Biggest Fight of the Year: Marquez-W, John-W

-February 28 marks the biggest night for boxing in the year 2009. It may not be as hyped as De La Hoya-Pacquiao, but it should be. I'm talking about two massive fights,
Rocky Juarez v. Chris John and Juan Manuel Marquez v. Juan Diaz.

-Marquez-Diaz is a fight of the top two contenders in the lightweight division. You might argue for Nate Campbell as the top of the division. Due to his weight gain he is now a Junior Middleweight. Diaz was undefeated until he fought Campbell. Diaz is still a very good fighter.
Marquez is a boxing legend, who got a draw in his first fight with Pacquiao, and a one-point loss in his second. This fight is taking place in Houston, hometown of Diaz. This is not going to stop Marquez from getting the win.

-The fighting style for Diaz is not conventional. He looks like a slow fighter that lacks cardio. He is quick and excellent at connecting. He's very good at picking his spots and hitting them with power. Prior to Campbell he deconstructed many fighters. This includes, the up and coming, Julio Diaz and Michael Katsidis. Diaz is going to put up a good fight but will get outworked in the end.

-Marquez has fought everybody under the sun. After his knockout of Joel Casamayor, he looked like he totally rebounded from his loss to Pacquiao. Marquez starts his fights very slow. He sizes up his opponents and takes over after the 4th round. This has been his Achilles heel. Like when he was knocked down three times in the 1st round of his first fight with Pacqiao. He will lose the early rounds but will come back very strong and get a tough win.

-Also on that night, Chris John fights Rocky Juarez. Juarez lost to Marquez in 2007 and lost twice to Marco Antonio Barrera. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. He has been in the ring with serious, and I mean serious, competition. He can handle business but Chris John has an undefeated ego. And that is hard to squelch.

-Chris John is from Indonesia and, for the most part, has only fought in Asia. He has dominated his opponents but they have been a bunch of nobodies. With this said, he did beat Juan Manuel Marquez in early 2006. This will be Chris John's big USA coming out party. He will impress and get a victory.

-Here is a link to my post fight podcast for Juan Diaz Vs. Michael Katsidis