Mandatory Eight Count: Marquez the big favorite against Diaz

Juan Manuel Marquez or Diaz? The Experts Weigh In (FanHouse)
As you'd expect, everyone -- and I mean everyone -- is picking Marquez to win. Spoiler: I'm picking Marquez to win, and our preview goes up on Thursday.

Marquez gets Diaz, stalks Pacquiao for another fight (MiamiHerald.com)
When Juan Manuel Marquez is 50 years old, he's probably going to still be calling out Manny Pacquiao. Marquez also offers some thoughts on Saturday's rematch with Juan Diaz and his blowout loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year.

Hatton renews boxing licence (Yahoo! Eurosport)
He's not saying he'll fight again (and he's not saying he won't), but Ricky Hatton did renew his boxing license with the BBBofC.

James Toney-Randy Couture bout pits boxing purists vs. MMA (Cleveland.com)
(Note: None of the following is truly directed toward Chuck Yarborough's Plain-Dealer article. Chuck's article is balanced, fair, and well-done.)

The mighty boxing fists of boxer boxing boxer James Toney will crush Randy Couture's orbital bone, according to Bob Arum, but if Couture gets it on the ground where they're rolling around like a couple of (expletives), then the weakling MMA fighter will win in his bulls**t sport. I think that about covers it, anyway. Have I covered enough how much I hate these idiotic discussions? There are people in boxing who are lamenting James Toney's gross disadvantage, fearing it will somehow damage the credibility of the sweet science, but the last time I checked, James Toney couldn't get any useful fights in the boxing game. And nobody put a gun to his head chasing him into mixed martial arts, either. James Toney is going to UFC 118 on his own accord, and by all accounts he's worked hard in training. I say wish both of these long-time stars, who are BOTH very faded versions of themselves at this point, all the best of luck, hope no one gets hurt, hope it's a good fight, and move on. Couture beating Toney isn't going to mean anything more than if Toney beat Couture in a boxing match. This fight is a freakshow attraction, albeit one with men who legitimately have reigned at the top of their sport in the past and not someone like Giant Silva or Jose Canseco. Ask Dana White, he'll tell you. There should be little stock put into this besides the intrigue of seeing a couple of name fighters try one another on for size and see what's what. For the fighters, it's competition between a couple of proud guys. That's it. I doubt Randy Couture is going to win this fight and shout, "Take that, boxing, ya buncha (expletives)!" And if Toney wins, good for him, he probably got himself another good payday. I mean Jesus Christ, already.

Leonard: Pacman will crush Margarito (The Philippine Star)
Sugar Ray Leonard says Manny Pacquiao will dominate Antonio Margarito, and Freddie Roach is calling the knockout.

Ghost eyes 'biggest fight of career' (HollisterFreeLance.com)
Robert Guerrero gets some of the best local coverage in boxing, along with fellow "Ghost" Kelly Pavlik. So my advice to young fighters out there is nickname yourself "Ghost" for any reason you can think of (being pale is a good place to start, then you can lie and say it's because you're so tough to hit) and be from a place where there isn't much else going on sports-wise, like Youngstown, Ohio or Gilroy, California.

Lopez-Marquez Quick Quotes (Fightnews.com)
Fightnews.com has some photos from the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez presser.

Ishe Smith on The Guerrero Loss, Moving Back To 154 (BoxingScene.com)
Ishe Smith has never been one to hide his feelings, and this latest interview with Ryan Burton of BoxingScene.com is no exception. Smith credits Fernando Guerrero for fighting well in their ShoBox bout earlier this month, but says he felt the refereeing and judging was poor, and criticizes Guerrero's promoter Brian Young, too.