Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz 2

[jmt225]

Before reading any further, please do me a favor and watch the video below. It is a music video tribute to the first fight between these two from February of 2009, which is one of my favorite fights of all time. Take a look:

[YOUTUBE]XOWW_AL36ys[/YOUTUBE]​

That fight right there won 2009 Fight of the Year honors and is basically one of the most exciting fights you'll ever see.

Tomorrow, is the rematch.

On Pay-Per-View (unfortunately), these two will finally meet again, and while it'll be hard press to live up to the first fight, there's no doubt in my mind these two will still put on one hell of a show.

Juan Manuel Marquez by my money is the greatest Featherweight and Lightweight Boxer from this generation. I'm telling you... had Floyd Mayweather moved down to Marquez's weight class instead of Marquez moving up to Welterweight to fight Mayweather... that fight would have been MUCH closer, if not had a completely different outcome all together.

The fact of the matter is, Marquez at Lightweight/Featherweight is as fast as anyone, and he hits as hard as anyone. Plus, he has a tremendous chin and an UNLIMITED gas tank. He is almost unbeatable at either weight class (just ask Manny Pacquiao).

Juan Diaz, though, is perhaps the most exciting fighter in boxing right now. He's had a couple of disappointments against Paulie Malignaggi, but that was Paulie's reach and style that threw him off. It was just a bad match-up for him. However, Marquez will stand and bang with Diaz, which is why the first fight ended as great as he did, and why this fight should be no different. If you put Diaz in there with someone who will actually fight him instead of running away, you will be in for a tremendous show.

The only problem with Diaz is his punching power... he basically has none of it. If he had the power of Manny Pacquiao in his punches, there's no doubt he'd be undefeated and considered one of the greatest fighters today. When you think about it though, it might be a good thing he doesn't have power punching like Manny, because it makes his fights last longer, and since he has a pretty good gas tank himself (not as good as Marquez, but still really good considering how hard he goes early on in fights), he's able to have an exciting fight for 12 full rounds, instead of just a couple.

Anyways, I'm rooting for Juan Diaz, but I see this fight going much like the first one, with Diaz winning the early rounds and Marquez winning the latter. I think Diaz will be able to finish the fight this time around, however, instead of getting knocked out, but ultimately I see him losing a unanimous decision.

But yeah... it really doesn't matter who wins and loses. This fight isn't about belts or rankings... it's about entertaining the fans, and fans of FIGHTING (not just Boxing or MMA, but fighting) will be entertained with these two, guaranteed. I implore you to check it out if you have the means to do so, because if this fight is anywhere near as good as the first one... you'll enjoy it as much as you could ever enjoy any type of fight.

 

[jmt225]

Last night, I wanted to see this fight so bad, but did not want to shell out $55 for it (especially with two GREAT UFC pay-per-view shows coming up this month, and I still have yet to make up my mind on which one of those I want to order). So I looked for streams and more streams, and I just could not come across one that satisfied me. So, I decided fuck it... I went to Hooters and watched the fight there. For those who know me, know for the past few years I don't necessarily enjoy going out to crowded places, especially one as obnoxious as fucking Hooters, but man... they were the only place I could find that was showing the fight. So I went, and I didn't regret a second. I got there just in time for introductions and man... it was a great time. I just got back about a half hour ago (went to a friends house afterward, feel asleep on his couch, lol).

The first round started with a little bit of a feeling out process, but Marquez got comfortable and started landing some right hands and beautiful counter combinations from the inside. Marquez basically controlled the entire round, until the last 30 seconds when Diaz put on the heat and started blasting away with right hooks of his own. 2nd Round was more technical, with Diaz working the jab and Marquez going for the body. In the 3rd those body shots started taking it's toll on Diaz because one seemed to hurt him kind of badly. But then out of nowhere Diaz started blasting and some AWESOME exchanges happened. The crowd was going NUTS. The 3rd was easily the best round of the fight, because after this... it was all Juan Manuel Marquez.

Marquez absolutely dominated the rest of the fight. Diaz lived up to his nickname though, "The Baby Bull," because no matter what Marquez hit him with and no matter how many times Diaz got hurt, he kept moving forward and throwing punches. But Marquez was just too fast for Diaz. He beat Diaz to the punch every single time. And Marquez is such an accurate puncher, too. His combinations are so beautiful to watch, and each shot just looked like it nailed perfectly, and they couldn't have been thrown any quicker.

The 12th Round though Diaz really picked it up and this is why I love Juan Manuel Marquez... instead of just backing up and winning a decision, he still stood toe-to-toe there with Diaz and exchanged with him, making sure everyone got their money's worth. It was an awesome way to end the fight, and it shows what kind of heart these two guys have. THIS is REAL Boxing, and these two are REAL fighters.

Anyways, Juan Manuel Marquez ended up winning a unanimous decision (much props to Diaz though for lasting the entire fight). It wasn't as good as the first fight, but definitely worth watching. Juan Manuel Marquez is simply incredible and I really hope they put him up against some big Lightweight names next. Amir Khan at the end of the year, maybe? That's something I would certainly love to see!

And Juan Diaz... heart of a warrior, no doubt about it. He'll bounce back I'm sure and be better than ever in his next fight. I just wish he'd get a new camp, but I understand he wants to stay loyal to the people who've train him since he was 8-years-old. Still though... with a better trainer, I think Diaz would become a much bigger threat in his division then he currently is.