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The February 2009 fight between world lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and former three-body lightweight titleholder Juan Diaz was a slugfest, a bloody war, and a great fight. It was so great that it was almost unanimously hailed as the 2009 Fight of the Year, winning the prestigious award from The Ring, and also topping our list of the best fights of 2009. The two men left it all in the ring, and after a fast start by Diaz, the veteran Marquez stormed back with harder blows; bloodying, flooring, and eventually stopping Diaz in the ninth round on HBO World Championship Boxing.

This Saturday night, they go to battle once again. Though this fight is a pay-per-view broadcast, it would be a lie to say that either man is at his hottest right now. Both Marquez and Diaz are coming off of pretty wide losses, as Marquez was shut out in a move to welterweight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September, a jump up that was ill-advised for everything except Marquez's bank account. And Juan Diaz, after narrowly beating Paulie Malignaggi in disputed fashion in his hometown of Houston, was beaten pretty soundly by Malignaggi on the neutral grounds of Chicago in December.

Diaz, a weathered 26, has lost three of his last five and many will argue it should be four of his last five. Marquez, who turns 37 next month, hasn't been in the ring in 10 months. He has been inactive that long just one time before in his career. After beating Victor Polo in May 2005, Marquez fought next in March 2006 against Chris John, and lost.

I find this fight a lot more interesting than some might. Like basically everyone on earth, I do believe Marquez will win. I'm not going to hide that until the end, so if you're looking just for the pick, there it is. But there are a lot of things I want to look for on Saturday night, too.

Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO, World Lightweight Champion)

Marquez is nearing the end of a career that should put him right into the Hall of Fame. Since Manny Pacquiao became Manny Pacquiao some years ago, he has been by far the toughest test of the Filipino icon's own Hall of Fame career, drawing Pacquiao in 2004 and losing a razor-thin, could've-gone-either-way split decision in 2008.

But in a lot of ways, that 2008 rematch with Pacquiao seems like a lifetime ago. Some of Floyd Mayweather's biggest supporters like to complain about "excuses," one of them being that Marquez was well over his best weight. My argument does not begin at welterweight being too high for Marquez. Frankly, he's really pushing it at 135, where he has gone 2-0 in a couple of fantastic fights, but there's been an obvious difference between the lightweight Marquez and the featherweight/super featherweight version of JMM. He's not as fast with his hands as he used to be, part of which is weight, probably more of which is just his age. He seems slower afoot, which I definitely blame more on the weight than I do his ticking clock.

But yes, a lot of it is age, another thing many of us brought up before, during, and after the awful loss to Mayweather. And that can be most clearly seen in Marquez's reflexes. He is, more or less, a blood-and-guts warrior at this stage of his career. His defense has greatly eroded over time. Some of that is a stylistic change. Marquez was once upon a time a pure counter-puncher with pretty solid defense, and now he's a guy willing to take a bunch to give plenty back. Five or six years ago you probably never could have convinced anyone that this guy would become one of the best go-to action fighters in the world, but that's what he is.

Because of that change over time, Mayweather was able to eat him alive. Floyd is a bigger man and Marquez was too old and all that, but if you could take each man at their best and stick them at 130 or 135 pounds, you'd have the same result. Marquez the counter-puncher would have had to become more aggressive, and Mayweather preys on aggression. Marquez the aggressive fighter was no match for Floyd.

Prior to that, however, he was able to eventually wear out Joel Casamayor, who is no easy task, and then eventually beat down Juan Diaz. Diaz started the fight very hot, winning the early rounds. But if you were watching closely, you could see Marquez getting in terrific work in return. Yes, the "Baby Bull" was winning the rounds, but Marquez was racking up more points on the ol' damage meter. His counter shots were harder than what Diaz could bring to the table, and eventually that led to Diaz being knocked out.

What I want to see Saturday is what Marquez has left in the tank. Has his power started to slip? Will moving back down to 135 bother him at all? Has his speed left him even more? Has his defense continued to slip? Will the years and years of tough battles finally start catching up with him in a fight that isn't an obvious mismatch like the Floyd farce?

Marquez is a great fighter. I would still rank him in the top five pound-for-pound in the sport, maybe even as high as number three. Saturday will tell us more about where he really stands among the current crop of fighters. If he looks shaky, his stock will fall some more, whether you still highly regard him (as I do), or whether you already feel he's sliding rapidly down the other side of the hill.

Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO)

I like Juan Diaz. He is, for the most part, just a nice, humble kid, smart enough to know that there has to be life after boxing. He is, last I knew, currently in law school, and I believe he's invested in real estate, as well. And that's all great, until we start talking about what goes on in the ring.

In the ring, his nice story means nothing. Juan Diaz is not a fighter in the same way that Juan Manuel Marquez is a fighter. Marquez fights because it's what he does. I don't mean to say that Juan Diaz is not a dedicated professional, or that there's anything truly wrong with what he does, but Juan Diaz has prospects that have nothing to do with boxing. He has "an out," if you will. I'm not saying he's looking for it, but Juan Diaz's entire life is not tied to his boxing career in the way that Marquez's life is. This is what Marquez does. This is one thing that Diaz does.

Let me put it this way, and it's an old adage sort of deal that many people have used over time. If you give me two guys who have basically the exact same level of ability, but one of them is going to lose everything if he doesn't win the fight, and the other guy isn't, I'm probably betting on the guy who's going to lose everything if he doesn't win. I'm not saying that guy always wins, I'm saying I'd generally bet on him.

That's not quite the case here, though. Diaz is not equal to Marquez. He's not as good. Diaz is a good fighter who probably got a little bit overrated by many of us (and I include myself) before his loss to Nate Campbell, as he was clearing out what wasn't much of a lightweight division. If you look back at his best wins, they haven't aged that well. Popo Freitas never fought again and clearly did not have the heart to go through Diaz's pressure that night. Freitas quit in the corner and did so without much worry -- he was celebrating his career with his team moments later with a smile on his face. Julio Diaz has been very rocky since losing to Juan. And Jose Miguel Cotto has really done nothing in the four years since losing to Juan Diaz, to the point that it was almost surprising to many that he was still fighting when he turned up to face Saul Alvarez in May.

The bottom line for Diaz, purely as a fighter in the ring, is simple for me: he has a habit of wilting when the other guys fight back. He wilted against Campbell when he was cut, though his hideous cutman was partially to blame, too. He got cut against Marquez, was being battered, and was out shortly after the blood came and after it was clear he was being hurt. Paul Malignaggi frustrated him horribly in their second fight to the point that it looked like Diaz had all but decided it wasn't worth the effort by the later rounds. And for the record, I've never see Diaz look worse than he did in his last fight, one fight removed from a spirited effort in the first bout with Paulie.

In Diaz's case, I'm looking to see if he, ten years younger than Marquez, might not be closer to the end of his career than his elder opponent is to the end of his career. Like I said, Diaz has other things he wants to do in life, many other goals, things he's got planned for a post-boxing life, things he's already more than set in motion for a post-boxing life. He isn't the type of guy you can say eats, sleeps and breathes boxing. Juan Manuel Marquez is that type of guy.

I'm also interested to see if Diaz is coming in with a gameplan that might see him switch up what he does. Diaz's entire career success has been built on pressure, pressure, pressure, and he's a damn good pressure fighter. But we've already seen Marquez essentially walk through his pressure and knock him out. Diaz is not a strong enough puncher to get Marquez in serious trouble. Marquez has battled through 24 rounds with Manny Pacquiao, going down four times but never being close to stopped. Even if Marquez's age shows, I don't think Diaz can really hurt him.

So will Diaz try something different, or is he just coming to fight his fight, and throw a prayer into the wind?

I do understand the folks who don't think this is a suitable major PPV headliner. But I'm thoroughly intrigued by finding out what each of these guys has to offer on Saturday. The main event guarantees a better fight than any other recent major pay-per-view (Mayweather-Mosley, Pacquiao-Clottey and Jones-Hopkins II this year have been wretched), and will probably be a better fight than any other major PPV that will come out of boxing in 2010.

And we will be here on Saturday night with live, round-by-round coverage and scoring, plus immediate post-fight analysis of every bout on the bill. We'll even be covering the off-TV undercard, which will air on RingTV.com. If you're going to order, then come on by and talk some fights with us, live as they air. If you're not going to order, I promise you you will not find a better round-by-round coverage online, so join us to get the fastest coverage that you can get without ordering the PPV.

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This Saturday night's pay-per-view undercard for the rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz is a good one. If you're going to spend money on one boxing pay-per-view for the rest of 2010, make it this card. I understand criticisms that perhaps Marquez-Diaz II shouldn't be a headlining bout on pay-per-view, but the fact of the matter is, it's a rematch of the 2009 Fight of the Year, and Golden Boy Promotions has stacked the undercard with meaningful, interesting fights across the board -- even fights that won't air on television (which can be viewed on The Ring's web site).

Junior Welterweights: Robert Guerrero v. Joel Casamayor

In trying to sell this fight in a media call, promoter Oscar de la Hoya telephoned in his flashiest smile and offered, "Yes, (Casamayor) is 38 years of age, but 38 years young."

If anyone saw Joel Casamayor fight last November, it could be tough to tell them that Casamayor is 38 years young. That night, the former lightweight champ (and one of the best and most overlooked fighters of his generation) took on a club fighter named Jason Davis and had some struggles. He was fighting at 140, which is over his best weight, and yes, he looked old. He looked flat-out old.

But Casamayor might well have been on auto-pilot that night, too. This will be the fight where we find out what he has left. Former 126- and 130-pound titlist Robert Guerrero continues to move up in weight, and now he gets a crack at a big name on a big show. Guerrero (26-1-1, 18 KO) and Casamayor (37-4-1, 22 KO) are meeting at a crossroads. Casamayor hasn't had a good win in over two years, when he stopped Michael Katsidis in a scorching fight. Later in 2008, he lost the lightweight crown in another terrific bout, against Juan Manuel Marquez. It was the first time Casamayor himself had ever been beaten inside the distance, but he was very competitive in that fight.

Guerrero, who is 27 years old, hasn't had a big fight in about a year. Last August, he battled Malcolm Klassen in a good bout, and came out victorious. But that was at 130 pounds. He returned in April against journeyman Roberto David Arrieta at 135 pounds, winning easily. It was thought that Guerrero would stay at 135 for a while, but a fight with Katsidis fell through, and this was the best fight Guerrero was going to get any time soon.

I like this fight because of the crossroads aspect, because you never know what to expect with Casamayor, who has a history of fighting up and down to his competition, and because Guerrero himself is a bit of a wild card. We've seen him look sensational (stopping Martin Honorio in one round, a KO-8 over Jason Litzau), and we've seen him look a little bit like he wasn't there (a two-round no-contest with Daud Yordan). Both are southpaws, and both are talented. Casamayor has been in the ring with some greats, and Guerrero has youth on his side.

Pick: I like Guerrero here...I think. This is not one I would advise you lay any money on, let's put it that way. If Guerrero is focused and sharp, and the weight doesn't bother him (he's still unproven over 130), I think his youth carries the day. But if he's off, and Casamayor really does have something left, this could be yet another notch in the veteran's belt. I'll go with Guerrero UD-10, but do so very cautiously.

Middleweights: Danny Jacobs v. Dmitry Pirog

Now this is what I'm talking about. This is a double prospect bout between two of the best young fighters in the 160-pound division, which is reeling at the current moment, but has a cavalry of good young fighters coming in the near future. One of these two is about to join the upper echelon of the class, and the other will go back to the drawing board a bit.

CompuBox compared Pirog to Antonio Margarito (calling him a "poor man's Margarito"), while our own Brickhaus commented that a comparison to 154-pound European champ Ryan Rhodes is more in order. Rhodes and Margarito are incredibly different, so Brick and CompuBox are going to meet in a parking lot with tire irons to settle this. Or everyone will just watch the fight. I side more with the Rhodes comparison -- Pirog is, as Brick said, better than Margarito's ever been on the defensive side of things.

Jacobs (20-0, 17 KO) has been very good but rarely thrilling on his climb up the ranks. The 23-year-old "Golden Child" out of Brooklyn hasn't had much by way of major steps up in class -- basically, outside of Ishe Smith, I think he'd have beaten everyone he's beaten so far if he'd fought them in his fifth pro fight, if that makes sense. Ishe, though, gave him some lessons in the ring. Smith was able to get into Jacobs' head and turn the fight a bit dirty and fiery, which benefited the veteran, because Jacobs' physical advantages were obvious.

Pirog (16-0, 13 KO) will be giving up a little bit of height against Jacobs. The Russian isn't as young as Jacobs is, as Pirog is already 30 years old, so this is kind of a now-or-never sort of matchup for him. Pirog had been in talks to face Matthew Macklin at one point recently, but that didn't come about, and he's now showing a desire to get himself in the race at 160 by taking on Jacobs.

One thing I found interesting was how elated that Jacobs was to get this fight for a vacant alphabet strap at 160, but also his realism about the situation when he discussed the bout at first:

"I know they'll call me a paper champion when I win," Jacobs said. "But look at it from the other standpoint -- anyone in my position, they wouldn't decline it if offered. Believe me, if I had the opportunity to fight Sergio Martinez and win the title from him, I would want to do it that way. I would want to take the belt from him, but the opportunity hasn't been presented to me. This one was. I took it."

Pick: I like Pirog and Jacobs both. Pirog has fought more or less the same level of competition that Jacobs has, in my estimation, but I don't know if Pirog has fought someone as talented or as good as Jacobs already is. In fact, I'm almost totally certain he hasn't. Both guys are looking to make their names with this fight, and I hope that means both come to fight, instead of it winding up with two tentative guys who start getting trigger-shy on the biggest stage of their careers. I like the American to grab the strap. Jacobs UD-12

Lightweights: Jorge Linares v. Rocky Juarez

This is it for Rocky Juarez. Neither Juarez (28-6-1, 20 KO) nor Linares (28-1, 18 KO) has ever fought at 135 pounds before, but this bout will be at lightweight as Juarez continues to search for a division in which he might be able to win a belt, and Linares moves up in weight, looking to get back his status as one of the most promising young fighters out there.

Linares' lone loss came, of course, in October of last year, when he was shockingly stopped in the very first round against Juan Carlos Salgado in Japan. Without meaning to take anything away from Salgado, I firmly believe that was a first-rate fluke. Linares was caught cold, didn't handle getting hurt well, and left himself open to be stopped after being knocked down. It's one of those things that happens.

The good news for Linares is that Juarez doesn't start fighting until about the 10th round, so the first shouldn't worry him much on Saturday. Juarez, now 30, has been an incredibly frustrating fighter to follow throughout his pro career. Since he was upset by Humberto Soto in 2005, he's gone just 5-5-1, with his draw against Chris John in their first of two bouts being seen by most as a hometown gift in Houston. His best moment as a pro came when he nearly shocked the world against Marco Antonio Barrera in their first bout back in 2006, a fight where Juarez came in as a late substitute. Barrera soundly defeated him in the rematch, as did John in their second encounter.

In his last fight, Juarez, as usual, promised he was going to start faster, that he knew he couldn't wait around any longer as he has often been criticized for doing in his career. But he just stood and waited with Jason Litzau, a fighter with a subpar chin/defense combination who himself wasn't exactly out there lighting it up. Juarez wound up losing a technical decision after seven rounds.

That night, I wrote Juarez off as a possible serious contender. He's a talented fighter, and he's very powerful as a featherweight. But his bad habits have never been broken, and there's no good reason to think that's going to change now.

Pick: This will be the best win of Linares' career to date should he get it, and I think he will. I'd love to pick Rocky Juarez, who I've long been a fan of, but he just doesn't bring it, and after his last fight, I lean toward questioning how fully his heart is into boxing anymore. It could end earlier on cuts. Linares UD-10

A look at the off-TV fights after the jump.

Super Middleweights: Sakio Bika v. Jean Paul Mendy

Bika (28-3-2, 19 KO) is universally ranked in the top ten at super middleweight, but this is no easy fight for him. Mendy (28-0-1, 16 KO) has one blemish on his pro record, a 2007 draw with Anthony Hanshaw in the finals of what was sort of a precursor to Showtime's current Super Six, a 168-pound tournament with second-rate stars put together by Don King and Showtime. It flopped, to say the least.

Mendy is a Frenchman, but has spent some time fighting in the Carolinas, too, of all the places. He hasn't had a tough fight since Hanshaw, and at 36, it's probably just too late. Bika, 31, has been incredibly aggressive in recent wins over the likes of Peter Manfredo Jr. (where he totally Hulked out after what he felt was unfair officiating in Manfredo's backyard), Jaidon Codrington and others. Both guys have had tough times making good fights in recent years, and they're meeting for the right to take a crack at Lucian Bute. Bika lost to Bute back in 2007, and it was the last time he lost.

Pick: I like Bika big in this one. Bika TKO-5

Super Middleweights: George Groves v. Alfredo Contreras

Groves (9-0, 7 KO) is arguably -- I said "arguably" -- the best UK prospect going right now. Promoted by David Haye, the 22-year-old from Hammersmith fights hard and comes to knock guys out. Contreras (11-7-1, 5 KO) has no shot at winning this fight. It's a gimme to get Groves some U.S. exposure. With Golden Boy starving for a contender at 168, Groves could be a man on their list to get into the mix after the Super Six is over.

Heavyweights: Seth Mitchell v. Derek Bryant

"Mayhem" Mitchell (17-0-1, 11 KO) was a college football linebacker at Michigan State who turned to boxing in 2008. In addition to being a Spartan, which is bad enough, he credits former Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski for inspiring him to get into boxing. Mitchell wants me to like him as little as possible, I think.

At 6'2" and usually weighing around 240-245 pounds, Mitchell has some size, but nothing exceptional. He's also trucked through guys who, frankly, cannot fight. That's fine, too -- he's 28, but there's no big rush, and he's still learning boxing. He stopped Johnnie White in two rounds in his last bout, but White's 22-1 record coming in was a mirage. White's other loss was a TKO-1 to Dominick Guinn in 2009.

Bryant (20-5-1, 17 KO) is no superstar himself, but he can hit and he's a southpaw. At 39, Bryant made his pro debut back in 1998 and never really became a full-time boxer, but he's been through the battles. If Mitchell has any real promise, he'll win this fight. But don't be surprised if the powerful lefty ends his run.

Super Featherweights: David Rodela v. Juan Montiel

This is a nothing showcase fight for Rodela (15-3-2, 6 KO), an ex-sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao. Montiel (3-3-1, 1 KO) presents no danger or challenge to the 28-year-old Filipino, whose top pro accomplishment is an SD-8 over an incredibly faded Kevin Kelley in 2008.

Junior Welterweights: Frankie Gomez v. Ricardo Calazada

This will be a destruction, but if you don't know Frankie Gomez yet, it's time you got to know him. At 4-0 (4 KO), Gomez is probably Golden Boy's best current prospect overall, when you combine talent, future and potential impact. Gomez is one of those guys that promoters, managers and trainers can dream on.

Salido has been offered to HBO, and the network is considering the fight, says Bob Arum.

"We've suggested a replacement for Rojas and HBO is considering it. It's another champion, Orlando Salido," said Arum. "Salido is a really big puncher and a fellow champion and that makes for a really good fight."

Arum has dismissed the idea of Gamboa fighting 5'11" Celestino Caballero, who says he's ready, willing and able to jump into what would be the biggest fight of his career. Caballero has repeatedly called out Top Rank's two top featherweights, Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez, to no avail.

Arum says that Caballero, with his height and reach, is a special case and that it's too late in the game for Gamboa to get proper training in for him, and to be totally honest, I buy that. Caballero is unlike any other featherweight. Gamboa-Rojas was a very good fight on paper, and while Gamboa-Caballero would be phenomenal to get, it's hard to argue with Gamboa-Salido as a replacement. Salido (34-10-2, 22 KO) won the IBF title from Cristobal Cruz in May, and while he would be a massive underdog against someone as explosive and dynamic as Gamboa, it's about as good as you're going to get for a replacement fight at this stage in the game. No one should have expected Caballero to get in there now, though it can definitely be argued he should have already been there in the first place.

The crossroads fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz is the most compelling of story lines and on Saturday two men who once were among the elite will seek to regain that status by meeting a second time.

Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz produced a Fight of the Year candidate and those promoting it hope the stylistic magic is still there. Is it? The oddsmakers don't think so, making Marquez a 4-1 favorite. The CompuBox stats may provide a clue, as well as factors that may determine the result.

The first time around: Marquez's KO overshadowed what had been an extremely competitive fight through the first six. Marquez, who had averaged 50 punches per round in his previous three, went blow-for-blow and came out ahead over the first six as he went 192 of 517 to Diaz's 176 of 547. Moreover, Marquez out-landed Diaz 128-122 in power shots and was more accurate (44 percent to 33).

The fight turned in the seventh as Marquez landed 65 percent of his power shots (20 of 31) to Diaz's 33 percent (17 of 52). Marquez went on to out-land Diaz 61-42 overall and 42-22 in power shots in the final two.

Diaz drew Marquez into his kind of fight (81 punches per round to Diaz's 87) but Marquez's more rounded skills prevailed. The results: Marquez out-landed Diaz 288-252, out-jabbed him 98-91 and out-powered him 190-161.

Recent form: Marquez's only fight since was a lopsided decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Marquez was reaching too far against a younger, faster, stronger, fresher and skilled natural welterweight and the huge gulf in numbers was telling. Mayweather landed 59 percent of his overall punches (290 of 493), jabs (185 of 316) and power shots (105 of 177). Meanwhile, Marquez landed 12 percent overall (69 of 583), seven percent of his jabs (21 of 288) and 16 percent of his power shots (48 of 295), a far cry from 35 percent (overall), 26 percent (jabs) and 41 percent (power) in 16 previous CompuBox-tracked fights.

Diaz has gone 1-1 since meeting Marquez, though most would argue he lost both fights to Paul Malignaggi. Diaz's struggles were two-fold: First, Malignaggi's mobility and activity prevented Diaz from finding his groove and second, Diaz's volume was nowhere near what it was in his prime.

Malignaggi out-threw Diaz by nearly 24 punches per round in two fights (72.9 to 49.1) and out-performed him in total power connects (199-147 in two fights). In 14 CompuBox tracked fights Diaz averaged nearly 20 more punches per round (68.4).

COMPUBOX ANALYSIS

Diaz without volume is like pizza without tomato sauce - bland and difficult to stomach. To win, Diaz must crank it up and defend better. Diaz was cut badly over the left eye in the Malignaggi rematch and in his loss to Campbell. His right eye was cut in the first Marquez fight.

Prediction: The nearly 37-year-old Marquez appears to have more left than his 26-year-old rival. For Marquez, the Mayweather fight was the result of "Money's" talent rather than his own slippage and he will find Diaz's aggression more to his liking. Also, the fight will be at a more agreeable 135 pounds. Just like the first time there will be action, there will be blood and Marquez will come out the winner.

DANNY JACOBS vs. DMITRY PIROG

Jacobs (20-0, 17 KO) is favored to capture the vacant WBO middleweight title against Russian Dmitry Pirog (16-0, 13 KO), but whatever the result the numbers indicate an exciting and explosive contest.

Despite their KO ratios both bank on volume. When forced to go longer rounds (against George Walton and Ishe Smith), Jacobs unleashed 90.7 punches per round and landed 42 percent of his 46.6 power shots each round. He limited Walton and Smith to 42.3 punches per round.

When Jacobs is in KO mode, as he was against Victor Lares and Tyrone Watson, 62.5 percent of his 67.3 punches per round were power shots as opposed to the balanced ratio against Walton and Smith (51-49 in favor of power).

Pirog is a poor-man's Antonio Margarito in that he wears opponents down with volume rather than force. Pirog thrives against aggressors as he averaged 95.3 punches per round against Kofi Jantuah and 101.7 against Sergei Melis, landing a combined 39.4 percent of his power shots to his foes' 20.8. But against mobile survivor Eric Mitchell, his output dropped to 63.2 and he landed just 26 percent of his power shots to Mitchell's 29. Therefore, versatility may be key for Jacobs.

Prediction: Pirog is making a quantum leap up in competition and he'll pay the price. Jacobs has superior size and talent and it appears he's back in the KO groove as his last two fights have ended early. Expect a repeat here.

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Juan Manuel Marquez or Diaz? The Experts Weigh In (FanHouse)
As you'd expect, everyone -- and I mean everyone -- is picking Marquez to win. Spoiler: I'm picking Marquez to win, and our preview goes up on Thursday.

Marquez gets Diaz, stalks Pacquiao for another fight (MiamiHerald.com)
When Juan Manuel Marquez is 50 years old, he's probably going to still be calling out Manny Pacquiao. Marquez also offers some thoughts on Saturday's rematch with Juan Diaz and his blowout loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year.

Hatton renews boxing licence (Yahoo! Eurosport)
He's not saying he'll fight again (and he's not saying he won't), but Ricky Hatton did renew his boxing license with the BBBofC.

James Toney-Randy Couture bout pits boxing purists vs. MMA (Cleveland.com)
(Note: None of the following is truly directed toward Chuck Yarborough's Plain-Dealer article. Chuck's article is balanced, fair, and well-done.)

The mighty boxing fists of boxer boxing boxer James Toney will crush Randy Couture's orbital bone, according to Bob Arum, but if Couture gets it on the ground where they're rolling around like a couple of (expletives), then the weakling MMA fighter will win in his bulls**t sport. I think that about covers it, anyway. Have I covered enough how much I hate these idiotic discussions? There are people in boxing who are lamenting James Toney's gross disadvantage, fearing it will somehow damage the credibility of the sweet science, but the last time I checked, James Toney couldn't get any useful fights in the boxing game. And nobody put a gun to his head chasing him into mixed martial arts, either. James Toney is going to UFC 118 on his own accord, and by all accounts he's worked hard in training. I say wish both of these long-time stars, who are BOTH very faded versions of themselves at this point, all the best of luck, hope no one gets hurt, hope it's a good fight, and move on. Couture beating Toney isn't going to mean anything more than if Toney beat Couture in a boxing match. This fight is a freakshow attraction, albeit one with men who legitimately have reigned at the top of their sport in the past and not someone like Giant Silva or Jose Canseco. Ask Dana White, he'll tell you. There should be little stock put into this besides the intrigue of seeing a couple of name fighters try one another on for size and see what's what. For the fighters, it's competition between a couple of proud guys. That's it. I doubt Randy Couture is going to win this fight and shout, "Take that, boxing, ya buncha (expletives)!" And if Toney wins, good for him, he probably got himself another good payday. I mean Jesus Christ, already.

Leonard: Pacman will crush Margarito (The Philippine Star)
Sugar Ray Leonard says Manny Pacquiao will dominate Antonio Margarito, and Freddie Roach is calling the knockout.

Ghost eyes 'biggest fight of career' (HollisterFreeLance.com)
Robert Guerrero gets some of the best local coverage in boxing, along with fellow "Ghost" Kelly Pavlik. So my advice to young fighters out there is nickname yourself "Ghost" for any reason you can think of (being pale is a good place to start, then you can lie and say it's because you're so tough to hit) and be from a place where there isn't much else going on sports-wise, like Youngstown, Ohio or Gilroy, California.

Lopez-Marquez Quick Quotes (Fightnews.com)
Fightnews.com has some photos from the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez presser.

Ishe Smith on The Guerrero Loss, Moving Back To 154 (BoxingScene.com)
Ishe Smith has never been one to hide his feelings, and this latest interview with Ryan Burton of BoxingScene.com is no exception. Smith credits Fernando Guerrero for fighting well in their ShoBox bout earlier this month, but says he felt the refereeing and judging was poor, and criticizes Guerrero's promoter Brian Young, too.

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Today, Ted Sares is back to look at the career of Corrie Sanders, best remembered for fighting both Klitschko brothers and knocking out Wladimir.

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Yes, it would be nice to fight him [Wladimir] again. I do not know why he never wanted a rematch.

--Corrie Sanders

...[Wladimir Klitschko] came into the ring with no bounce, no warm-up, almost flat. Like he took the fight for granted, that he'd definitely beat the guy. But Corrie Sanders can punch with anyone for the first three rounds."

--Freddie Roach

I have always had an affinity for South African boxers. It has to do with their innate warrior proclivities combined with great technique learned by fighting in the U.K. during apartheid. The result is a atomic cocktail that provides uncommon entertainment.

Many of my favorite South Africans are featured in my new book Planet Boxing in a Chapter titled, "On Freedom Highway in South Africa." One, whose career mostly came after Apartheid, was Corrie "The Sniper" Sanders (he real name was Cornelius Johannes Sanders) whose career started with a first round wipe-out of "King Kong" Dyubele on April 2, 1989. In his 24th bout, on May 21, 1994, he suffered his first defeat, at the hands of Nate Tubbs.via a stunning second-round one-punch knockout. That win defined Tubb's less-than-stellar career. Sanders regrouped well and won his next 13, 10 by stoppage.

Seldom in a dull fight, the 6'4" "Sniper" had great hand speed which generated heavy pop in his punches. But he was also somewhat vulnerable (he also had issues with training) and this added to the excitement of his bouts. This was best illustrated when he was stopped by an aroused Hasim Rahman in a 2000 bout that he was winning. He was defending the little-regarded WBU heavyweight crown which he had won by beating Ross Purrity in 1947.

The Big One

After fighting just once each in 2001 and 2002, he was matched with Wladimir Klitschko (then 40-1). Curiously, Kitscho's one loss was to the same Ross Purrity. The fight was held in Hannover, Germany with the WBO title at stake, and few boxing people gave "The Sniper" any chance to shoot down Dr. Steelhammer. But the South African southpaw, who was equally adept at golf or boxing, demolished the champion over two rounds. Sanders, always a fast starter, floored and badly hurt the woefully unprepared Klitschko at the 2.37 mark with a short but well leveraged left. He then decked him again toward the end of the round. The Ukrainian was hurt and showed it coming out for the second stanza. Sanders jumped on him flooring him early with a left to the chin straight done the pike. He then finished him off with a flurry that forced referee Genaro Rodriguez to stop the slaughter at the 0.27 mark.

Redemption for the Klitschkos

A little over a year later, Sanders fought Wlad's brother Vitali "Dr. Ironfist" Klitschko at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in a battle for brotherly redemption. After a solid start in which he rocked Vitali, Sanders was brutally battered and finally stopped in the 8th round. Though the South African showed tremendous heart, the bigger Klitschko was simply too strong.

After starching Russian Alexey "Thunder" Varakin (21-13-3), Sanders retired from boxing in late 2004, but made the usual ill-advised comeback--is there any other kind? Reportedly, this one was triggered by financial woes. He stopped none other than "Kid Coalminer," Australian Colin Wilson (32-18) in two rounds in November 2006, and then won a gritty 10-round decision over Brazilian Daniel Bispo (19-6) in May 2007, gritty because Sanders badly injured his left hand in round one requiring him to fight one-handed for the remaining nine rounds.

"Big Daddy"

When he fought the South African champion, Osborne "Big Daddy" Machimana (14-5-1), in February 2008, Corrie had ballooned to 248 pounds but still had fast hands and still could punch. "Big Daddy "had gone up against many top level opponents, and was also dangerous and well regarded in many boxing circles. But he had issues with motivation and self-confidence. Corrie was the solid favorite but Machimana was a "live" underdog. The fight was held at the Emperor's Palace in Gauteng, South Africa, the town in which Corrie was born, giving him the hometown advantage.

The End

During most of the first round, the 42 year old Sanders gave his hometown crowd a sampling of his old hand speed as he went upstairs with a left hook and followed this up with a blithering shot to Big Daddy's big side. Showing confidence, he repeated variations of this upstairs-downstairs combination for over two minutes, but Big Daddy was showing big resilience, though he wasn't answering with anything. Then, with about 2.10 into the round, Machimana came alive and threw his own shots to Corrie's soft underbelly. After a furious exchange, a body shot hit Corries'sweet spot on the left side and the once rugged heavyweight went down to one knee and stayed down. As the announcer said, it was the end of the line for Corrie Sanders..

Corrie finished with a superb record of 42-4. During his career, he defeated such notables as Klitschko, Bert Cooper, Bobby Czyz, Carlos DeLeon, Alfred Cole, Johnny du Plooy, Art Card, Mike Evans, Johnny Nelson, James Pritchard, Olian Alexander, Ross Purrity, Anthony Wade, Otis Tisdale, Jorge Valdes, Levi Billups, and Mike Williams.

Other Heavyweights

Now South Africa had some very fine heavyweights including Gerrie Coetzee who won the WBA Heavyweight Title with a stunning tenth-round knockout of Michael Michael Dokes. Back in 1990, Johnny DuPlooy (who had an amazing amateur record of 196-4) fought fellow South African Pierre Coetzer in a bout billed as "Once and For All." It turned out to be a classic as Coetzer came back from a horrific first round beating to stop Johnny in the next round. Prior to that fight, however, DuPlooy upset highly touted Chicagoan Lee Roy Murphy in ten. Frans "The White Buffalo" Botha, who won his first 35 in a row, retired in 2002 but foolishly came back in 2007. His five career losses came at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, and Evander Holifield. A road warrior type, the "Buffalo" gained great respect in his losses to Tyson and Moorer when he displayed true courage and left nothing in the ring.

Still one stands out even if his end was an inglorious one. However, years from now, Corrie Sanders will not be remembered for the Machimana bout. No, his legacy will be all about what he did on March 8, 2003 over the course of 3 minutes and 27 furious seconds at the Preussag Arena in Hannover, Germany. And that has to count for one heck of a lot.