by Chris Milton
This weekend, boxing kicks off a series of exciting fights with the wonderful HBO PPV card this Saturday night. A card so stacked with great fights that we at the Tribune keep having to check the date to make sure we haven’t gone back in time to the Don King PPV shows of the nineties.
Looking at the main event Marquez v Diaz 2, everyone seems to be coming out with the same line. Both fighters are done, we don’t need the fight. They both lost their last fights. This is where the intrigue lies. Neither fighter can afford another loss. If Diaz loses, its back to law school, if Marquez loses its retirement. No matter what happens in this fight, whoever loses is probably done as far as HBO is concerned.
People are also forgetting that this fight is for the legitimate Lightweight World Championship. Diaz can go from a fighter who is 2-3 in his last five to the world champion and completely redefine his career, while Marquez can defend his title again and then move up for one last money spinner before he calls time on his wonderful HOF career.
When Vasquez quit against Marquez in their first FOTY contender did we all say the 2nd was meaningless? When Pavlik knocked out Taylor in a FOTY contender did we shun the rematch? When Zale knocked out Graziano did anyone care? No we didn’t, we embraced them as we all know the rules of boxing– one great fight normally leads to another.
I am not saying there is a potential trilogy in the making here as I don’t see Diaz being able to beat Marquez with his style. But I guarantee you one thing, excitement–and that’s all we ever ask for when watching the sweet science. People seem to forget that just a year ago this was FOTY. Neither man has changed that much, Diaz moved up in weight and fought Malginaggi twice and Marquez lost a non-competitive decision to Mayweather. However, neither really took alot of punishment. The only real difference is that both fighters know their weight limit is around 135lbs and they are both a year older.
Remember, this is just one fight on a truly fantastic card. Boxing fans complain about paying up to $65 for a PPV when only the main event is worth watching. Now were getting a stacked card where even the free preview fights before the pay-per-view are worth watching– and people are ignoring the whole card.
There are a wealth of great fights there. Sure, they may not all be household names but to hardcore fans the world over this card is what we have been waiting years for and I am shocked there seems to be so little buzz about it.
For starters Jorge, Linares against Rocky Juarez has the potential to be a show stealer. Both fighters, similar to Marquez and Diaz simply can not afford to lose. Linares need to be impressive or GBP will ship him back off to Japan while Juarez simply needs to win.
Daniel Jacobs against Dmitry Pirog for the WBO super chocolate ice cream cone with a flake title is also an intriguing bout. Two young undefeated prospects take a major step up in facing each other and Jacobs is only the slight favourite according to the bookmakers; Again, this could steal the show.
We also get to see the American debut of the devastating George Groves, Joel Cassamayor v Robert Guerrero and Sakio Bika v Jean Paul Mendy. The latest “new Oscar De La Hoya,” Frankie Gomez, will also be in action.
This card is what we fans have been crying out for, lets embrace it before GBP decides its not worth putting on another card like this and we all go back to complaining.
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