By Ken Neir: WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KO’s) looked impressive in defeating Juan Diaz (35-4, 17 KO’s) on Saturday night by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diaz, 26, just didn’t have the fire power or the aggression to do much with Marquez until the last couple of rounds, and by then it was far too late for Diaz. The final judges’ scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 118-110.
After the fight, Marquez said he was interested in fighting Manny Pacquiao next, saying “The trilogy is what I want. It’s what the people want. I will be ready for another fight in December, hopefully Pacquiao. That fight is more important for me.” Unfortunately, Pacquiao is looking to fight Antonio Margarito next in November, a Top Rank fighter like Pacquiao. After that, Pacquiao will probably fight either Floyd Mayweather Jr. or a needless rematch against Miguel Cotto. Marquez may be able to be in line after those fights, but it’s not something I would bet on happening.
Marquez dominated rounds one through ten tonight, hurting Diaz numerous times in the fight starting in the 4th. Diaz fought completely different from the way he used to fight in the past, as he was much more passive and looked to be trying not to get hit as much. In hindsight, it was the wrong approach for Diaz to take if he had any plans on winning the fight. Although fighting passively kept Diaz from getting knocked out, he basically gave away the fight by not going after the much older Marquez and trying to wear him down.
Diaz has now lost four out of his last six fights and really needs to consider retirement or maybe losing some flab around his midsection and moving down in weight to the super featherweight division. In the 11th and 12th rounds, Marquez tired out or appeared to at least. He wasn’t as active but might have been coasting knowing he had a huge lead.
With this win under his belt, Marquez could end up being an opponent for WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan in his next fight. Golden Boy Promotions, and especially Khan, are interested in this match-up. Khan would have a smaller and older fighter to fight and possibly make a name for himself. Rather than moving up to light welterweight, Marquez should instead make Khan move down in weight to fight him at lightweight. After all, Marquez is the bigger name and it would seem odd for a fighter like him to be moving up to fight someone with as little experience as Khan.