by James Slater – When lightweights Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz met in February of last year, the fight they put on was widely viewed as one of the best, if not the best, of the whole year. Mexican great Marquez prevailed, winning the great fight via a 9th-round TKO in Diaz’ backyard of Houston, Texas. Now, according to BoxRec, the two will do it again in Las Vegas on July 10th..
Quite a lot has happened since the fight last year. Both guys have lost since (Diaz, to Paulie Malignaggi – only once officially, yet most experts felt Juan lost the first fight to Malignaggi also, and Marquez to the superb Floyd Mayweather Jr.), and both men have fought above the lightweight limit. Marquez still holds the WBO 135-pound crown, though, and he will look to retain this belt in July.
There is no disgrace in Marquez, 50-5-1(37) having lost on points to Mayweather, especially as the fight took place at welterweight (with Floyd weighing-in at 146, Marquez at 142); while Diaz’ reputation hasn’t suffered too much due to having been twice out-slicked by Malignaggi. As such, though both men are a little older now – Marquez especially at age 36 – there is no reason to feel the rematch will be a bad fight.
Okay, we may not be fortunate enough to see as great a fight as the initial encounter, but it’s a pretty safe bet Marquez-Diaz II will have a good number of fans eager to tune in to find out. Marquez did say a while back how he would not fight at lightweight ever again, and it did look for a time as though he would face the come-backing Ricky Hatton at somewhere around 140-pounds. Instead, with Hatton’s return looking to be off, Marquez gets Diaz for a second time at 135. Will the ageing yet still terrific Mexican known as “Dinamita” be able to make the weight okay?
Diaz fought up at just below light-welterweight against Malignaggi, but at age 26 he should easily be able to drop back down to lightweight. Also, it’s possible the younger man has less wear and tear on his body than does Marquez. And ring-rust may prove to be a factor in this fight too. Diaz fought in August and December, while Marquez hasn’t boxed since September of last year; which means he will have been out for almost ten months come July.
Despite all these factors, however, it’s probable most fans will pick Marquez to win again. After all, Marquez stopped “The Baby Bull”, he is a greater fighter overall and he is still hungry for more glory. Also, Marquez, 50-5-1(37) has never been stopped (though he was put down in the fight with Mayweather), and it really would be a shock if he were to be taken out in the rematch.
We could well see a KO, however – but it will probably be Marquez scoring it. Look for another fine action fight, with both men having their successes in the earlier rounds, before the class of Marquez takes over; as was the case last time. Diaz might last the distance this time – it depends on whether or not Marquez has slowed down and if he will be less than fully sharp in the fight – but the older man will win again.
Part-two won’t be quite as good as part-one, but another top quality fight will be witnessed.