Juan Manuel Marquez too much for Juan Diaz in rematch
by Scott Christ on Aug 1, 2010 1:00 AM EDT
in Boxing Results and Post-Fight Analysis
Email
Print
Juan Manuel Marquez retained the legitimate lightweight championship of the world with a second defeat of Juan Diaz, but this time the fight wasn't nearly as thrilling as their 2009 Fight of the Year. Marquez statistically dominated a more tentative Diaz, who seemed to have little fire throughout the night and attempted to box the entire night, which has never been Diaz's strength. Official scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. Bad Left Hook scored the bout 118-110 for Marquez.
The CompuBox numbers (from HBO PPV's broadcast) more or less do tell the story of this fight:
Total Punches
Marquez: 288/672, 43%
Diaz: 155/579, 27%
Jabs
Marquez: 120/324, 37%
Diaz: 81/336, 24%
Power Punches
Marquez: 168/348, 48%
Diaz: 74/243, 30%
The 120 jabs landed by Marquez were the most he's ever landed in a CompuBox-tallied fight, and it should also be noted that Diaz, who made his bones by going to the body, landed just 28 body punches in the fight.
Diaz (35-4, 17 KO) tried early to box more than he ever has before, and it was an admirable attempt to change his style for a big fight. His more usual style did not work against Marquez last time, but after the fourth or fifth round of this fight, it was clear that the new approach also was not going to work. Diaz simply cannot outbox Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KO), and eventually it became a bit frustrating that he and trainer Ronnie Shields showed no desire to change the gameplan when it was obviously not going to defeat Marquez. Jim Lampley and Emanuel Steward, calling the broadcast for HBO, continually lauded the "smart" fighting, but it was noted in our comments by many that it can't exactly be too smart to keep fighting in a way that will not win the fight. But I don't fault Diaz for not trying his best; he did try his best, at least so far as sticking with a plan. It just didn't work.
I'm not trying to be negative, but it can't go unsaid that this fight was a disappointment as compared to their first bout. It was a solid fight, but not near a great one, and will not be close to the running for the 2010 Fight of the Year.
After the fight, Diaz seemed to say he was ready to move on with his life outside of boxing. At 26, he's been through the wars, had plenty of good fights, and was generally an entertaining fighter to watch. If this was his last bout, we can do nothing but wish him all the best in his future.
For Marquez, who turns 37 soon, this was not a great performance, but was indeed a very good one. He was likely a bit rusty having not fought for a good while, but you could see the sparks here and there. And really, he wasn't forced into doing more than he really had to. Early on, he seemed to be itching for a fight, but eventually it became clear he wasn't going to get Diaz to engage in the firefight he wanted. Late in the fight, he did take his foot off the gas some, but he'll have a money fight coming up next. He again called out Manny Pacquiao in the post-fight interview with Lampley, but most likely will find himself fighting Amir Khan at 140 pounds next.
We thank everyone for joining us tonight for our live coverage.
17 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
If anything, this fight revealed just how well Diaz fought last go-round. Against Malinaggi and against Marquez tonight, he was a fighter without an identity; at least against Marquez last year, he was putting all the pressure he could out there, and losing, well, the best way he could.
I think Juan should consider hanging it up
Because beating up on cans does him no good. Maybe he has a bright future as a lawyer because his title contention window in boxing is pretty much closed.
Nick Garcia is the Brian Russell of MLS but 10 times worse.
A farewell fight in Houston, maybe, is the most that will likely happen. If Juan wants to be an immigration lawyer, he’s got his hands full, and I hope he moves to Arizona too.
I don't know about that
Ji Hoon Kim is fighting Miguel Vazquez for a vacant title in a month, and I think Diaz would beat either of them with ease. I also think he’d give Humberto Soto a tough fight. There are a lot of top lightweights he could still beat. He’s just not going to beat any elite fighters, but frankly, that’s probably always been the case.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
The question isn’t so much that, to me, as his own motivations: namely, whether he’s interesting in fighting the non-elite after testing that level. I dunno, but I don’t think he’s interested in just being a titlist again.
(By the way, finally noticed the Rahman KO pic there; always loved the way the crown in the Don King logo ended up atop his head, as to accentuate the stupidity of everything King did leading up to Lewis-Rahman II. He got crowned!)
That's why I like the pic as well
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
The people I'm watfching with are wondering
if JMM’s seemingly immovable features and head have unfairly won him rounds in his career. He gets hit pretty squarely, but doesn’t show the effects immediately, even if it’s clear he got hit hard.
He pretty well whaled away on Diaz tonight, but I thought it was more 116-112 than 118-110. No gameplan for Diaz, from what I could see. And Marquez was, well, Marquez.
If I was a hungry man with a gun in my hand and some promises to keep...
I think this is just the case of a good (B+ish) fighter coming up against a guy who’s not only a legit A/A+ fighter, but also one who’s a stylistic nightmare. Diaz flourishes when he can pressure you and overwhelm you with volume of punches. We saw in the first fight what Marquez does to pressure fighting Diaz. I give Diaz credit for trying to box instead, but that would only work if he had enough power to dent Marquez. And he doesn’t.
So I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘he stuck with a losing strategy’ so much as that he doesn’t have a winning strategy against Marquez.
by Verklemptomaniac on Aug 1, 2010 2:22 AM EDT reply actions
god what the fuck is going on in ronnie shields’ head that makes him think baby bull can outbox dudes like malignaggi (a pure boxer) & marquez (a brilliant tactician)? that’s the 2nd fight in a row in which the only gameplan they needed was the simplest and the gameplan that baby bull used for a majority of his career: PRESSURE
also if he ever fights katsidis again he’ll get his ass KO’d. i’m fully convinced baby bull’s punch resistance is completely gone
he’s still the GOAT though
Texans 19-0 in 2010-2011 season PERIOD
by battle axe of doom on Aug 1, 2010 3:59 AM EDT reply actions
also if he ever fights katsidis again he’ll get his ass KO’d. i’m fully convinced baby bull’s punch resistance is completely gone
Yeah he had a lot of trouble taking clean punches tonight. And I agree — I think Katsidis would flat-out run him over if they fought again. I kind of hope Diaz is ready to walk away, because he’s just not the same fighter anymore. He’s given me a lot of fun fights in his career, and if he’s set for life after boxing, I hope he goes ahead and retires for real.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I haven't been a fan of Shields for a while now
It’s not the first time one of his fighters has come in there with a dumb gameplan. I gave him somewhat of a reprieve after Cintron-Angulo, but in retrospect he just had Cintron do what he has most of his guys do.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Diaz = Overrated
I feel Diaz has been one of the most overrated/over-hyped boxers of the past few years. Yes, I agree that a fighter that puts it all out on the line is very entertaining to watch, but when they fail to defeat their opponents then their style appears amateurish. I really hope Diaz decides to hang up the gloves and stop wasting boxing fans time with his mediocre attempts at boxing. I wish him the best in his future endeavours and I truly believe his fierce competitiveness will make him a great immigration lawyer.
Personally
i think of Diaz more as an overacheiver,although he was overrated by many.
I just never thought he was all that great in the first place and often thought his movement and style looked a bit forced and predictable.
Imo,at his very best he was a B level fighter and i think he did well for himself to pick a couple of belts up,especially considering he was studying for his law degree for a large part of his career.
Good luck to him for the future.
consistently throwing 100 punches per round was forced? the dude was a fighter for many years. his first fight with JMM wasn’t the first time he threw it down like that, but it was the first time someone fought back with equal ferocity. baby bull HAD the heart of the warrior, but that will was gone after the first malignaggi fight.
honestly now if he’s on a channel that i can watch i’ll gladly do it, but i’ll no longer be counting down the days till the next baby bull fight like i was these past few months
Texans 19-0 in 2010-2011 season PERIOD
by battle axe of doom on Aug 2, 2010 1:05 AM EDT up reply actions
I don’ think how many punches he threw has anything to do with his technique.I meant that his punches didn’t seem to flow naturally….Just my opinion.
I can honestly say i’ve never been a fan of him as a fighter but he seems like a good guy.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
