Diaz
vs Marquez Fight Review
The action ensued at a record pace with Marquez throwing 85 punches
(more than he has ever thrown in one round since compubox has kept
records) while Diaz threw 104. Round two was another incredible stanza. Halfway through, Diaz sent Marquez reeling with a scorching left hook that would’ve floored most lightweights. Marquez’s warrior mentality was on display but Diaz landed the cleaner more telling blows. In round three, Diaz continued to apply pressure but Marquez began to time Diaz coming in as he appeared to be a little wild. Although, moving backward, Marquez landed solid counter shots and began to display more confidence. By round four, the uppercut had become an important weapon in the Marquez arsenal as Diaz was not moving his head as much as the opening round. At the end of the round, trainer Ronnie Shields emphasized this and reminded the Baby Bull to utilize his jab. Round five saw Diaz appearing to land the more effective blows and open up a cut over Marquez’s right eye. Marquez answered with a tremendous hook to the body which he had thrown sparingly thus far. In rounds six and seven the Diaz stalk fest continued but the crafty Marquez began to block the onslaught of lefts and counter beautifully off the ropes. A momentum shift was in full effect by round eight. Marquez’s ability to make adjustments on the fly propelled him through the round as he punished Diaz with a barrage of combinations and opened a cut with a bone jarring uppercut near the end of the round. Forget counterpunching, in round nine, Marquez simply dominated attacking and using the ring beautifully. At 2:10, Marquez drilled Diaz with a laser right staggering his younger foe before flooring him with a left uppercut. At 2:25, Diaz rose to his feet but Marquez would hear none of it, closing the show with another textbook uppercut. The official time was 2:40 of round nine. Albeit not by much, the 21 year-old Diaz was the busier fighter but Marquez was the more effective one. With the win, Marquez improved to 50-4-1 (37KO) while Diaz fell to 34-2 (17KO), his second loss in three fights. Final thoughts Watching
Marquez adjust to Diaz’s pressure was a thing of beauty and
Diaz has nothing to be ashamed of in losing to a legend. After a
fight like this, Diaz would be best served to relax with a few months
away from the ring. As for Marquez, the sky is the limit as he showed
once again that even at 35-years old he is a world class fighter
who is still capable of performing at an elite level. He added himself
to the long list of fighters who have called out Floyd Mayweather
and one can only salivate at such a match up.
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