For most people a typical work day starts at 9 a.m. This is not the case for current WBA Lightweight World Super Champion Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez and former Three-Time Lightweight World Champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz, who start their days at 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. respectively while they are making preparations to meet in Marquez vs. Diaz II “Fight of the Year: The Rematch,” on Saturday, July 31 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Marquez starts his day running in his native Mexico City at 4 a.m. Diaz is on the Stairmaster by 6 a.m. at the Savannah Boxing Club in hometown of Houston, Texas followed by 45 minutes of lifting weights. Both then eat breakfast before starting their intense training sessions with Nacho Beristain and Ronnie Shields, their respective trainers. Both fighters end up in the gym for boxing training at the same time at 11:30 a.m. (both Central Time).
On February 28, 2009, Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz collided in the ring in what was voted as Fight of the Year by ESPN.com, the Boxing Writers Association of America and several other boxing organizations. Marquez came out on top with a ninth round knockout, but Diaz proved that he has what it takes to beat Marquez as he made his mark early in the fight. In order to keep his winning attitude, Marquez is approaching July 31 as if the first meeting never happened.
“The first fight is in the past,” said Marquez. “Diaz could completely change his style for this fight. I know this requires preparing differently and those differences will be reflected when I step in the ring this time around.”
Diaz, who started out strong in the first fight, knows what he needs to do in order to come out victorious. “This time I am going to be more relaxed,” said Diaz. “I have already done this on a big world stage, so I know what it feels like. I am concentrating on what I am going to do in the fight. I need to outsmart him. I can’t fight recklessly. I need to focus on what punches I throw.”Diaz has studied the first fight and is extremely motivated to become World Champion again.
“The first fight was my fight to win and I didn’t,” said Diaz. “When you leave something undone, it is a terrible feeling. I want nothing more than to be World Champion again and I know what I need to do to get there.”