Marquez KOs Diaz in 9th Round

The action was non-stop and brutal with Diaz putting maximum pressure on Marquez who was rocked and wobbled in the early rounds. There was no doubt in the opening seconds that it would be a fight to the finish. If the heat wasn't enough in the first three rounds, it became unbearable in the fourth and blisetering in the fifth as both fighters delivered sharp and powerful combinations.

Diaz kept marching forward, rarely being forced backward. Marquez backed to the ropes and blasted away from there with short rights and body shots. Blood began to ooze from Marquez right eye in the 5th and the cut men worked to close it. Marquez' corner told him he was winning, winning by a very little.

In the sixth, Marquez went back to the ropes and Diaz worked at a pace only slightily slower than the buzz saw speed of the first 5 rounds. Blood began to flow from Marquez again in the sixth. Marquez showed small signs of weakening but punched like a madman, sometimes throwing three shots with the left hand, uppercuts and hooks, landing clean blows.

It was an even battle as Shields told his fighter, Diaz, not to ease up on the pressure, not to let Marquez rest. The corner worked on Marquez's bloody face. Marquez is tough as he fights off the ropes and idiot Lederman with his nasty voice tells the world that Diaz is up 2 rounds at the 7th. Which I thought was bullshit.

Marquez worked more in the center ring and landed hard combinations but Diaz pushed him to the ropes and fought like a modified Joe Frazier, body shots and hooks and straight punches, jabs mostly. There's no pressure like Diaz pressure and Diaz' back is dry, no sweat, and Maruquez has to be tired at the end of the round.

What's happening here is that both fighter are great, beyond great. This is going to come down to a contest of body and will and Diaz seems just a tad freshers. Marquez corner tells him to work in the middle of the ring, not the ropes--"you're beating him in the middle", they say.

In the next round Diaz is astill the bull moving forward, catching and cutting Diaz with uppercuts from both hands. Marquez works miracles with multiple lefts as Diaz surges in the 8th and Marquez pivots out of the corner and lands a piston left.

There's blood all over both faces, blood in the ring. It's a bullfight and a dogfight combined Marquez works the middle,rocks Diaza with lefts, left hooks, Diaz wobbles, stumbles, goes down. The bell rings with everybody going crazy and Diaz' face smeared with blood.



"Listen Juan...you're not moving your head," says Diaz corner. "Use your feints on him now. Dont stand in front of this man."

The replay shows Marquez landing big uppercuts and left hooks as Diaz staggers.

Marquez makes a mid-fight stand and now the announcers begin to talk of Marquez being the bigger puncher. This is a reversal out of nowhere, out of hell. Has Diaz lost his way in the 9th?

Diaz pushes Marquez into the corner. Diaz can't miss with the left jabs but Marquez suddenly explodes with a 4 punch combination that drops Diaz to the canvas . He gets up but Marquez moves in like a Matador trying to kill the beast. He's a finisher, stepping in with the certainty of an executioner, advancing on angles, landing the kill shots. Diaz is down, hard down, on the canvas barely moving. It's over, an unbelievable KO in an unbelievable fight.

I'm speechless. Viva Mexico! Unbelievable!