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Diaz in tough spot vs. Marquez
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Saturday night's bout against Juan Manuel Marquez is a make or break fight for Juan Diaz.
That's right — make or break. How can I say that about a 26-year-old? Well, he's lost three of his past five fights. If he loses a second time to a guy 10 years older than him, what does that say about Diaz?
Yes, Marquez is an all-time great — a legendary fighter in Mexico. But his 36-year-old body has a ton of mileage on it. Still, he said he's 100 percent after his September beating at the hands of a 147-pound Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"I'm going to keep fighting until my body says otherwise," Marquez said through a translator. "I'm 36 but I feel 24."
We'll soon find out.
Diaz knows he desperately needs to win. "I dream about this fight night and day," he said.
He said he learned a lot about himself in their first bout. "I answered the question I had in my mind: Would I have the heart to stand in and fight? Yes. If a tough situation comes about, I'll stand in and fight."
That probably wasn't the smartest thing for Diaz to do. After dominating the early portion of the fight, he couldn't cope with Marquez's superior counterpunching and body work, eventually getting knocked out in the ninth.
Diaz said he's made the proper adjustments but isn't shy about saying he hopes Mayweather took a ton out of Marquez. "I hope so. At his age, the fights he's been in, you never know when you're going to become an old fighter," Diaz said.
If he can't beat an "old fighter," his future prospects look grim. He said he's fighting at his ideal weight at 135 pounds. He tried moving up to junior welterweight , but after losing to Paulie Malignaggi, he went back to lightweight.
"I tried 140. It wasn't for me," Diaz said. "The weight difference is only five pounds. But I couldn't gain more than two or three pounds."
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So he can't move up, and it would be difficult to shed weight. He's stuck, and if he can't beat Marquez, he's really in an untenable situation.
Marquez, for his part, looks like a guy who has no pressure on him. Yes, he did win their 2009 Fight of the Year. However, he was getting tagged early before making the adjustments that turned the tide.
Don't expect to see Marquez do anything differently the second time around. "When you have the results, you don't make changes," he said.
The lightweight champion does have one eye on a bigger prize: a third shot at Manny Pacquiao. He's been chasing the Filipino phenom since Pacquiao's controversial split-decision win in 2008. But a third fight — as remote as it would be — could occur only with a win. What happens if Marquez loses?
"It doesn't even cross my mind," he said. "Defeat is not in my vocabulary."
Marquez didn't say he would retire if he lost. Maybe shouldn't have to. A defeat to a good, young fighter in his prime is no disgrace to an aging legend.
However, if Diaz suffers a second loss to a guy past his prime, maybe he should consider hanging up the gloves.
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