Tyson Marquez Lands Cowboys Stadium Fight For July 14

WBA flyweight titleholder Tyson Marquez has landed a spot on the July 14 card scheduled for Cowboys Stadium, according to Ernesto Castellanos of notifight.com, and will be facing Ardin Diale with the title on the line. Juan Manuel Marquez is set to headline the show against Brandon Rios, Mercito Gesta, or Mike Alvarado.

Tyson Marquez (another guy who has seen his nickname replace his first name, like Winky Wright or Canelo Alvarez), was one of the breakout fighters of 2012 and had as good an argument as anyone to be named last year's Fighter of the Year (he came in fourth in the BLH voting), also competing in a Fight of the Year contender against Luis Concepcion in February 2011. At this point, he's ranked the top flyweight in the world by Bad Left Hook and is The RING's No. 1 contender to the championship held by Sonny Boy Jaro. He was named the WBA Fighter of the Year, even beating out Andre Ward.

Marquez (33-2, 25 KO) saw a lot of controversy around his last fight, however, as there were questions of whether or not he actually made weight for the fight. Michael Koncz and his fighter Rodel Mayol weren't convinced he had, so they pulled out of the fight, which allowed Richie Mepranum to step in and lose to Marquez in a non-title bout.

But this one will have the title on the line. Diale (18-6-3, 5 KO) is nicknamed "The Spoiler," and the 23-year-old Filipino has won four straight since an exciting loss in February of last year to Julio Cesar Miranda, a fourth round stoppage that saw both men taste canvas before it was over. He doesn't have the prettiest record, but he's learned on the job since turning pro at 18, and could be a tougher out than some might expect for Marquez.

It's not yet known if the Cowboys Stadium show will be offered via PPV, but signs are pointing that direction. If it's another Top Rank PPV rather than a true HBO PPV, one has to wonder if Juan Manuel Marquez is really keeping his name out there for U.S. audiences, since these aren't big PPV shows by any means, and appeal to a limited audience. On the other hand, there's probably not much Marquez can or needs to do. If he gets that fourth fight with Pacquiao in November of this year, it will sell because it's a Pacquiao-Marquez fight. I get the impression that a lot of fight fans are fairly new to the rivalry and haven't been hearing about it constantly for the last eight years.

Also, this fight would fit the Mexico vs Philippines PPV concept that Bob Arum brought up a short while ago, which would also lead one to think that Gesta will be getting the main event slot. But we'll see. Nonito Donaire was previously scheduled for this show, but might now return a week later on July 21.