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Marquez vs. Diaz II
Final Press Conference Quotes
Photo: Gene Blevins - hoganphotos-Golden Boy
JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ
"Thank you for being here. I want to thank Golden Boy
Promotions and HBO Sports for supporting me. Everyone
knows Juan Diaz is a great fighter and I have prepared
myself very hard for this fight. When people say 'Why
Juan Diaz again?' I always want make the biggest fights
and here you have two great fighters.
"I think this fight is going to be better than the first
one because Juan Diaz is a great fighter and a great
warrior and I am too. I like to fight. Everyone who
knows me, knows I like landing so many punches.
"I want to dedicate this to all of my fans around the
world, my family, my kids, my wife and the Mexican fans
around the world. I have prepared very hard and I am
ready."
JUAN DIAZ
"I am glad to see everyone out here coming to support
Juan Manuel Marquez and myself. I am very excited to be
here.
"I came to Mandalay Bay 10 years ago for Vargas vs.
Trinidad and I was out enjoying a great fight. Now I am
here, and I am the main event. I am very excited and
thankful to be here for this fight. I know it is a big
and important fight and I am excited.
"The last two years of my boxing career have been a
roller coaster ride. Starting with the Nate Campbell
fight which was my first loss, then I beat Michael
Katsidis, and then lost to Juan Manuel Marquez, then
beat Paulie Malinaggi and then lost to him. It just
makes sense that I am going to win this fight and I am
going to keep winning from now on.
"During a lot of the interviews with the media, people
have been ask about my heritage and nationality. Am I 50
percent this, 25 percent, 100 percent that? I don't want
to be any of that. I am 100 percent warrior. I fight for
all of my fans whether it is Mexicans,
Mexican-Americans, Blacks, Whites or Asians. I want to
give everyone a great fight. I want to make all of the
fans happy. I am going to give all of the 'Baby Bull'
fans a great fight.
It is time for the new generation to step up and reign
over the lightweight division."
IGNACIO "NACHO" BERISTAIN, Marquez's Trainer
"Juan Diaz was saying that he is a warrior. He is a
great warrior. They call him the 'Baby Bull' for a
reason and combine that with Juan Manuel Marquez and you
will have a great fight.
"Golden Boy Promotions put together a great undercard
and I think all of the fights are going to be good ones.
"Willie Savannah is a great trainer and a great manager.
He has built great warriors and great fighters. He and I
have known each other for many years and we have a very
friendly rivalry."
RONNIE SHIELDS, Diaz's Trainer
"It's a pleasure to be here. Juan is in great shape. For
the first fight was definitely one of the best fights I
have ever been involved in. Juan Manuel Marquez is one
of the best fighters in the world. We went back to the
drawing board and tweaked a few things that Marquez
capitalized on in the first fight.
"This is going to be a great fight. When you have styles
like Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez, you have one of
the best fights you have ever seen in your life."
WILLIE SAVHANNAH, Diaz's Manager
"We have had a great, great training camp. I have been
with Juan since he was eight years old. He has never
been out of shape, but I have never seen him as in shape
as he is for this fight. I think the public is going to
see a boxing machine come Saturday night. The Mexican
warrior is going to be out on Saturday night because
that is who he is."
"I want Juan to fight with a purpose. I heard the odds
are three to one in favor of Juan Manuel. I am telling
you to go out and bet your house on Diaz."
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions
"Juan Diaz is a tremendous warrior, tremendous champion
and a tremendous human being who believes he can beat
Juan Manuel Marquez.
"Their first fight was an epic battle back and forth
which is why the Boxing Writers Association of America
chose their fight as the best fight of 2009.
"It is a different story now. It is 2010, Juan Diaz is a
different fighter and Juan Manuel Marquez is a different
fighter. They have more experience under the belts, more
training under their belts. It is going to be an
explosive fight.
"If you have never seen Juan Diaz fight, if you've never
watched him on HBO, he is an exciting fighter. He knows
how to please his public and his fans. He has a big
heart, a tremendous heart. You can never count him out.
You can never count out Juan Diaz. He can be down and
out but he can get back up and win the fight.
"Juan Manuel Marquez ducks no one. He always comes
forward and fights. He wants to give the crowd a great
show.
"This card is so stacked, I asked Richard if he could
make room for me. I can't make weight it is too soon.
"We are in store for a great night of boxing from the
first bell to the last."
RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions
"Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz for the unified
lightweight championship of the world is a great card.
When we put this card together, the words high stakes,
double or nothing, rolling the dice came to mind."
END OF PRESS CONFERENCE
Marquez vs. Diaz II "Fight of the Year: The Rematch" is
promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with
Marquez Boxing Promotions, and sponsored by Cerveza
Tecate and AT&T. The 12-round rematch of the "2009 Fight
of the Year" is scheduled for Saturday, July 31 at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, and will be for
Marquez's Ring Magazine, WBA and WBO Lightweight World
titles. The fight will be produced and distributed live
on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.
Tickets for Marquez vs. Diaz II are priced at $350,
$250, $150, $100 and $50 and are on sale now. Tickets
are available for purchase at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster
locations (select Smith's Food and Drug Centers and
Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit
card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also
will be available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or
www.ticketmaster.com.
NCM Fathom will broadcast Marquez vs. Diaz II in high
definition LIVE to more than 270 movie theaters
nationwide at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT. Tickets to see the
fight on the big screen are available at theater box
offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.
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