Part One

Part Two

Part Three

5. Juan Manuel Lopez v. Rogers Mtagwa
October 10, 2009 - New York, New York

When this fight was signed, we groaned. Everyone groaned. Mtagwa had proven himself tough, durable and exciting with his 2008 breakthrough fight against Tomas Villa, a Fight of the Year contender, but against Lopez? Totally overmatching Mtagwa. He was better than his record, sure, but against LOPEZ??

Top Rank had to be kidding us. Lopez himself was publicly unhappy with the fight, feeling it wasn't good enough.

Dear Rogers Mtagwa,

On behalf of everyone, we apologize.

Sincerely,

Bad Left Hook

Two straight years now, Rogers Mtagwa has come up with a Fight of the Year contender, the first time against Villa (a similarly B-or-C-level fighter) and now against A-level Lopez, an unbeaten titlist he took to the absolute limit. Lopez had never been tested, really, and this time out, he was. Mtagwa showed early he had no fear of Lopez, a powerful puncher with good boxing skills.

Lopez, to his credit, returned the fury, tagging Mtagwa with vicious shots that would have knocked a lesser fighter down or even out. Both of them took clean, hard punches the entire fight, with both men in trouble at various points. It was Lopez's skill and speed that wound up winning him the fight, but make no mistake. He barely survived this one, and it caused a lot of folks to re-examine their thoughts on where he was at in his career.

For me, it made me do two things. First off, I actually came out thinking more of Lopez, who showed he can take a shot and win a gritty, down-and-dirty war of a fight. All we knew before this one was he was skilled and strong; now we knew he was a fighter with some toughness, too. And I also went ahead and declared Mtagwa not just "better than his record," but dramatically so, and someone whose record should probably just be ignored. Forget those losses. This guy can war.

4. Ulises Solis v. Brian Viloria
April 19, 2009 - Quezon City, Philippines

For a long, long time, Ulises Solis was seen by many as the guy that just might be able to beat Ivan Calderon, the unbeaten ruler of the two lightest weight divisions in boxing. Mexican Solis (whose brother Jorge previously appeared on the list) had become dominant at 108 pounds, and his fight in the Philippines on Top Rank PPV against Brian Viloria would surely be a win. A pretty good win, but a win.

Viloria, after all, had just never shown the "it" required to come through in these fights. He'd had his chances. Yes, he previously held the WBC title with a couple of good wins, but then some spark or something left him. "Hawaiian Punch" didn't seem quite so imposing anymore. He wasn't hitting as hard, didn't seem as mentally "there" in his big fights against Omar Nino and Edgar Sosa. He was by no means a bad fighter; more a dreadfully frustrating guy, a fighter you knew was better than he was performing a lot of the time.

All that was laid to rest with the best performance of Viloria's career on April 19. While this one lost our Fight of the Month poll to the far more widely-seen and hyped Froch-Taylor, I think there's almost no comparison when trying to determine which is the better fight. Solis-Viloria had better sustained action, a better crowd and better ebb and flow.

Viloria came out hot, beating up on Solis early. He opened up cuts over both of Solis' eyes, and the Solis corner did a great job keeping them under control. In the middle rounds, it looked as though we might get the usual Viloria script, as Solis started taking control of the action, fighting in the middle of the ring and making his stand.

Viloria's corner jumped all over him, urging him to turn up the heat again and not let another major fight slip away. And he dug down deep and found the heart to do just that. Everything Solis brought to him, Viloria dished out that and more in return. Eventually, the punishment piled up, and Viloria knocked out Solis in the 11th round to win the IBF junior flyweight title in a wonderful fight that still hasn't gotten its due.

3. Ricardo Cordoba v. Bernard Dunne
March 21, 2009 - Dublin, Ireland

If Ireland's Bernard Dunne was going to overcome the more skilled and more experienced Ricardo Cordoba in Dublin, it was going to have to be a war. Frankly, Dunne probably didn't deserve the title shot, and I don't mean that to be disrespectful. Bernard Dunne became one of my favorite fighters this year, in part because of the overwhelmingly passionate connection he has with the fans in his country. When he won this fight and the WBA title from Cordoba, his fans gave him one of the most enormous ovations you'll ever hear. And when he lost the belt later in the year, they gave him another one.

Dunne is also one of those guys who reminds me of the movie Rudy, and specifically, a line that Movie Ara Parseghian had about Movie Rudy. When I think of guys like, say, Audley Harrison, I see wasted talent, and it reminds me of that line: "If you had a tenth of the heart of Ruettiger you could've been All-American!"

Dunne is all heart. He's not a special talent in the way so many fighters are. He's a warrior, a proud and gutsy guy who fights until he can fight no more. Against Cordoba, he put on what may wind up being by far the best performance of his career. Both men bled, both took hard shots, and in the end, it was Dunne who outlasted the defending titlist, winning the belt in Dublin after an epic war that felt like it could have ended on countless occasions.

2. Paul Williams v. Sergio Martinez
December 5, 2009 - Atlantic City, New Jersey

When Kelly Pavlik canceled his fight with Paul Williams for the second time, we got Sergio Martinez as a replacement. On paper, it would be a tactical, lefty-versus-lefty affair, probably not very explosive, but a good substitute fight for sure.

It took less than a round for this to turn into a stunningly savage bout. Williams clipped Martinez for a knockdown in the opening round, but just before the end of the frame, Martinez drilled Williams and put him on the canvas. Williams was hurt.

And Williams seemed to fight much of the rest of the bout hurt, too. By the end of it (a decision win for Tall Paul), he seemed to be going purely on instinct. Martinez was able to neutralize Williams with a right hook early that landed at will, and later a straight left hand that kept getting through. But Williams was there, and at some points, he dominated the fight, making exceptional mid-fight changes in his gameplan and going toe-to-toe with Martinez.

It was a fight we just didn't expect to see, and a reminder that a great, great fight can happen when nobody sees one coming. Both of them upped their stock greatly with this outstanding brawl, a must-see fight that turned very good boxers into pure warriors, at least for one night.

1. Juan Manuel Marquez v. Juan Diaz
February 28, 2009 - Houston, Texas

When Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Juan Diaz in the ninth round of this all-time classic, I had a feeling right then on February 28 that this fight would not be topped.

There were some good attempts. Dunne and Cordoba a month later; Williams and Martinez at the end of the year; three great fights in October. But I go back to this fight, and nothing is better. Non-stop action on both sides. It was obvious early that there was something in the air in Houston, that Diaz had come to beat a hero, and that Marquez wasn't quite ready to go down.

Diaz's attack was as focused and sharp as ever. He beat Marquez back, pinning him on the ropes, where he'd unload. But a savvy fight watcher could see Marquez scoring points, too, as he counter-punched with precision and force. Though Diaz was winning the fight early, it was clear Marquez would not simply be laying down.

Whoever was losing this one was going out on their shield.

Diaz was busted open in the fight, and a cut had plagued him badly in his lone career loss to Nate Campbell. He hadn't dealt with it well and his corner dealt with it even worse. This time, they did better by him, but Diaz was still jumpy about it. This time, though, it wasn't fear of the cut or the blood or of losing. It was fear, I think, of the fight being taken from him because of the cut.

So Diaz went out and tried to finish Marquez. What happened was the old master taught another class for the kiddies watching at home -- how to finish an aggressive, wounded opponent. Marquez decked Diaz in the ninth. Diaz came back, but the tide had totally turned, and he was on his last legs. Marquez stormed again, flooring Diaz at center ring on a beautiful punch, and the referee rightly called it off. One of the best fights of the entire decade, and the best of 2009.

Photo Credits

Lopez-Mtagwa: Flickr, via The Rumble

Solis-Viloria: AP / Aaron Favila

Cordoba-Dunne: Zimbio

Williams-Martinez: BoxingScene.com

Marquez-Diaz: Marlene Marquez / Pound4Pound.com

I know not everyone will agree with all the fights here, the order of them, and all that, but that's not really the point. I'm not trying to have some definitive list; I'm just saying these were my 20 favorites of the year.

Without further ado, Nos. 20 through 16.

20. Chris John v. Rocky Juarez
February 28, 2009 - Houston, Texas

Overshadowed by the main event that night, the HBO co-feature between long-standing featherweight titlist Chris John and Houston native Rocky Juarez more than holds up to repeated viewings. A tactical affair fought at a crisp pace, John-Juarez exceeded expectations and then some, and on a night with an average main event, may well have stood out more prominently in the minds of many. As it is, I feel it is somewhat overlooked now.

John vastly outlanded Juarez, whose all-too-familiar habit of keeping his powerful fists from moving may have cost him both this fight and the less-exciting September rematch. John was making his long-awaited debut in America, fighting on Juarez's home turf, and in most minds, deserved the victory. Instead, the end result was a draw -- and a draw that has only seemed worse in the months since, given the remainder of the year's feelings about Texas judging.

John made a fine splash on American soil with this fight, finally exposed to the HBO audience. Many of the doubts about his credentials were erased with this performance, as he proved for sure he can box, and that he had a bit more fight in him than many thought, too. For Juarez, it was another bitter pill to swallow in a career that has fallen a hair short on more than one occasion.

19. Miguel Cotto v. Manny Pacquiao
November 14, 2009 - Las Vegas, Nevada

The biggest fight of 2009 was also an entertaining bout, dominated in finality but not in total by the great Manny Pacquiao.

Neither man escaped unscathed. Cotto's face was bruised, swollen, bloodied and busted up. Pacquiao left with an ear that would fit an Olympic wrestler. The electric atmosphere in Vegas was unlike any other fight this year, and the 1.25 million buys the fight generated topped the charts for 2009.

Cotto took the opening round, and Pacquiao came back in the second. The third and fourth were both going Cotto's way until knockdowns turned the tide of the fight greatly. Cotto gamely tried to fight his way back into the contest, make it competitive, but by the later rounds he was being picked apart by the incredible Pacquiao, whose sharpshooting offense was proving too much for a battered, bewildered Cotto. Eventually, Cotto was so out of the fight you could see his gears turning, but his fists had been silenced.

Still, I've felt since the fight that Cotto's "running" was overstated by the blood-and-guts people. His running seemed like an attempt to find an opening to score a big shot, but Pacquiao was simply too good to let it happen. It was a last-ditch effort by Cotto. It wasn't the most exciting last-ditch effort, but that's what it was. Even in his reluctance to engage, he was trying to think his way back into it.

18. Adrian Diaconu v. Jean Pascal
June 19, 2009 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Romanian Diaconu and Haitian Pascal have both become quite popular fighters in Quebec, part of one of the sport's hottest spots for big, exciting fights, generally aided by arguably the best boxing crowds in the world today.

Diaconu came in holding the WBC light heavyweight title, which he'd won on an interim basis against Chris Henry in 2008. When Chad Dawson vacated the real title, Diaconu was promoted to full titlist status, something he'd been seeking since a 2007 fight with Dawson was canceled. Pascal was moving up from super middleweight, and in December of '08 had surprised some of his skeptics with a stirring performance in a fantastic fight against Carl Froch in England.

Diaconu-Pascal just made sense. It promised to be good action, and in Montreal, it would be a hit at the gate. It was both. Versus picked the fight up in the United States, paired with "Contender" cruiserweight winner Troy Ross as part of the TV series' deal to promote cards on the network, which wound up not amounting to a whole lot.

Like Froch, Diaconu lacked for speed against Pascal, but took the fight to the challenger. Diaconu hit the deck in the fifth round, but climbed to his feet and kept the action going for the full 12. Pascal won an unchallenged unanimous decision on scores of 115-112, 116-111 and 116-112 to leave with his first major title, and boldly announce his arrival in the light heavyweight division.

17. Carl Froch v. Jermain Taylor
April 25, 2009 - Mashantucket, Connecticut

This is one I assume many will have higher and perhaps as a true FotY contender, but it's just not quite there for me. Your mileage may vary and all that, but also keep in mind what I'm saying about every single one of these fights: "It was really damn good."

Froch's last fight had been on his home turf against Pascal, sadly off of American TV. Taylor had expired his HBO contract with a ho-hum snoozer against shot Jeff Lacy a month prior to Froch-Pascal, in November 2008. Showtime saw an opening. Taylor, the former middleweight champ, now campaigning at super middleweight, had gotten a win. A marketable, known fighter, he made for the perfect introduction to the United States for Froch, who agreed to come to Mashantucket, Connecticut to make this bout happen.

Taylor started strong. In fact, he was dominant for much of the fight, using his superior speed and athleticism to frustrate Froch, keeping the strong Englishman at bay and even knocking him down hard in the third round. For all the world, it looked as though "Bad Intentions" was really back in business, as he had but to suck it up and survive the 12th round to leave with Froch's title and put himself right back into the major fight mix. Two judges had Taylor up 106-102 entering the 12th, though somehow judge Jack Woodburn had Froch up by the same score. Woodburn got off easy, really. Had the fight gone the distance, he would have had a final score of 116-110 for Froch, and it would have raised a ton of eyebrows.

But it didn't got the distance. With Gus Johnson shrieking like a deranged cheerleader, Froch rallied, a stunning example of a man looking at his situation and saying, "Well, what have I got to lose?" Under massive pressure, Taylor went down in the corner, making it to his feet to attempt to finish the contest.

Froch, though, had other plans. He continued to wail away on Taylor, whose defense crumbled to Froch's massive assault, and when his head snapped back again with a mere 14 seconds remaining in the fight, referee Mike Ortega had no choice but to jump in, stopping the fight in Froch's favor.

16. Miguel Cotto v. Joshua Clottey
June 13, 2009 - New York, New York

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you had laid out this proposal to everybody as a "what's going to happen?" before the fight, nobody would have turned it down:

• We pit two top five welterweights against each other
• It's a wild, entertaining and even rather dirty fight, but with tons of action and displays of what both guys are good at
• It's competitive and basically too close to call

Nobody would've said, "Nah, pass." There's nothing about that that doesn't sound good. But of course, I also recognize that it doesn't simply work that way, and that so many people felt Joshua Clottey deserved to win this fight. I think "robbery" is way too strong a word for this one, but yes, you can easily argue that Clottey's hand should have been raised. He wound up outlanding Cotto by a pretty substantial margin and showed that he is without question a top-flight welterweight fighter. He gave Miguel all he could handle and then he gave him a little more. I scored it 114-113 for Cotto and would have welcomed a rematch with totally open arms. It wasn't to be, although maybe it can happen in 2010. I hope this fight is soon remembered more for how good it was than anything else.

PHOTO CREDITS

John-Juarez: Getty Images

Cotto-Pacquiao: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Diaconu-Pascal: Interbox

Froch-Taylor: Nick Laham / Getty Images

Cotto-Clottey: Al Bello / Getty Images

WBA featherweight titlist Chris John is on board with the idea of a rematch with Rocky Juarez so long as it's not on Juarez's home turf again. Considering John came to Houston to defend, he's not exactly being a stickler.

The fight would also not be in Indonesia, as I think that part of John's career may largely be over. He previously had said he'd like to fight in Indonesia again, but is open to a neutral site such as Los Angeles.

John (42-0-2, 22 KO) won a competitve fight in most peoples' eyes, but Juarez (28-4-1, 20 KO) did quite well in the latter rounds. A rematch could go one of two ways. The more likely is John boxes to his strengths and decisions Juarez without much trouble. The more heroic is Rocky attacking hard earlier and throwing the power shots that John on unsteady legs inthe latter portion of last Saturday night's fight, which was a 114-114 draw on all three official cards. Bad Left Hook scored it 115-113 for John.

It's a fight that deserves a rematch for the sake of both fighters. There's really not a better opponent for either and there's unfinished business between them. I don't doubt Juarez has the power at 126 pounds to knock John out and score what would be a pretty big upset. It was a good fight and I think John largely impressed in his U.S. debut, and it was one of Rocky's best performances, too.

Juarez also recently said he'd take a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez if he had to go up to 135 to do it. There's one that is beyond unnecessary. Marquez put a stomping on Juarez in late 2007. For those that didn't see it, it was a genuine shellacking. Juarez blames an early headbutt on his performance, but he's the only one.

35-year old lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez successfully defended his lineal title and picked up three (WBA, WBO, IBO) alphabet trinkets by stopping 25-year old Juan Diaz in the ninth round of a thrilling, all-action contest in Diaz's hometown of Houston.

The younger Diaz (34-2, 17 KO) started hot and was winning most of the early rounds on sheer volume and pressure, but was getting tagged here and there by the cagey, highly skilled Marquez, too. It was a cut that undid Diaz after Marquez started seizing the momentum.

Cut early in the eighth round, Diaz's body language and expression changed almost immediately. It was a bad cut right outside his right eye, with the blood dripping into his line of vision. But you cannot discount that in two fights where he's been cut, he has quickly lost full control of the fight and been unable to keep himself going.

The first time around, Nate Campbell wore him down for the rest of the bout and handed Diaz his first career loss in March 2008. Almost a year later, loss number two comes at the hands of Marquez after another cut. Marquez dropped Diaz midway through the ninth, then put him away mere moments later.

Nate Campbell is a really good fighter. Juan Manuel Marquez is a great fighter on his way to the Hall of Fame. Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KO) smelled the blood and took Diaz apart.

I'm not saying Diaz is gutless, and I thought HBO's Max Kellerman posing the question of, "Did you not learn anything from the Campbell fight?" was at best poorly worded and at worst hack broadcast journalism. I am saying he has twice seemed to hit the panic button when cut now. It was a question coming into this fight; for me, Diaz's heart was the biggest question.

He again showed he is a hell of a good fighter when the going isn't too tough. But how much resilience does the young man really have? Right now, he's starting to build a legacy of not being able to win tough fights. I'm not disrespecting Juan Diaz, simply calling it like I see it. He's been firmly tested twice, had his gut checked, and lost hard both times.

Marquez called out Floyd Mayweather Jr. after the fight, saying that since Manny Pacquiao doesn't want to fight him he wants to fight Floyd. It's not realistic. Bob Arum recently said that Floyd wanted $20 million to fight Shane Mosley, and if he can't get it there, he certainly can't get it for Marquez.

On the televised undercard, WBA featherweight titlist Chris John (42-0-2, 22 KO) retained his title on a 114-114 draw across the cards against Houston's Rocky Juarez (28-4-1, 20 KO). The fight was far better than most of us expected, with both of them fight at a crisp pace. I had John winning 115-113, and I truly feel he won the bout. He vastly outlanded Juarez, who snuck in some rounds on good power punching, particularly late in the fight when the drama got high and it felt like the Houston crowd might will Juarez into a stunning knockout of John.

Rocky also fought arguably his best fight ever, maybe even better than the first go-'round with Barrera. But it was clear at most points that John is simply a better boxer than he is. If they rematched, I think John would probably win wide. This was a good, competitive fight. But so, too, was Barrera-Juarez. The rematch saw Barrera pick Rocky apart for 12 rounds.

The only thing wrong with John-Juarez was Texas referee Laurence Cole, who's assured of being involved in at least one major fight on any multi-fight, big card run in Texas. He's awful, and he was awful again tonight. There are referees that have bad nights, but I don't remember a single time Cole ever had a good one. How Texas continues to put up with this guy and his intrusive, absurd tactics is beyond me. Cole is the worst referee in America.

All in all, the HBO show tonight was just fantastic. Marquez-Diaz is an early Fight of the Year candidate, and John-Juarez set the stage beautifully. All four fighters came to impress tonight, and they all did.

The Houston fans turned out for their fighters, too. Jim Lampley reported early in the telecast that the show had turned in the biggest live gate ever for boxing in the state of Texas.

ound-by-round coverage and scoring of both fights on HBO starts tonight at 10pm. Join us!

Ronnie Nathanielsz and the BoxingScene.com editors reported that featherweight titlist Chris John has been sick of late and there are concerns about his ability to make the 126-pound limit for his Saturday night fight against Rocky Juarez.

John (42-0-1, 22 KO) has been training in Houston since February 3. Nathanielsz stated that the weight issue seemed to be a big concern, but later contacts by BoxingScene.com lessened that somewhat. John's camp says he was sick, but has been feeling a lot better and they're not too worried about anything.

If John were to pull out of this fight, even with legitimate reasons, he'd take a brow-beating from the same folks that have long taken shots at him for not fighting in the States. I hope Chris is 100% for Saturday night's fight and the Friday weigh-in because it's been a long time coming.

Week three begins! We've got two major cards, one on Friday and one on Saturday. You don't have to pick every fight...but it's recommended. Let's see if I can avoid a genuine boner of a pick this time around.

Friday, February 27 -- Showtime

Tomasz Adamek v. Johnathon Banks (Cruiserweights - Adamek's Ring Magazine world championship and IBF/IBO titles on the line)

Manny Steward has said nice things about Banks, and I love the fact that he's trained and sparred with Wladimir Klitschko, who by all accounts is one of the hardest-working fighters in the sport. For all the talk of the flabby heavyweights of recent years, neither Klitschko brother has ever fit that mold. They are rocks.

Though Banks is the American and Adamek was born in Poland, Newark is Adamek's town. They overwhelmingly supported him when he beat Steve Cunningham (a Philly fighter) in December. Adamek has lived in Jersey for years and is very, very popular there. He'll have home field advantage in a big way.

This is also Banks' first huge test. The best fighter he's beaten is probably Eliseo Castillo, a small Cuban heavyweight that once lost to Wladimir himself and thought coming down to cruiser might do the trick in 2006. Banks knocked him out in the fourth round, after picking himself up off the canvas twice in the first.

The good news for Banks is he's shown resilience, has great training and preparation, and has sound folks that believe in his chances in this fight. The bad news is that Adamek is a well-rounded fighter that has the ability to box circles around him if he chooses to (Banks is no Cunningham in hand speed or movement), and will be more than happy to bang with him if it comes to that, too.

I just don't see this one ending well for Banks at all. Adamek KO-6

Giovanni Lorenzo v. Dionisio Miranda (Middleweights - IBF Eliminator)

The winner of this one gets the chance to fight Arthur Abraham if (snickersnicker) Abraham can, uh, "get by" the dangerous challenge of Lajuan Simon. Lucky winner of this fight...

Lorenzo was last seen in June getting outfoxed by veteran Raul Marquez in what was also an IBF eliminator, which Lorenzo lost handily even though the scores were 114-113 Marquez across the board, and Marquez technically only won because Lorenzo was docked a point in the 10th for a headbutt. Thank goodness that referee Jorge Alonso made that call or poor Marquez -- who retired after a whomping against Abraham -- would've been robbed of a win.

Lorenzo better be improved as far as movement goes, because Marquez hit him plenty and Marquez doesn't hit like Dionisio Miranda does. Miranda has 17 knockouts among his 19 wins, and out-fought Sebastien Demers to earn a road win split decision in Montreal last August.

Neither of these guys are top-flight dudes, really, and it'll probably be a slugfest. Miranda has been knocked out twice, and that alone is making me lean toward Lorenzo even though I don't think Lorenzo is all that great. Both have heavy hands -- we know Miranda can be torched on the chin. Lorenzo TKO-7

Saturday, February 28 - HBO

Juan Manuel Marquez v. Juan Diaz (Lightweights - Marquez's Ring Magazine world championship, Diaz's IBO title, and the vacant WBA and WBO titles on the line)

This one is for all the marbles at 135 pounds as far as anyone that matters is concerned. When two sanctioning bodies agree to put up vacant titles in a single fight, you've got something that can't be argued with. Marquez is the lineal champion, and Diaz was reigning as the people's champ before losing to Nate Campbell a year ago. With Campbell gone to 140, these are the two top dogs at lightweight. You don't get championship fights any more legit than Marquez-Diaz.

Add to that that this one promises to be a hell of a scrap and you've got something that is must-see for a fight fan. Marquez is a counter-puncher, but he's one of the most fiery, ready-to-throw counter-punchers you're ever going to see. Diaz is a workrate machine. Put those two together. The keg's gonna blow, y'all.

Marquez has been hurt by Manny Pacquiao in two of the best fights of the decade, but Diaz is not a puncher like Manny is. Marquez may be getting older, but he picked himself up off the mat last year against Pacquiao and fought him tooth-and-nail for 12 grueling rounds. When you look at what Pacquiao did to David Diaz (KO-9) and Oscar de la Hoya (Oscar quit after eight) later in the year, it's even MORE impressive now.

Diaz has good wins. He does not have a great win. Popo Freitas was past it and didn't have the heart anymore by the time they fought, and while Julio Diaz is a heck of a good fighter, he's not someone that's going to be remembered for all times. Marquez is. If Diaz beats Marquez, he instantly leaps into the top 10 pound-for-pound. That's how big of a win it is for him.

And that's all well and good, but I have some questions, and they center on Diaz's heart. Look, the cut man sucked against Campbell, but Diaz crumbled in that fight. Campbell went hard at him from the opening bell, got in his face, talked trash, showed him he wasn't afraid of a go-go-go fight, and when the cut opened up and Diaz's terrible corner didn't take care of it, Diaz lost control of the fight entirely. Nate took him apart in the latter half of that bout. Diaz was totally in it before then.

It's not a question of talent. But what's Juan gonna do when it's not easy? Yeah, he beat Freitas, and Freitas made it kind of easy after the first few rounds. Julio Diaz for whatever reason gave him no resistance. And Michael Katsidis came out and tried to box, which is like Evander Holyfield not bulling with his head.

I think Marquez forces Diaz to work harder than Juan might be prepared for. I'm not big on the "spoiled" B.S., or the "kid" B.S. either. Juan's a grown man and a tough guy. But he's yet to prove a lot of things. I don't think he can beat Marquez. I don't think he has the resolve. Marquez UD-12

Chris John v. Rocky Juarez (Featherweights - John's WBA title on the line)

And making his first trip ever to the U.S. as a fighter, Chris John everybody!

John's taken his shot from hardcore American fans in the past, including me, because he's refused to travel to the States. There are good fighters in his class over here. Now he shuts us all up by taking not just a fight in America against a legit challenger, but he's facing Juarez in Juarez's backyard to boot. Good on John and Golden Boy for making it happen. As one of those that maybe bashed John a couple times for the home field fights, I'm appreciative, because one of the reasons I did it was that I want to see him fight. He's a world-class fighter.

And that leads right into my pick. Juarez is a great guy who gives it his all. He's got trigger problems, and against a guy who has faster hands, that might not be so hot for him. As much as I like Rocky and do openly hope he wins so he can say he was a world titlist at one point, I have the feeling he peaked with the first Barrera fight. He's been jumping back and forth between 126 and 130, and the last time he fought a top opponent (Marquez at 130 in '07) he was torn to pieces.

There is the chance that John kind of wilts finally fighting out of his comfort zone. It's a real possibility. I think Rocky might hang for a bit, but by the middle rounds the cream will rise to the top, and Juarez will be hitting reset yet again. John UD-12

Though the week has started off fairly slow with news and all we learned in the last big card is that Marco Antonio Rubio and Michael Jennings predictably aren't on par with Kelly Pavlik and Miguel Cotto, that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about or nothing to be excited for.

This weekend two of the legitimate, lineal championships in boxing will be contested, and Bad Left Hook will have live, round-by-round coverage of both fights.

On Friday night, cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (36-1, 24 KO) defendds against unbeaten American challenger Johnathon Banks (20-0, 14 KO) in Adamek's adopted home arena, the Prudential Center in Newark. It was in that very arena that Adamek outlasted Steve Cunningham in a Fight of the Year candidate in December. The win over Cunningham was for the cruiserweight championship that David Haye vacated when he moved up to heavyweight.

Adamek is on a five fight winning streak since dropping a light heavyweight title to Chad Dawson in 2007 and moving up to cruiserweight. He has thus far proven he can both box and bang at the weight.

Banks, 26, is a Detroit fighter managed by the legendary Emanuel Steward and trained by Steward's nephew, Javan Hill. In a recent Showtime press release, the network interviewed Steward, who noted that Banks trains extensively with Manny's prized heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko, and has sparred many rounds with him and never been hurt. Steward describes Banks as a boxer-puncher who wouldn't jump out at you in most cases. That also describes Adamek.

On the Adamek-Banks undercard, middleweight sluggers Giovanni Lorenzo and Dionisio Miranda will meet in an IBF eliminator.

Saturday night on HBO, lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KO) makes his first defense of the 135-pound crown when he takes on former three-body titlist Juan Diaz (34-1, 17 KO) in Diaz's hometown of Houston. Marquez won the championship against Joel Casamayor last September, becoming the first man to ever stop the cagey Cuban veteran.

Diaz is coming off of a win over Michael Katsidis, which followed his first career loss to Nate Campbell last March. Along with the Ring championship, Diaz's semi-recognized IBO title and the vacant titles of the WBO and WBA will be up for grabs. Marquez, who is on his way to the Hall of Fame most likely, is looking for career win No. 50 as he also intends to solidify his consensus spot as the world's second-best pound-for-pound fighter.

Diaz, still young at 25, has 10 years of youth on Marquez and will be looking to notch a huge breakthrough victory. He's had several very good wins, but beating Marquez would be a massive feather in his cap.

On that undercard, featherweight titlist Chris John of Indonesia -- who once beat Marquez -- makes his first trip to the States to defend against Houston's Rocky Juarez.

Both cards are important, both cards should be good. We'll include all four fights of the two cards in our ongoing picks competition, and on that note, I'll also be fully updating the standings with a BLH picks recap of the Pavlik and Cotto PPV tomorrow.

We will also have much more on Marquez-Diaz in the coming days. The two best 135-pound fighters in the world are going head-to-head this Saturday night. It's as legit as it gets.

From Dan Rafael's Notebook.

Despite the best efforts of Frank Warren and Don King, the vacant WBO lightweight title will not be decided on March 14 between Amir Khan and Marco Antonio Barrera. Instead, it will be decided much more fittingly on February 28 between lineal champion Juan Manuel Marquez and top challenger Juan Diaz.

Marquez-Diaz is basically best case scenario. With Campbell out of the division and Pacquiao never coming back to 135, we're talking the two best fighters that the class has to offer. The WBO made a just decision with this one. Khan-Barrera, which pits two top ten ranked WBO contenders (laughably so), would have been technically acceptable, but I think even the body knows that it would've gotten some lame press for that one.

So for the moment, kudos to the WBO.

UPDATE:

The vacant WBA "super championship" will be on the line, too, according to a Golden Boy press release. The WBA's super and regular titles are among the stupidest things in boxing. Paulus Moses holds the WBA "regular" title.

Veteran referee Joe Cortez won't be working the February 28 lightweight championship showdown between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz, as Marquez has rejected Cortez's services for the bout.

Cortez has been under a lot of fire the last couple years, starting with his officiating in the Mayweather-Hatton bout, then followed by some complaints about his performance in the Hopkins-Calzaghe fight, and then it all sort of spilled into one of the worst calls in years when he disqualified Humberto Soto against Francisco Lorenzo the first time around. Unless I'm forgetting something (and I may be), I don't think Joe has reffed a major title fight since the Soto-Lorenzo fiasco.

Marquez called Cortez "the enemy" of Mexican boxers, which I think is pretty dumb, and sort of hides the fact that Marquez doesn't want Cortez to referee his fight because he thinks he's bad at his job, which is going to be a factor in Cortez's career. When a high-profile fighter like Marquez won't let a name guy referee his fight, it sort of sends a message out to other fighters, promoters, athletic commissions, etc.