The Boxing Weekend: Juan Manuel Marquez – Juan Diaz II PPV Headlines
By Geno McGahee
Friday
ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights
Welterweight Delvin Rodriguez, 25-4-2, 14 KO’s, returns to the network to face Ashley Theophane, 26-4-1, 17 KO’s, in the main event of a double header. Rodriguez is a fan-friendly fighter with power in both hands and a fun style. He has been featured on ESPN2 quite often and draws ratings because of his style. Rodriguez currently ranks at #3 in the IBF and plans to dispatch Theophane to the floor en route to a title opportunity in the near future.
Super middleweight Donovan George, 20-0-1, 17 KO’s, will be co-featured on the card as he takes on Francisco Sierra, 21-3, 20 KO’s. This one promises to be a war and the judges can probably take this fight off. This should be a fun card for the fans.
Saturday
Can you believe that Golden Boy Promotions is losing money for their fans? How nice of them to give us a great pay per view card for a change…well, either that, or they are full of it like usual. At least the comments about losing money to bring a better undercard is admission that they have been screwing over the public for years with their headline fight and crappy showcase undercard mismatches. So, let’s examine this pay per view to see how great it is.
The Main Event
Juan Manuel Marquez, 50-5-1, 37 KO’s vs. Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz, 35-3, 17 KO’s
These two collided in a memorable war in 2009. Diaz started early, but Marquez’s talent and experience shined through and he controlled and then knocked out Diaz in the ninth round. It was a good fight, not a great fight, but it is being heralded as such. This is really an unnecessary rematch for various reasons. One, the ending was so conclusive that it is hard to believe that Diaz will turn the tables. Two, Diaz is 3-3 in his last six fights. He should be 2-4, considering that he got a gift decision over Paulie Malignaggi.
Even Marquez, in his last outing, was dominated against Floyd Mayweather, JR. It’s not a shame for this to happen, but it doesn’t qualify you for pay per view headliner. This is not a good headliner by any means. Despite the WBO Lightweight title hanging in the balance, this fight should be on HBO as the supporting bout to a main event, not headlining a pay per view, and GBP knows this. This is why they bragged about a stacked undercard.
The Undercard
Rocky Juarez, 28-6-1, 20 KO’s, is on the card, facing Jorge Linares, 28-1, 18 KO’s. Juarez has a record of 4-5-1, 2 KO’s, in his last 10 fights. He is not a top fighter any more, but the hope must be that he will somehow land his punch, which is decent on the fragile chin of Linares, a fighter that once held the WBA Super Featherweight title, until Juan Carlos Salgado stopped him in 1 minute and 13 seconds of the first round. This fight will most likely be the one-sided beating of a one time hot prospect, and doesn’t give this card any more credence as a favor to the fans.
Super middleweight, Sakio Bika, 28-3-2, 19 KO’s, sees action as he takes on the undefeated Jean Paul Mendy, 28-0-1, 18 KO’s. Bika has no issue beating B level guys, but cannot get the nod over the A listers. He lost to both Joe Calzaghe and Lucian Bute, but is still one of the top fighters in the 168 pound level and should have a field day with Mendy, an unproven and unremarkable super middleweight.
Daniel Jacobs, 20-0, 17 KO’s, will be going for the vacant WBO Middleweight Title against Dmitry Pirog, 16-0, 13 KO’s. Jacob’s biggest win was a decision win over Ishe Smith, with Pirog has yet to face and beat anyone that is incredibly recognizable. It must be noted though that Pirog has been put in very tough and will be a huge test for Jacobs. This is a decent fight, but we have two relative unknowns going for a title. Does it increase the value of the PPV? Does it make it more likely that you would purchase it?
Rounding out the pay per view is Joel Casamayor, 37-4-1, 22 KO’s, taking on Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, 26-1-1, 18 KO’s. On paper, this is not a bad match up. We have one guy on the way up in Guerrero, a crowd-pleasing fighter with power and a great story, and Casmayor, a former champion that wants to return to the limelight. The issue with this fight is that there is a high possibility that it will end on a cut. Casamayor is a dirty fighter and like Evander Holyfield, will use his head intentionally. Guerrero cuts. It looks like a technical decision or no contest to me.
When GBP say that they are losing money, they most likely will because this fight card, although better than their others, still isn’t worth the price tag. If they wanted to do the fans a favor, they should have put this on network TV. I’m sure ABC would have jumped at it. Realistically, this is a dupe. They can pay Marquez and Diaz less because the main event isn’t great, and then trickle down the money to get a better undercard. This card, overall, is in the vicinity of mediocre, but it’s great compared to the garbage that they usually present. I would not rent this pay per view. It is still a rip off.