Marquez the Master…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
(after a sensational performance by JMM vs. Juan Diaz, are Juan Manuel Marquez, right, and Manny Pacquiao, left, headed for a third fight?)
It was 52 weeks ago when Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez had their epic third showdown with Vazquez getting the narrow win.
You thought for sure you had just seen the Fight of the Year. In my opinion, you had.
Now rewind to Saturday night with Marquez’s brother, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Juan Diaz. I’m not saying we’ve seen the Fight of the Year. But if we haven’t, wow, 2009 is going to be one heck of a great year.
For the record (and just as I predicted), Marquez won via TKO in the ninth round and what is easily the best fight of the young year.
Frankly, I wasn’t surprised at anything in the fight. Diaz came out and put the pedal to the medal early and never let up. He stalked Marquez for every minute until the ninth round.
He made Marquez open up. He made the 35-year-old fight at the 25-year-old’s pace. Problem is Marquez isn’t just a good fighter or a great. No, I will go on record as saying right now he is an all-time great.
After spending years of being ducked by Prince Naseem Hamed (remember him?) and unable to secure that big bout with either Erik Morales or Marco Antonio Barrera (until 2007), it’s Marquez’s career that is finally blossoming.
Through three rounds, I had Diaz winning 30-27. Marquez wasn’t overwhelmed by the pressure but maybe a little shocked Diaz came out the way he did. Diaz landed solid shots and rocked JMM in the second but didn’t know how to finish. And bottom line, Diaz is not a finisher.
A subtle change took place in the fourth and fifth rounds as Marquez started to attack the body. And despite getting a cut over his right eye, the tide was slowly turning toward Marquez.
Through seven, still had it 5-2 Diaz, but in the eighth, it no longer mattered. I made a mental note in the beginning of the eighth of “wow, Marquez is finding a home with his uppercut.”
But then the HBO announcers caught on, too, and I can’t make it seem like I’m some genius. But with both the left and the right uppercut, Marquez was beating down Houston’s favorite son.
A bad cut opened up for Diaz, and you had a feeling the scorecards weren’t going to mean anything.
Sure enough, in the ninth, Marquez capped off the night. A beautiful right hand led to the first knockdown and a right uppercut dropped Diaz cold late in the ninth and the bout was stopped.
In nine rounds, both landed more than 250 punches. That’s nearly 30 punches per round. This can’t be considered an all-time classic, but it might be Marquez’s finest hour. Taking on a young, hungry kid who some felt was going to make JMM feel his age, not so.
I said I thought Marquez would think his way through the fight and make an adjustment. He did. He is one of the smartest boxers when in the ring. Smartest I’ve seen (though that doesn’t say much). You’re not going to out-think Marquez.
Though he was on the ropes and getting tagged, he figured out what to do. He picked his spots and with the body punching and the uppercuts, well, there you go.
For Diaz, man, I want to keep seeing him do his thing. However, that style is going to make him an old man at 28. He can box, but it’s not his best option. His pressure is his thing. But without the power, you start to worry about what he’s getting hit with in return.
For Marquez, what’s next? He talked about a bout with Floyd Mayweather. Ha, if Prince and Morales and Barrera didn’t want a piece, you know there’s no money that’ll bring Mayweather out.
No, I think in his heart, he wants that third bout with Manny Pacquiao. If PacMan can get by Ricky Hatton on May 2 (which I think he will), that’s what Marquez wants. I don’t think PacMan wants a third bout with him though.
Ya thought maybe after Pacquiao edged him out last March that Marquez wouldn’t have that fire in the belly. How about knocking out Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz in the next two fights as a statement?
I love Jim Lampley, and the HBO announcer has probably forgot more boxing than I know. But I have to get on him for not knowing the date of Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. He said he thought it was 2003.
Oy. Some boxing dates stick with you forever. May 7, 2005, Corrales and Castillo waged an epic war that is still talked about. Corrales won by TKO in the 10th after having been dropped twice in the same round. Never forget it.
March 8, 1971, the first fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. Sept. 30 (or Oct. 1, depending on time zone), 1975, Thrilla in Manilla with Ali and Frazier. Feb. 10 (or 11, again on the time zone), 1990, Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson. You remember those dates.
All that being said, Lampley is still my favorite in the business.
But another solid outing of boxing on HBO. Really good start to the year, punctuated by a masterful performance by Marquez.
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