By CompuBox

In an early candidate for 2009’s Fight of the Year, Juan Manuel Marquez achieved two things that had been thought to be improbable. First, beat Juan Diaz at his own volume-punching game and second, score a one-punch knockout over a naturally bigger man.

The 35-year-old Marquez, who averaged 50 punches per round in his last seven fights, answered the 25-year-old Diaz’s 87-punch-per-round output by averaging 81 per round and topping the 90-punch plateau three times – all in the first four rounds. The accelerated output, however, did not compromise his marksmanship as he landed 39 percent of his overall attempts (288 of 732), 30 percent of his jabs (98 of 331) and an impressive 47 percent of his power shots (190 of 401), an area that Diaz was expected to dominate.

The naturally bigger Diaz was successful in drawing Marquez into his type of fight, and his output was reflective of past efforts. He was remarkably consistent as he landed 32 percent in every category (252 of 781 overall, 91 of 281 jabs and 161 of 500 power punches). After sowing the seeds of Diaz’s destruction in round seven by landing 65 percent of his power shots, Marquez pulled the plunger in the final two rounds as he out-landed Diaz 61-42 overall and 42-22 in power shots. Over the final three rounds Marquez landed 56 percent of his power shots while Diaz landed 30 percent of his.

Marquez’s superior punch variety and technique often overshadows his toughness, but his display against a bigger and ultra-aggressive foe proved beyond doubt that he ranks with the best of his countrymen in terms of sheer grit. As for Diaz, he has no reason to hang his head, for he hung tough against a future Hall of Famer only to get caught by a punch he didn’t see. Boxing at the highest echelons has a severe risk-reward ratio and Diaz, a fervent student in and out of the ring, received a graduate school-level lesson that will prove valuable should be choose to learn from it.

The record books will forever show that Chris John and Rocky Juarez were equals. In fact all three judges scored the bout 114-114, an exceedingly rare outcome. But the numbers told a far different story, a tale so definitive that one can reasonably say that had the fight taken place other than Houston, John would have been a definitive winner.
John landed 138 more punches (344) than Juarez (206), an average of 11.5 more connects per round. He threw 1,190 blows (nearly 100 per round) to Juarez’s 797, nearly 33 more per round. As expected, the tall and rangy John threw and landed more jabs (157 of 628 to 84 of 358) but he also ruled the power punches by landing 187 of 562 (33 percent) to Juarez’s 122 of 439 (28 percent). Out of a possible 36 categories one can chart in a CompuBox-tracked fight, John was 35-0-1, with only an 8-8 tie in landed jabs in round two spoiling John’s perfect game.

John topped the 100-punch mark in each of the last six rounds, but Juarez pulled out the draw in the final two rounds (at least according to the judges) because he broke out of his phlegmatic shell and fought with more energy and power. The numbers show, however, that John still out-performed him, out-landing him 70-48 overall and 41-27 in power shots. Judges, however, are human and are subject to the emotions of the moment and Juarez’s home ring advantage helped him to salvage a result that will keep him among the top-tier featherweights. As for John, it was his coming-out party to American fight fans and what they found was an exciting stylist who will make any opponent’s night a difficult one. But after this result, will he ever dare to grace

America’s shores again? Only time – and money – will tell.