By Mark Vester
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada - In a rematch of last year's "fight of the year," Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37KOs) retained his WBA/WBO lightweight titles with a twelve roudn unanimous decision over Juan Diaz (35-4, 17KOs). The scores were 116-112, 118-110 and 117-111.
The fight began at a different pace with Diaz trying to outbox Marquez. Not the smartest move. Marquez was landing with more punches than he did in the first round of the last year's bout. Diaz started taking Marquez to war in the second round. Diaz has a very good third with landing hard shots and making Marquez miss a lot of counters. In the fourth round, Marquez rocked Diaz with a big uppercut and then followed up with some very good shots. Diaz stayed away and weathered the storm. The next couple of rounds turned into a boxing match that Marquez was winning.
In the ninth, Marquez hurt Diaz again with a combination. Marquez's right eye began to nearly swell shut during the ninth. The rest of the way Marquez boxed Diaz and won the rounds.