The PPV rematch of the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz card of course took place last night. Marquez repeated a winning performance, while the rest of the evening was also action packed. Robert Guerrero got a big win over Joel Casamayor, prospect Danny Jacobs was upset, and much more. Here are what the fighters and promoters had to say after the contest.
JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ
“I am willing to fight anybody. I am proud of my performance. Juan Diaz is a tremendous fighter. He came with a different game plan. Whatever is in store for me next, I will train hard and come to fight.
“In the first fight, Juan Diaz came forward. He pressed the fight. He was aggressive. Diaz was thinking more this time. He boxed more. The fight was a bit more technical, and I am happy with my performance.
“One of the [next] challenges is to move up to 140 and become the first Mexican fighter in boxing history to win four titles in four divisions.
“Age doesn’t matter, when you prepare yourself the way I do, age doesn’t matter.”
JUAN DIAZ
“It really touched my heart that so many people care about me as a person and boxer.
“Tonight was not my night. Juan Manuel Marquez is a great fighter. He is a future Hall of Famer and it was an honor to be in the ring with him again.
“I had a plan to beat him, and he came well prepared.
“I’m smart enough to know that you win some you lose some. Now I am going to go home and take a long break. I trained for 11 weeks and I gave it my all. I thought I was going to come in here and win, but oh well…that’s life.
“I’m not sure what’s next, I have to look at my options. I know for sure I have to take the dang LSAT on October 7. That is a given. As far as boxing, I have to sit with my family and Willie [Savannah] who is like my father and consider my options.”
ROBERT GUERRERO
“This was my first fight at 140 pounds. I am planning on going back to 135.
“You never want to attack a crafty guy when he is hurt. You have seen previous fights with Casamayor when he has knocked guys out when he was hurt.
“I did what I had to do to win the fight. Hopefully at 135, I can get a fight with Marquez and get myself in line to win the world championship.”
DMITRY PIROG
“I want to thank Oscar de la Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions for the opportunity. We enjoyed it. We have been here for a week and it has been great.
“I enjoyed the fight with Daniel Jacobs. I want to say thank you to Danny for coming and fighting with me. He really did come at me which made it a great fight. I hope everyone enjoyed the fight and I look forward to more great things.
“I want to give more fights to the fans because I enjoy a fight when the fans enjoy it, and I hope I can keep doing it more.”
JORGE LINARES
“I gave a great performance. Rocky is a great fighter. I will be back better than ever, stronger than ever. I want to come back to Las Vegas and fight again.”
ROCKY JUAREZ
“Tonight was a big opportunity for me to put myself back in line for another world title and I blew it. I didn’t fight the fight that I trained for. Linares fought a great fight, a smart fight.
“I was never out of the fight. I kept trying and I wish I had won this fight. I will continue my career until I win a world title. I know this fight takes me back a couple steps. I am a fighter who never quits and always trains hard. I need to get myself back in there and get back in line for another world title.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA
“We had a great night of boxing. “We saw some future world champions and we obviously saw a great legend in Juan Manuel Marquez. Juan Diaz came to fight. He came with a different strategy. Diaz has so much heart and can go in there with the best.
“This card was a great card. We feel very proud of the card. We are going to continue to make great fights happen.”
RICHARD SCHAEFER
“I think we need to consider everyone on this card a winner.
“Danny Jacobs is 23 years young and still has a lot to learn.
“The biggest winners here are Robert Guerrero and his wife Casey for being here and Casey being healthy.
“Juan Diaz will always be a winner because he puts in his heart and soul in everything he does and we will always be proud of him.”
