Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz II: Round By Round

The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is the site for a rematch of one of the most exciting fights of 2009, as we prepare for a second showdown between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz. After trading plenty of leather for eight rounds, Marquez emerged with a victory in the ninth thanks to a vicious uppercut.

Jim Lampley and Emanuel Steward are on hand to call the action, though the undercard hasn't been as compelling as it appeared on paper. Dmitry Pirog did put himself on the map in the co-feature, knocking out Daniel Jacobs to claim the WBO middleweight belt.

The tale of the tape shows that Marquez is 10 years older, though most experts think Diaz is more beat up at this point of his career. The two men are close in height and reach, and Diaz weighed in a pound a half more than Marquez.

Reyli Barba performs the national anthem of Mexico, followed by Angelica DiCastro and her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Diaz heads for the ring first, attempting to reverse his run of bad results that has seen him go 2-3 in his last five fights. For his career, the Baby Bull is 35-3 with 17 KOs.

The crowd perks up even more for Marquez as he makes his ring walk. He struggled mightily going up to welterweight in a lopsided loss to Floyd Mayweather, but he returns tonight to lightweight, where he is the reigning Ring Magazine, WBA and WBO titleholder. JMM holds a 50-5-1 record as a pro, with 37 of his wins coming by knockout.

Vic Drakulich is the referee for tonight's main event. Michael Buffer does his usual stellar introductions, and we are ready for a scheduled 12 rounds of action.

Round One

Both men test their jabs. JMM doubles up on left hooks. The crowd is really behind him. Marquez has been busier so far. Diaz gets off a nice left hook. Now they stand and trade with both men scoring. Marquez touches Diaz to the body. Left hook counter by Marquez is on the mark. Diaz snaps JMM's head back with a left hook amidst an exchange. Hard right hand by Diaz. Now another over the top.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Two

Swings and misses both ways. Left hooks fly in both directions. Marquez's hooks are sharper though. Diaz is reaching a bit, trying to find the range. Marquez looks like he can land the hook whenever he wants. Diaz fires a stiff jab. Left hook counter by Diaz, and another behind it. Both fighters land jabs. One-two crashes home for Diaz. Marquez goes back to his jab. Big swing and a miss by Diaz, who turned that into a close round.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Three

JMM steps in to try an uppercut. Diaz sticks and moves. He's trying to box, for sure. Marquez tries to unload to the body. Diaz blocks a series of punches to the head and body. Marquez eats a few upstairs as he tries to throw hooks. Two exchanges go slightly in favor of Diaz. Good left hook by Diaz is answered quickly. The Baby Bull sneaks in another left int he center of the ring, but Diaz gets tagged by a big two-shot combo in the closing seconds. Another close round.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Four

Marquez's face is swelling on the right side. He's getting hit by many left hooks. Diaz tries multiple jabs coming forward. Marquez misses with a flurry. He comes right back with an uppercut that wobbles Diaz. Now it's a big right from JMM. Diaz buys himself some time and covers up. He seems to have survived that scare. JMM blocks two left hooks. Marquez fires a left hook as Diaz tries to duck his way in.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Five

The replay didn't make that uppercut look quite as huge as it looked live. Both men go back to their jabs. Diaz lands three in a row. He's certainly attempting to be more defensively aware. Nice uppercut by Marquez amidst and exchange. He just misses a three-punch combo when Diaz ducks at the last second. Very low body shot by JMM. Both men connect with hooks, but Marquez was sharper. Right hand lead by Marquez. Good round for Diaz, but Marquez was just a bit better.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Six

Harold Lederman has JMM up 4-1 after five. Diaz tries to let both hands go and is quickly tied up. There's more wrestling as Diaz tries to get inside. Marquez uses multiple feints to try to set up punches. Diaz charges forward, landing two punches and eating a counter. Diaz spams the left hand and forces Marquez back. JMM just misses a mean right hand. Punches land both ways as they decide to stand still for a second. Marquez snaps Diaz's head back before the Baby Bull clinches.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Seven

Marquez fires off two left hooks right off the bat. He still looks a little low with some body shots. Diaz still mostly relying on his jabs. Left hooks lead to another clinch. Diaz goes to the body and holds on. Combinations from both men are mostly blocked. Marquez fires five punches to land one; Diaz connects with a left hand in response. Right hand by Marquez followed by a right hook. One-two by Diaz right before the bell.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Eight

It's probably not close on the cards, but some of the individual rounds are pretty tight. Diaz hooks to the body, then finds the target upstairs. Marquez really has some swelling near his right eye. Diaz fires a string of jabs. Left hooks land both ways int he center of the ring. Marquez tries a one-two to the head and a body shot. Another sharp jab by the Baby Bull. Marquez tries a flurry to open up his opponent's guard. Finally they stand and trade, with Marquez always looking just slightly better.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Nine

Ronnie Shields asked Diaz to step it up between rounds. He chases Marquez back to the corner but doesn't land anything big. Marquez connects with three punches in a series of five. He follows with a one-two to the head that forces Diaz back. Right hand over the top by Marquez, followed by some grabbing. Diaz is still moving well, but he's not throwing much.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round 10

Tough to see how this changes unless Diaz commits himself to throwing caution to the wind. He's hardly firing the right at all. Left hook by Marquez and an uppercut that just misses. Diaz finally finds something with a counter left. Marquez goes left-right to the body. Diaz turns up the pressure but to no great effect. Two left hooks score for Diaz. Neither man really did anything significant there.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Diaz

Round 11

Diaz works the jab as usual. Marquez may be slowing just a bit. Diaz scores with a left hook that stuns Marquez for just a moment. Uppercut by Diaz inside. Now Marquez lands his own uppercut. Diaz bulls forward with one shot and is grabbed around the waist. Jabs force Marquez to retreat, then go back even more. Diaz tries to measure a big right but can't find it. The ref warns both fighters for low body shots. Diaz jumps in with two to the body.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Diaz

Round 12

We'll see who closes the show here. Diaz needs a KO to win, one would think. Marquez tries to increase his output over the previous round. Clubbing left by Diaz and Marquez stands his ground. Marquez ducks inside to look for his uppercut. Diaz lands a right, followed by a left upstairs. Marquez turns him around  and tries a hook. Diaz tries to make it a brawl. Two left hooks score for Diaz. Mean short shots crash home for Marquez. Ten seconds to go, and they swing away until the final bell.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Diaz

Tylwalk: 117-111 Marquez

The judges score it 116-112, 118-110 and 117-111, all for the winner by unanimous decision... and still Ring Magazine, WBA and WBO lightweight titleholder... Juan Manuel "Dinamita" Marquez.

Lampley asks Marquez how this fight was different for him, and JMM agrees that it was more technical. He says he knew Diaz would want to box more, but the technique edge in his favor.

Marquez says he gave his all against Mayweather but couldn't overcome the weight difference. Still, he was satisfied with his effort for his Mexican fans both on that night and tonight.

Asked about a potential third fight with Manny Pacquiao, Marquez says that is more important than defending his lightweight belts. He thinks a trilogy is the best thing for boxing.

Marquez also likes his brother Rafael's upcoming bout with Juan Manuel Lopez and feels that is the kind of fight the people want to see.

Diaz admits to Lampley that he had a very hard task tonight because Marquez is such a great fighter. He says he will have to evaluate his future in the sport, as he'll be focusing on his LSAT exam in the fall.

Lampley asks point blank if he might retire, but Diaz says he can't say for sure right now. The Baby Bull closes out by thanking his fans back in Houston.

Nick Tylwalk is the editor and co-founder of BoxingWatchers.com . Follow his Twitter feed @Nick_Tylwalk or the site's feed @boxing_watchers .