Juan Manuel Magnificent: Marquez KOs Diaz

By Michael Woods

For round after round, it looked like the professor was finally being surpassed by an eager student, as Juan Manuel Marquez looked his age and Juan Diaz outworked the Hall of Famer-bound hitter in the main event at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday night. Diaz, age 25, soaked in the cheers in his hometown and channeled their adulation as he forced the 35-year-old Marquez to work as hard as he’s ever had to work, and battered him time and again on the ropes. But the professor showed the student why he’s regarded as one of the top two or three fighters, pound for pound, in the game today, as he turned the tide in the ninth round, scored a knockdown, and then came in for the kill. Marquez finished off Diaz with a right uppercut at 2:40 of the ninth in a fight that will be in contention for Fight of the Year come December.
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