The Fight of the Year Rematch card is slated for this weekend, and it’s a stacked lineup from top to bottom. Of course, the main event is the rematch of last year’s slugfest between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz. Earlier today the two fighters participated in the final press conference before the bout. Here’s what each man and their teams had to say about the fight.
JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ
“Thank you for being here. I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions and HBO Sports for supporting me. Everyone knows Juan Diaz is a great fighter and I have prepared myself very hard for this fight. When people say ‘Why Juan Diaz again?’ I always want make the biggest fights and here you have two great fighters.
“I think this fight is going to be better than the first one because Juan Diaz is a great fighter and a great warrior and I am too. I like to fight. Everyone who knows me, knows I like landing so many punches.
“I want to dedicate this to all of my fans around the world, my family, my kids, my wife and the Mexican fans around the world. I have prepared very hard and I am ready.”
JUAN DIAZ
“I am glad to see everyone out here coming to support Juan Manuel Marquez and myself. I am very excited to be here.
“I came to Mandalay Bay 10 years ago for Vargas vs. Trinidad and I was out enjoying a great fight. Now I am here, and I am the main event. I am very excited and thankful to be here for this fight. I know it is a big and important fight and I am excited.
“The last two years of my boxing career have been a roller coaster ride. Starting with the Nate Campbell fight which was my first loss, then I beat Michael Katsidis, and then lost to Juan Manuel Marquez, then beat Paulie Malinaggi and then lost to him. It just makes sense that I am going to win this fight and I am going to keep winning from now on.
“During a lot of the interviews with the media, people have been ask about my heritage and nationality. Am I 50 percent this, 25 percent, 100 percent that? I don’t want to be any of that. I am 100 percent warrior. I fight for all of my fans whether it is Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, Blacks, Whites or Asians. I want to give everyone a great fight. I want to make all of the fans happy. I am going to give all of the ‘Baby Bull’ fans a great fight.
It is time for the new generation to step up and reign over the lightweight division.”
IGNACIO “NACHO” BERISTAIN, Marquez’s Trainer
“Juan Diaz was saying that he is a warrior. He is a great warrior. They call him the ‘Baby Bull’ for a reason and combine that with Juan Manuel Marquez and you will have a great fight.
“Golden Boy Promotions put together a great undercard and I think all of the fights are going to be good ones.
“Willie Savannah is a great trainer and a great manager. He has built great warriors and great fighters. He and I have known each other for many years and we have a very friendly rivalry.”
RONNIE SHIELDS, Diaz’s Trainer
“It’s a pleasure to be here. Juan is in great shape. For the first fight was definitely one of the best fights I have ever been involved in. Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the best fighters in the world. We went back to the drawing board and tweaked a few things that Marquez capitalized on in the first fight.
“This is going to be a great fight. When you have styles like Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez, you have one of the best fights you have ever seen in your life.”
WILLIE SAVHANNAH, Diaz’s Manager
“We have had a great, great training camp. I have been with Juan since he was eight years old. He has never been out of shape, but I have never seen him as in shape as he is for this fight. I think the public is going to see a boxing machine come Saturday night. The Mexican warrior is going to be out on Saturday night because that is who he is.”
“I want Juan to fight with a purpose. I heard the odds are three to one in favor of Juan Manuel. I am telling you to go out and bet your house on Diaz.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions
“Juan Diaz is a tremendous warrior, tremendous champion and a tremendous human being who believes he can beat Juan Manuel Marquez.
“Their first fight was an epic battle back and forth which is why the Boxing Writers Association of America chose their fight as the best fight of 2009.
“It is a different story now. It is 2010, Juan Diaz is a different fighter and Juan Manuel Marquez is a different fighter. They have more experience under the belts, more training under their belts. It is going to be an explosive fight.
“If you have never seen Juan Diaz fight, if you’ve never watched him on HBO, he is an exciting fighter. He knows how to please his public and his fans. He has a big heart, a tremendous heart. You can never count him out. You can never count out Juan Diaz. He can be down and out but he can get back up and win the fight.
“Juan Manuel Marquez ducks no one. He always comes forward and fights. He wants to give the crowd a great show.
“This card is so stacked, I asked Richard if he could make room for me. I can’t make weight it is too soon.
“We are in store for a great night of boxing from the first bell to the last.”
RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions
“Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz for the unified lightweight championship of the world is a great card. When we put this card together, the words high stakes, double or nothing, rolling the dice came to mind.”
