I’ll be straight with you. I did not watch the unnecessary pay-per-view rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz last night. 
Thanks to Kevin Iole’s tweets, I followed the fight through his lens. And as I predicted, Marquez dominated their return match. He did everything but knock Diaz out.
So what’s next for Juan Manuel Marquez in the wake of his bounce-back win against Juan Diaz?
Since Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have had a harder time settling on a date than Oprah and Stedman, it only seems natural that Marquez would be the ideal replacement. Just to be clear, he’d be best suited as Pacquiao’s next opponent. We have already seen how the Mayweather-Marquez scenario plays out and that particular sequel would not be welcomed.
One could argue that Juan Manuel Marquez has always been Manny Pacquiao’s most ideal opponent from a matchmaking standpoint. One, they have a history of very close, entertaining fights. Two, both men have the ability to draw thousands of Filipino (Pacquiao) and Mexican (Marquez) fans and high-rollers, to Las Vegas, Nevada.
And three, it’s a fight, outside of Mayweather-Pacquiao, that the boxing public would actually buy as a legitimate superfight.
Memo to Bob Arum: Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III qualifies as a superfight, not Pacquiao-Margarito.
Earth to Ja Dawson: Get real!
Ja Dawson to earth: Isn’t it OK to be able to dream a little?
Today’s post is dedicated in loving memory of James B. Dawson.
Hey Ja, who is your pick for this weeks barn burner – Cloud or Johnson??
@Bob I am smelling a Glen Johnson upset victory.
Seems like the Road warrior has many experts onside for this one. Am really looking forwards to the fight…Cloud looked ripped and ready in the weigh in!
wow what a fight. juan manuel just happens to have the pacman’s number. from his “fire off your shot’ style to “i can’t lose cuz i’m a mexican” delusional mindset, juan manuel is the opponent born for sir manny. the tough thing about the aforementioned is that manny is at least twice the fighter he was at their two outings and juan manuel is only older. although it would be an entertaining fight to watch for us fight fans (and the mexican populous), i’m sure it’s a pacman victory all the way.
@Bob, Sorry for the late reply, I was out of pocket for a minute but I’m back now. I erred on the Johnson upset prediction. Cloud looked pretty solid but Johnson didn’t look too bad either. Props to Tavoris. However, I think he loses to Chad Dawson, should they meet.
@jabbo I’d favor Pac Man too BUT think it’d be one helluva fight (as it always is).
Ja, thanks for the reply…do you still think Bad Chad beats Cloud, since the weekends upset in Canada? Maybe its me…but Dawson looks chinny! And Cloud will test that chin
@Bob Styles make fights, and I think that Cloud’s plodding, come-forward style will play right into Dawson’s longer, quicker counter-punching hands. That stated, I tend to agree. It has always seemed to me that Dawson doesn’t really trust his chin and utilizes his natural assets of height, reach and quickness to protect it. He was buzzed/dropped against Harding, Adamek, and Johnson in their first fight, and has fought much more defensive since. It has served him well, in that it’s allowed him to win fights based on his core assets that I already mentioned, but it’s also made his fights increasingly boring, and as we saw this past weekend, potentially more competitive when he fights a young, spry guy like Pascal. I think in some of these upcoming fights, he may have to take a few more chances in order to 1) become a more exciting draw and 2) bring more pain on his increasingly emboldened foes. Just not sure being more aggressive against Cloud is the smartest idea…I’d save that for the Pascal rematch. =)
i agree. Although it will be a fantastic fight, i certainly anticipate a pac man win.@Ja Dawson:
@jabbo I tend to agree. The question: would Pac Man stop him or not?