Marquez faces Diaz in rematch

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

Juan Manuel Marquez is eager to get back in the ring against Juan Diaz, and not just because he has been away from boxing for nearly a year.

It’s just about the only place he can escape the nagging dissatisfaction of chasing Manny Pacquiao.

Marquez and Diaz will meet tonight in a lightweight rematch of their dynamite February 2009 bout. Some called it the fight of the year, while Marquez simply saw it as a great escape: Diaz was beating Mexico’s top fighter until Marquez rallied for a ninth-round stoppage, saving his career and propelling him into a big-money fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“It’s going to be a great fight,” Marquez said. “If not the same, even better than the first fight. We have styles that make for a great fight, because we don’t back down. We go in and fight, and we don’t stop.”

But Pacquiao still looms in the back of Marquez’s mind as he prepares for his final assignment before a likely move to the 140-pound division. Marquez got a draw and a split-decision loss in his first two thrilling fights against Pacquiao, and is desperate for a third shot.

“Everybody asks me about it all the time, and I want the fight,” Marquez said. “I can’t make him fight me, though. We have to take care of fights like this one before we can talk about that, but I think we’ll meet again before we’re done. He knows I can beat him, so that’s why he stays away.”

Marquez and Diaz will finish a stacked card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center featuring several top fighters on the Golden Boy Promotions roster. Danny Jacobs will fight Dmitry Pirog for the WBO middleweight title, while 140-pounder Robert Guerrero will step up in competition to take on veteran Joel Casamayor.