By William Mackay: You have to wonder why WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) is being positioned his promotional company Golden Boy Promotions to fight the July 31st winner between lightweights Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz. Khan, 23, is no longer fighting in the lightweight division, having left the division a year ago try ply his trade against the bigger, stronger light welterweights.
Juan Diaz
Marquez-Diaz: A Great undercard, but is the main event kind of lacking?
By Chris Williams: I really commend Golden Boy Promotions for putting together such a fine undercard for the July 31st bout between WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO’s) and Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO’s) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, I’m wondering how well this fight pay-per-view card will end up doing. Judging by the lack of talk about it on boxing internet forums, I suspect that the Marquez-Diaz card won’t bring in very big numbers in terms of PPV buys.
Is Golden Boy stacking the Marquez-Diaz undercard to stay in good with HBO?
By Eric Thomas: You have to wonder why Golden Boy Promotions all of sudden put together and outstanding July 31st. The card has Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz in the main event, and a number other exciting fights on the undercard. In almost every case, the undercard fights could serve either as a main event fight or at the minimum the co-main event. The following fights are on the card: Daniel Jacobs vs. Dmitri Pirog, Joel Casamayor vs. Roberto Guerrero, Jorge Linares vs. Rocky Juarez, and John Paul Mendy vs. Sakio Bika. These are all outstanding fights, and it’s completely out of the norm, in these times, for a promotional company to put on a card as good as this.
Diaz vs. Marquez II: The best PPV in ages
By Jim Dower: If you’re interested in seeing one of the best pay-per-view cards in many years, you can’t go wrong in purchasing the July 31st card between headliners WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO’s) vs. Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO’s) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diaz-Marquez fought previously last year in an exciting fight that resulted in Marquez stopping Diaz in the 9th round on February 28th, 2009. The fight was so well received by boxing fans, that many of them immediately started clamoring for a rematch.
Khan wants to fight Diaz-Marquez winner in England
By William Mackay: Not only does World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) want to fight the winner of the lightweight clash between WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz on July 31st, but it now looks like Khan wants that fight to take place in his home country of England. That obviously would give Khan a huge advantage. Khan would already have a big advantage in size, reach, height, youth and hand speed over the two small lightweights.
Diaz vs. Marquez II promises to be exciting while it lasts
By William Mackay: Some would say that there’s no reason for WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO’s) to fight a rematch with former lightweight champion Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO’s), since Marquez destroyed Diaz by a 9th round stoppage last year in February. However, if you were fortunate to have seen that fight, you will have witnessed one of the most action packed fights of all 2009. even though the Diaz-Marquez bout didn’t last a full 12 rounds, it still more than enough for most fans. Diaz and Marquez will be fighting again on July 31st at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jacobs vs. Pirog on Marquez-Diaz undercard on July 31st – News
By Matt Stein: Fighting on the undercard of the Juan Diaz vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fight on July 31st, unbeaten Russian middleweight contender Dmitry Pirog (16-0, 13 KO’s) will face undefeated American Daniel Jacobs (20-0, 17 KO’s) in a scheduled 12 round bout for the vacant WBO middleweight title at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. As it turns out, the Pirog-Jacobs fight could turn out to be even better than the main event of Diaz-Marquez.
Roach calls Marquez and Diaz “Washed up,” and says Khan will “knock both guys out”
By Jim Dower: Trainer Freddie Roach is really hoping that his fighter WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) can fight the winner of the July 31st bout between WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and former lightweight champion Juan Diaz. In an interview by Socrates Celstial at Philboxing.com, Roach commented on both Diaz and Marquez, saying “He’ll [Khan] knock both guys out. Yeah, they’re [Marquez and Diaz] both washed up. They’re over the hill. Amir Khan will knock both guys out. I really want to fight [Marcos] Maidana next, but the thing is it’s just not available yet bot we’re tying to build that fight a little bit, then I want to fight [Timothy Bradley. Devon Alexander is with Don King right now and since that’s non-negotiable, we’ll leave him alone.”
Diaz-Marquez: Will Diaz outwork Juan Manuel this time?
By Jason Kim: WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 kO’s) will meet Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 Ko’s) for a rematch next month on July 31st at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their first fight was an exciting bout that lasted nine rounds and saw both fighters get hurt. Marquez was down early, but came back. Marquez, 36, quickly figured out Diaz’s high pressure style of fighting after four or five rounds and began to punish with counter shots in between Diaz’s own punches.
Amir Khan fighting next on December 11th, possibly against Diaz-Marquez winner
By Chris Williams: WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) will be back in action on December 11th on HBO. Khan and his promotional team, Golden Boy Promotions, are hoping to match the 23-year-old Khan up against the winner of the July 31st lightweight clash between former champion Juan Diaz and WBA/WBO lightweight champions Juan Manuel Marquez. The winner of that fight, if they’re interested in getting a good payday, will move up in weight and take on Khan for his WBA light welterweight title. It’s a win-win for Khan, because he’s bigger, younger and faster than both Diaz and Marquez and would have the advantage of that going for him.