Juan Manuel Marquez W UD12 Juan Diaz
Juan Manuel Marquez became the Ring Magazine, WBA and WBO lightweight world champion on Saturday night with a dominating twelve round unanimous decision win over Juan Diaz at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, live on HBO PPV. The bout started out at a fast pace with both fighters throwing a lot of leather early on. Both were calculating with their attack and each fighter landed several good clean blows. Where Diaz had his foot firmly on the accelerator in their first bout in 2009, in this outing ?The Baby Bull? picked his spots early and enjoyed moderate success as a result. Marquez matched the younger fighter every step of the way and as is his trademark, the Mexican superstar was looking for counter punching opportunities at every turn. The action was fierce in the early rounds and the eager Las Vegas crowd was loving every minute of it.
In Round 4 Marquez scored with a big uppercut half way through the stanza that shook Diaz, but the younger fighter did well to survive the round. Diaz boxed well in the ensuing rounds but not well enough to take Marquez out of his game. The Mexican technician showed great versatility in adapting to whatever Diaz threw at him.
Unable to out-think his more experienced opponent, it appeared that Diaz didn?t put himself in the best of positions trying to outbox the veteran Marquez. The Mexican?s superior accuracy gave him a decided edge throughout most of the rounds as he continuously found holes in the younger fighter?s guard.
The fight remained the same through the championship rounds with Diaz boxing well enough to survive while Marquez scored with enough punches to maintain a clear edge in the scoring. After twelve high paced rounds were complete Marquez was ahead 116-112, 118-110 and 117-111 on the official scorecards. The judges scoring made the fight appear closer than it actually was. There were no knockdowns in the bout and Marquez nearly out-landed Diaz at a rate of 2 to 1.
With the win Juan Manuel Marquez improved 51-5-1 (37 KOs) while the younger Diaz drops to 35-4 (17 KOs).
?We want the trilogy with Pacquiao,? Marquez stated after the big win. ?We feel that?s the best fight for boxing and for fans everywhere. I?ll be ready if Pacquiao wants to fight me in November!?
