By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com was advised by Willie Savannah, manager for Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs), that a deal is almost complete for a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) for July 10 on HBO pay-per-view. The first fight, won by Marquez with a ninth round knockout last February, was awarded "fight of the year" honors from the Boxing Writers Association of America. The frontrunner venue to host is the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"I got a proposal from them [Golden Boy Promotions] today. There are a few issues that we have to work and that's it. A few little items and I'm sure next week we'll get a clean contact. This will be a good fight for Marquez and a good fight for Juan - especially with both coming off from the fight of the year award," Savannah said to BoxingScene.com.

The fight is taking place at lightweight, with Marquez's WBO/WBA titles on the line. In the first fight, Diaz was winning the early rounds, but Marquez broke him down as the fight played out. Savannah has a strategy worked out for the rematch and plans to correct their mistakes from the first meeting.

"I feel good about Juan's chances against Marquez and I feel good about Juan's career," Savannah said.