No, the upcoming rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz does not belong on pay-per-view. Two fighters whose cumulative record is 1-2 since their first match should not charge extra for a second go. And no, this fight does not belong in Las Vegas. Chilango versus Houstonian, surely, has more appropriate host cities.
There, that takes care of the disclaimer. In keeping with the sprit of this long weekend, in fact, let’s call what’s above a Preamble. Now for the salvaging.
On July 31, Marquez and Diaz will fight for Marquez’s WBA, WBO and Ring magazine lightweight titles at Mandalay Bay. It will be the first fight for Marquez since his 10-unanimous-rounds-to-none loss to Floyd Mayweather in September. It will be the first fight for Diaz since his one-sided loss to Paulie Malignaggi in December.
It will also be a rematch of 2009’s Fight of the Year. That lends the match a distinction its combatants’ recent showings cannot sully. Yes, Marquez was foolish to make the mercenary’s choice and take that high-paying fight with that high-weighing superstar. And yes, Diaz was nobly foolish to grant Yankee Fan an immediate rematch on neutral ground. But there we are.
Where we also might consider being in four Saturdays is Las Vegas. Marquez-Diaz I really was that good – especially if you were in Houston’s Toyota Center to see it.
I was in Houston 16 months ago. That’s why I’ll be in Las Vegas later this month – to honor the combatants and see if they can do it again.
A doubtful proposition. After all, there was a reason Diaz began the post-fight press conference by assuring his mother he was OK. There was a reason Marquez called-out Mayweather – aside from Manny Pacquiao’s not wanting a rubber match. It was because none of us who sat in that Toyota Center conference room hankered for Marquez-Diaz II.
The fight was excellent. Sensational, actually. But it left few questions unanswered. Act One saw Diaz apply great pressure, assaulting Marquez’s vanity with the rude force of his youth. Act Two saw Marquez change from veteran boxer to hot-blooded finisher. The fight’s arc resembled that of Margarito-Cotto, but with a more decisive ending and no later allegations of foul play. Its decisive ending also saw Marquez set a new standard in right uppercuts.
You had another chance to see that right uppercut, Friday night, when Golden Boy Promotions replayed Marquez-Diaz I in something of a Telefutura infomercial on its weekly “Solo Boxeo” program. The purpose of that 90-minute program was to promote “Marquez-Diaz 2” of course. But Golden Boy Promotions deserves credit for another thing it did, and has been doing: Easing Israel Vazquez into retirement.
For the third week in a row, Vazquez was a major part of the Telefutura broadcast. You hope he enjoys his time in front of the camera enough not to return to the ring. Looking at his face and listening to his speech gives you the impression that if a pending retirement comes in time for Izzy, it will be just barely.
But Golden Boy Promotions also has a different kind of infomercial it routinely does that is less creditable. That would be the emphasis it places on sponsors in conference calls and press conferences – ostensibly media events. This has never felt right for reasons that couldn’t quite be identified.
Until the opening part of last week’s conference call when CEO Richard Schaefer recognized Cerveza Tecate, AT&T and NCM Fathom. It sounded exactly like a Wall Street earnings call – that quarterly tradition in which an executive tells analysts why others should invest in his company.
Which is where the incongruity sets in. Golden Boy Promotions is not a publicly traded company; no one on these calls or at these press conferences is a potential investor. It’s akin to a Hollywood studio inviting critics to a movie screening and then discussing concession sales. It seems to miss the point of American journalism.
We’ve gone along with it for years as part of our advocacy for a thing Top Rank’s Todd DuBoef recently called “brand of boxing” in an interview with Thomas Hauser. We want the sport to succeed. We were ecstatic when we thought corporate sponsorships would somehow lead to mainstream interest. That hasn’t happened. Instead, these sponsorships are but another way to help millionaires get richer.
Which is fine. It’s part of the system formerly known as democratic capitalism. But it is not news, and it should not be treated as such. Journalism is not public relations.
Got it? Good. Now let me don my PR cap.
Las Vegas needs your help. No city has felt the depredating effects of the Great Recession more. It looked desperate, starving even, last November. And since then, there’s nary a report of its having improved.
Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz, too, could use your help. Both need to strike their most recent fights from folks’ memories. They promise to make a compelling match – master boxer-finisher against young volume puncher – any time they share a ring.
And the brand of boxing? It should be championed. Supporting a city that has been an important part of that brand is an admirable thing to do. But the best reason to attend Marquez-Diaz II is this: We cannot allow our sport to be held hostage by a fight unlikely to happen.
We must celebrate the fights we have and the fighters who make them. There’s no need to waste words or time on others. No need to waste them on sponsors, either.
See you in Las Vegas.
Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry
Photo by Gene Blevins/Hogan Photos
