Live from Houston, TX, we are here in the Toyota Center for the highly anticpated lightweight showdown between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz. Ace photogrpaher Ed Garza and myself have ventured the four hours south from our homes in Dallas to cover this mega-fight.
JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ VS. JUAN DIAZ
PREFIGHT
The Norteno music blaring through the speakers means one thing: Juan "The Baby Bull" Diaz is making his way to the ring lifted by the adoring cheers of the sellout arena. I'm really liking the production value of the pre-fight videos. Props goes out to Golden Boy for the slick presentation. It's funny, seems that there is a more vocal reception for Marquez. I guess if your Mexican or Mexican-American, a Marquez trumps a Juan Diaz. The arena is filled with the proud waiving of the Mexican flag.
ROUND 1
Sorry folks...more techincal difficulties, but what a round! Marquez looked sharp, but Diaz rallied back to take control of the round. This place is going nuts! Diaz round.
Diaz 10 Marquez 9
ROUND 2
Diaz' pressure is smothering. Marquez looks uncomfortable. Crowd chants for Marquez, who lands some good counters. Diaz traps Marquez against the ropes. Marquez is hurt! This is incredible! Marquez is cut! Marquez lands a good body shot, but Diaz comes back with one of his own. Good round. Diaz round
Diaz 20 Marquez 18
ROUND 3
Great energy in this place. My ears are ringing it's so loud. Marquez lands a good shot. Diaz opens up. Great hook by Diaz. Marquez circles away and catches Diaz with an uppercut. Two good left hooks to the head by Diaz. Marquez counters, but Diaz is all over him. Great right hand by Marquez. Diaz land a right of his own. Marquez round.
Diaz 29 Marquez 28
ROUND 4
Diaz lands a hard hook. Both fighters trade shots then Diaz opens up with a punishing attack. Marquez rallies back, but is answered by more salvos from Diaz. Marquez looks to dig to the body. Diaz lands a left hook. Good trade of blows. Marquez lands a hard right. Diaz comes right back. Marquez seems to be getting his rhythm. Marquez' rounds.
Diaz 38 Marquez 38
ROUND 5
Both fighters looking to establish their jabs. Marquez unleashes a hard combination. Diaz answers back with a salvo of his own. Good left hook by Diaz. Marquez lands a vicious uppercut. Great hook by Diaz. Marquez is pinpoint accurate with his jab as it finds its home. Marquez digs to the body. Diaz retorts with some hard shots that snap Marquez' head back. Diaz round.
Diaz 48 Marquez 47
ROUND 6
Marquez' face looks swollen and red. Diaz is making good work on the inside. To my right, a drunken fan is about to fight. Diaz lets loose a hard hook that may have hurt Marquez. Diaz looks pumped. Diaz round.
Diaz 58 Marquez 56
ROUND 7
Looks like Marquez is cut above the eye. It may have been a headbutt. Diaz is looking to corner Marquez, but is unable to avoid his laser accurate counters. Diaz is firing that jab more frequently. Marquez fires a quick combo, but it is blocked. You have to wonder how long such a pace can last. As I type that, Marquez lands three quick shots. Both fighters trading shots. Marquez looks to be hurt. I scored the round for Diaz.
Diaz 68 Marquez 65
ROUND 8
Hellacious round! Diaz was in firm control, but Marquez rallied back to end strong. Diaz is cut badly over his right eye and the ref rules it was caused by a headbutt. Marquez round.
Diaz 77 Marquez 75
ROUND 9
Diaz looked a little shaky that last round, but has since regained his composure. Marquez is boxing from the outside, trying to keep Diaz at bay. The tactic seems to be working until Diaz lands a hook to the gut of Marquez. Both fighters look like they are going through hell. Marquez unloads on Diaz...and DOWN GOES DIAZ. DOWN GOES DIAZ!!!!! DIAZ GETS UP BUT IS QUICKLY CHOPPED BACK DOWN BY MARQUEZ!! THE FIGHT IS OVER!!!!!!
THE WINNER BY WAY OF KNOCKOUT...JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ
POSTFIGHT
The replay shows it was an uppercut that caused Diaz' downfall. Marquez was just too much for the young lion. The official time was 2:40 into round 9. Great fight and a great night for boxing. Nights like this are why I love the sport.
CHRIS JOHN VS. ROCKY JUAREZ
PREFIGHT
Buffer introduces the fighers. Juarez is greeted like a king. John is booed like he stole something. Let's get ready to ruuuuummble!!!!
ROUND 1
Jaurez looks to establish his jab. John circles to his left. The crowd chants "Rocky, Rocky!" Both fighters seem cautious, which is how Juarez likes it. When Rocky does get close, John quickly ties him up. It's clear that John wants no part of Juarez' power. Juarez digs to the body. John keeps his distance and tries to jab from the outside. Close round, hard to score, but I'm going with Juarez based on his jab.
Juarez 10 John 9
ROUND 2
More spirited pace. Juarez does some good work inside. John keeps his distance and lands a right hand. Juarez goes to the body, but John ties up with Juarez. Overhand right scores for John. Juarez tries to go to the body and is warned for a headbutt. Not a popular move with the corwd. Juarez digs to the body. John counters with a hard right. John took the round in my opinion.
Juarez 19 John 19
ROUND 3
Juarez' face looks swollen from eating John's right hand. John lands a good left-right combo. John clearly wants to box away from Juarez' right hand. John lands a good hook to the body. Juarez' slow, methodical pace is playing right into John's gameplan. Juarez appears to be really getting outboxed here. As I say that, Juarez does some good work on the inside. There is no lateral movement by Juarez and he eats an uppercut as a result. The crowd urges Juarez on, hoping that their energy will motivate.
Juarez 28 John 29
ROUND 4
Damn internet made me lose round four info but I socred it for John.
Juarez 37 John 39
ROUND 5
Chants of "Fight Rocky" spring up. As if he heard their pleas, Juarez lands a hard shot. Juarez works inside, but John answers with some good infighting. Juarez lands a hard shot on the inside. Good right hand by Juarez. John is fighting the fight he needs to win this thing. With that said, I give the round to Juarez.
Juarez 47 John 48
ROUND 6
Juarez is cut and the replay shows it to be caused by a John right hand. Not good news for Juarez, who comes out more aggressive in the round. John manages to weather Juarez' charges to land some hard combos of his own. Juarez can't seem to take it to that next gear. In the exchanges, it is John who is getting the better of the action. John round.
Juarez 56 John 58
ROUND 7
The Toyota Center is packed. What a turnout. Juarez is getting picked apart as he moves inside. Juarez lands a hard right hand, but John shrugs it off. John lets loose a nice combination. John seems more fluid and that is paying dividends. Whereas Juarez only has one gear, John has many and does not seem to be slowing down. John round.
Juarez 65 John 68
ROUND 8
Good double hook by Juarez rocks John. John is slipping Juarez' jab nicely and countering effectively. At this point, it looks as if John is on another level and every question Juarez' fists ask of him are answered by the champion. Juarez is unwaivering in his attack and the two trade shots to end out the round. John wins the round, barely.
Juarez 74 John 78
ROUND 9
Juarez still working behind the jab. He leaps in and opens up with some hooks to the body. John counters and moves back to the center of the ring. Good double jab by John. Juarez counters with a hard left hook. A wicked right hand by Juarez snaps John's head back. Chants of "Rocky" fill the arena. Juarez counters a John uppercut with a hard right hand. Juarez wins round.
Juarez 84 John 87
ROUND 10
John starts fast, but Juarez lands some hard hooks to the body that look like they hurt John. John holds and Juarez is unable to do much. John is back to boxing from the outside, keeping Juarez at bay. Juarez lands a hard left hook, but John counters with a stiff left-right combo then holds. Juarez is clearly frustrated with John's tactics. Where is the warning from referee Lawrence Cole for all the holding? Still, I have John winning the round.
Juarez 93 John 97
ROUND 11
We have our first fight in the stands! Juarez, not to be outdone by the comotion in the crowd, lands a hard shot. John lands some good shots, but Rocky roars back to hurt John with a body shot. Juarez turns on the jets and rocks John with some hard shots. John is hurt! John is hurt! Rocky goes for the kill, but John is saved by the bell! Juarez round.
Juarez 103 John 106
ROUND 12
The crowd is on their feet! The air is electric. Can Juarez stage a come-from-behind victory? So far, Juarez is not pressing the attack. Juarez neeeds to take it up a notch. Good left hook by Juarez. Hard right hand staggers John! Good left hook by Juarez. A right hand rocks the champion! A left hook does damage. Can Juarez do it? The crowd urges their fighter on. It looks like John is going to make it. The two trade shots as the fans explode in approval of these two brave fighters. Juarez round.
Juarez 113 John 115
All three judges scored the bout 114-114 draw!
DRAW...CHRIS JOHN RETAINS HIS TITLE
POSTFIGHT
The crowd boos the verdict, but I can see it being a draw. John clearly won the first cuple rounds, but Juarez swept the final rounds. Debris is being tossed into the ring. Not a lot, but I see a cup of beer flying by. Personally, I think John won the fight, but a draw may have saved Juarez' career.
MORE UNDERCARD ACTION
Just watched junior welterweight Darryl Hayes make his pro debut a successful one by battering an outclassed Gerardo Carillo. It wasn't even competative. Hayes looked polish, but against a limited challanger, that was a given.
New York based juinor middleweight Michael Anderson knocked the sh*t out of Oscar Rosales in under a minute. Hard to tell how good this kid from NY is when his opponent was clearly out matched.
First upset of the night has just occured as Dallas based Hector Vazquez got his dome rocked despite dominating the round. Ramon Flores landed a crazy overhand right that ruined Vazquez's night as the referee waived a halt to the fight after Vazquez was KTFO.
Houston often gets overlooked when it comes to US fight towns, but the people down here know two things: good BBQ and boxing. Though as I look around the arena, it looks like people are slow to get here. It's better than a typical casino fight, but you would expect more from the fans here.
Fu*king wifi here in the Toyota Center blows ass. I've lost my signal no less than three times. Fu*king technology.
Ok, I'm finally back. Shit is ridiculous man.
News flash! Word in press row is that Chris John is still recovering from a virus. Interesting to see how this will play out in his fight with Rocky Juarez in the co-main event.
Houston based junior middleweight prospect Jermell Charlo looks to be the real deal. Fundamentally he is sound and under the tutelage of Ronnie Sheilds, looks to be moving up the ladder correctly.
Jermell Charlo and Ramon Serrano are engaging in a pretty decent scrap. Charlo has been hurt, but shows resolve in coming back to punish Serrano with hard salvos.
Good selection of music blasting through the PA system. Gotta say the place is rocking.
Just how big is Michael Buffer? Well, the golden-voiced announcer will be announcing the main events, but right now, Lupe Contreras is holding down shop on the undercards. Quien es el mas macho?
Lightweights in action right now. Hylon Williams and Edgar Partillo are waging war on each other in brutal fashion. It's a hell of a scrap and even more impressive is that Partillo took the fight on less than 24-hour notice. Though it should be noted that Partillo trains with Tomas Villa out in in Midland, TX and that would harden even the softest fighter.
For the record, I like the LED luminated round cards.
Someone forgot to tell Partillo that fighters on short notice are not supposed to fight this hard. Partillo is a hard-nosed fighter; nothing more, nothing less.
I talk with a security guard, who wonders out loud why so few fans have shown up yet. The arena is slowly starting to fill, but you would think that more fans would be here by now.
Williams is tearing into Partillo right now with a punishing body attack. Hell, my kidneys hurt just looking at it. Great fight. Both fighters should be applauded for their efforts.
Fights over! Fights over! Partillo's corner throws in the towel! The crowd cheers local boy Williams, but boo Partillo's team for throwing in the towel.
Ed Garza just gets told to put his camera's tripod away. Given that he's in auxillary and has to shoot with a long angle lens, the tripod was a necessity. What the fu*k?
Speaking of other random acts of stupidity, security is now giving Ed a hard time due to the long angle lens he's shooting with. So for those keeping score, first they didn't like his tripod, now they have an issue with his lens. They actually told him that they are going to check to see if he needs a special permit to shoot with the lens. What the hell? What kind of asinine logic is that? He needs the lens to shoot from his location. Furthermore, he is a member of the press, not some savvy fan. I just don't get it. You can do better Toyota Center security!
Golden Boy prospect Daniel Jacobs makes short work of Jose Cruz. After knocking Cruz down with a hard right, Jacobs finishes the night early with a barrage of punches that slump Cruz down along the ropes.
Some Random Observations:
Nothing brings out a parade of scantly clad women quite like a major fight. I have to admit that there is a plethora of very fine "eye candy" here in the arena. Sure, I may sound callous, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't the truth.
It's funny how people will go ape-sh*t crazy for free t-shirts. Just becuase some promotions' intern throws out a cheap t-shirt, it does not give you the right to push people out of the way like you were attempting to catch a Super Bowl winning touchdown.
We are experiencing some serious down time in light of Jacobs' first round KO. So far, I've eaten again, joked around with some fans and updated my Facebook status. Yes, I'm filling time here.
Ok, I'm back! Let the record reflect that the internet service here n the Toyota Center sucks monkey balls.
Danny Garcia just sludged through eight mind-numbing rounds. It was arguably the worst fight of the night. And the crowd voices their displeasure with a loud chorus of "boos".
Celebrites in the house include: Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosely, George Forman, Mario "Don't Call Me Slater" Lopez, George Foreman and Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya is greeted with a deafening chorus of boos.