By William Mackay: It’s good that HBO executives really want to see a rematch between WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO’s) and Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO’s) for a bout that will take place on July 31st, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Marquez vs. Diaz
Will Khan start fighting good light welterweights after be takes on the Marquez-Diaz winner?
By Sean McDaniel: I’m almost hoping that the winner of the July 31st bout between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz tell WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan to go pick on someone his own size from his own weight class, the light welterweight division, rather than giving in and taking the good money that will come with a fight against Khan.
Khan out of the hospital, eager to fight Marquez-Diaz winner
By William Mackay: WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) is out of the hospital after a two-night stay due to a heavy fever that he suffered from following a trip to South Africa to watch England play against Germany in the World Cup soccer competition. Khan’s father, Shah Khan, says that Amir is fine after his release from the Beaumont Hospital in Bolton where he had been for a short stay to recover from the high fever. Khan, 23, will now rest and recover from the illness.
Is Marquez-Diaz II a year too late?
By Dan Ambrose: Had Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO’s) and Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO’s) fought an immediate rematch last year shortly after their fight in February 2009, this would be a much more appealing bout.
After Marquez and Diaz fought, there was a lot of talk about how exciting their fight was for at least two weeks.
Why is Amir Khan being steered towards the Marquez-Diaz winner?
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.
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.
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.”
Marquez-Diaz: Look for Diaz to continue to have problems with uppercuts
By Sean McDaniel: WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO’s) will be fighting a needless rematch against Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO’s) next month on July 31st, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a fight that’s kind of hard to understand why it’s being made other than to bring money for the fighters. Marquez, 36, wiped Diaz out last year in a 9th round TKO in February 2009.