J.M. Marquez: Baddest Man on Earth

-On February 28th Juan Manuel Marquez proved he was the baddest man on Earth. He got a TKO in the 9th round, after he knocked down Juan Diaz two times. After the fight many expected him to call out Many Pacquiao instead he called out, the retired, Floyd Mayweather Jr. He claimed that Pacquiao was ducking him, which is possible, and that he wanted Floyd. He said he was willing to go up in weight to fight him.

Courtesy of thesun.co.uk

-The fight started slow for Marquez as always. I scored the first three rounds going to Diaz. Marquez would back up against the ropes and Diaz would throw good-looking flurries. Marquez would juts dig in and pick his spots. Marquez was taking a lot of punishment in the early rounds. Marquez was shaken up after a strong left hook from Diaz in the 2nd round. Marquez punched his way out of it and regained his composure. Through the 4th round Diaz was very offensive. Once it was the 5th round Diaz slowed down and Marquez went to work. Marquez got cut during the 5th. During the 6th round, the quick flurries from Diaz missed their spots and both fighters started trading shots. Marquez consistently landed his power shots. In the 8th round Diaz slowed down a lot and Marquez really started to take over. Diaz got cut right over his eye by a strong left hook. This had been the best round of the night so far for Marquez. The 9th round was similar to the 8th. At the 2:20 mark Diaz went down after a strong left hook stunned him, followed by a flurry. Diaz got up slowly. Marquez attacks again and landed a powerful uppercut that sent Diaz backwards on the canvas. After the second knock down, the referee stopped the fight. Before the 9th round the judges had scored an even draw. The overall punch-count was 288/732 Marquez and 252/751 Diaz.

From Iboboxing.com

-This was the best fight of the year, only because in the Mosely-Margarito fight, Mosely dominated from the first bell. This fight went back and forth. Marquez looked really bad in the first rounds but that is his style. He always sizes up his opponents and takes over. With this said, there was also a very good under-card fight with Rocky Juarez taking on Chris John.

-This was Chris John's first fight in the US. He was definitely the more conditioned fighter. During the whole fight he used a lot of movement. Juarez always came in very square and tried attacking the body. He attacked the body consistently but it didn't seemed to effect John. John was fairly dominant but the 11th and 12th were definitely Juarez's best rounds. Juarez was very aggressive and cut the ring off from John. This was good but too little too late. Overall it was a very even fight. So even that the judges scored it a unanimous 114-114, a draw. John kept his titles and stayed undefeated. I had the fight scored 116-112 for Chris John. It was a very good fight and the boxing community would love to see a rematch.

-Juan Manuel Marquez is the best fighter in the sport today. He figures out his opponents strategy and changes his style for it. If only he could do it earlier in the fight. He did not win his two fights with Manny Pacquiao because he lost the early rounds. Some fighters might try to take easy competition but not Marquez. He consistently fights the best fighter in his divisions. Nate Campbell fought Ali Funeka. Marquez is willing to jump up in weight class and if he thinks he can, why not. All the top fighters right now want the winner of Hatton-Pacquiao in May, which will be Pacquiao. Marquez is looking beyond this and wants Mayweather. I don't think Mayweather-Marquez would be a very entertaining fight. Two good counter-punchers don't match up well. It wouldn't happen anyway because Marquez, unfortunately, in not a big draw. Only boxing connoisseurs know about him, not the average fans who buy up the pay-per-views. With all this said, Marquez is badder than Shane Mosley, badder than Nate Campbell, and badder than Manny Pacquiao. That's why he's he baddest man on earth.

Cotto & Pavlik on the Comeback

-This past weekend, two former undefeated fighters returned to the ring after their first loss. Both fighters were very dominant and got a Technical Knockout. Kelly Pavlik outclassed Marco Antonio Rubio with his signature left, right combination. Pavlik likes to throw a left jab, which masks his hammer of a right straight. This is how Kelly Pavlik has been so successful and it is how he overpowered Rubio. Miguel Cotto dismantled Michael Jennings with his speed and accuracy. Cotto has always been very quick and he always finds the right spot, be it upstairs or downstairs. Both of these fighters had much to prove and they both delivered, even though they fought average competition.

Courtesy of Francovision from Flickr.

-Miguel Cotto received his first lost by the hands of Antonio Margarito. Those hands might have had a plaster-like substance tape to them. He has since been suspended for at least one year along with his trainer Javier Capetillo. Margarito was caught by his last opponent's trainer Naseem Richardson taping an unknown material to his hand. With all this said, when Cotto fought Margarito he was beating so badly he took a knee in the 11th rd. Margarito landed many punches throughout the fight and Cotto appeared as if he couldn't take any more. Many people thought Cotto just gave up but this might give him a good reason for taking the knee.

-Miguel Cotto's sole loss was by the hands of a possible cheater. Cotto laid down the leather to Michael Jennings and proved that he needs to be among the top fighters in the Welterweight division. This is the most interesting division in boxing today. Everybody from Shane Mosely to Nate Campbell wants the winner of the Hatton-Paquiao fight in May so Cotto probably won't get that. His best opportunity to get his name back on the map would be to fight Andre Berto. The WBC Welterweight champion squeaked by a poor fight with Luis Collazo. This showed his inexperience. Miguel Cotto would devour Andre Berto and if that fight happens, Cotto will get his title back.

From KellyPavlikFans.com

-Kelly Pavlik was possibly the baddest man on earth until he was stunned by Bernard Hopkins. His straight forward, upright, pound-it-out style of fighting makes him very entertaining to watch but it is very easily dissected. This was demonstrated by the veteran Bernard Hopkins when he outworked him in October. Pavlik came back in a very strong way this past Saturday showing why he is the #1 Middleweight fighter. His most intriguing opponent is the undefeated Arthur Abraham, who is fighting the also undefeated Lajuan Simon on March 14. Another possible contender would be Felix Sturm or John Duddy.

-These two fighters are already on the way to returning to greatness. Both had good, dominating performances and are ready for the next step. Pavlik still has his belt but Cotto wants one of his own. Cotto may have been cheated by Antonio Margarito but nothing can be done about that now. He has to put that behind him and move forward. The Welterweight division has great fighters and hopefully Floyd Mayweather will come out of retirement to join it.

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