz met in their Fight of the Year some 17 months ago.

Diaz falls to 35-4 (17KO), with all four of his career losses coming in his past six fights.

Marquez stated a third fight with Manny Pacquiao is his number one priority, even offering his services for the November 13th date Pacquiao has with Antonio Margarito. Marquez is the fighter Golden Boy would like to face WBA 140-pound champion Amir Khan on December 11, but the Mexican warrior has other plans.

“A trilogy with Pacquiao is what I want and should happen,” Marquez said after his second straight win over Diaz. “It's for the Mexican and Filipino fight fans it's my number one priority. I will be ready to fight again in November and hopefully Pacquiao takes the fight with me.”

As anticipated of a fight as it would be, the likelihood of it actually happening is highly unlikely – and perhaps a good thing for Marquez, who was physically in the worst condition of his career when he weighed 142 for his fight with Mayweather last September.

If it’s history he’s after, Marquez would perhaps be better served pursuing a title at 140 in efforts to become the first Mexican to win championships in four separate weight classes.

Diaz was far more cryptic in what his intentions are for the immediate future and beyond, though some of his post-fight quotes appear to be in line with the pre-fight belief that he’s perhaps looking invest more time into his pending law career than that as a boxer.

“I am going to sit down with my team and decide what to do but I am taking the LSAT,” Diaz said after the fight. “Keep in mind, I have been fighting for ten years, more than a lot of fighters have.

I just want to think about (the future) before I make a decision I am not going to say tonight whether I will fight again.”

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