5 League fighters have been in action the past two Saturdays, beginning with Mark's Miguel Cotto, who scored his first win of the league with a 5th round KO of Michael Jennings. Cotto demonstrated that he is still a top-level fighter as he floored the overmatched Jennings three times. On the same night, Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik successfully defended his title with a 9th round TKO of Marco Antonio Rubio. Pavlik rebounded well from his October loss to Bernard Hopkins, pushing his record to 35-1 and gaining a much needed 17 pts in Option C for Jay's Hitmen.
On Friday night, IBF Cruiserweight Champion Tomasz Adamek defended his title against undefeated challenger Johnathan Banks. This fight was more tactical than expected in the early going, as both fighters seemed to respect one another too much. Once the punches started to fly, it was Banks who looked stronger with his big right hand. As the fight went past the halfway point, Adamek began to find the mark with body shots. Banks slowed, and in the 8th, Adamek floored him twice for a nice quality win.
This past Saturday, Mark sent another fighter into the ring as Chris John (42-0-1) defended his Featherweight Title in the USA for the first time. John demonstrated considerable speed and skill, but the toughness of his opponent, Rocky Juarez, made the fight very interesting. Juarez closed strong and even though his face plainly displayed the battering he had taken from John's fast hands over the course of the fight, he closed the show as the stronger fighter. I scored it 115-114 for Chris John, but the Official Judges all had it 114-114. John retains his title with the draw, but earned Mark only 2 points in Option C.
Saturday's main event featured the highly anticipated Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz clash. To my surprise, it was Diaz who took control of the bout early, rocking Marquez with hard power shots. As late as the 5th round, it seemed as though it would be Diaz's night as he bulldozed Marquez into the ropes and landed clean shots. However, Marquez would not be denied as he systematically fired combinations at Diaz with ever-increasing ferocity. By the 9th round, Diaz was slowing and Marquez caught him with a vicious combination, flooring the game Houston fighter. After rising, Diaz ate a highlight-reel uppercut, crashing to the canvas again and ending the fight. Juan Manuel Marquez now has two consecutive high-quality knockouts of Lightweight Champions and has proven to be the true superstar of our Boxing Fantasy League.
UPDATED STANDINGS (by averages)
1. Simply Juanderful (8-0, 7KO)..........OPTION B: 2.31, OPTION C: 18.13
2. Children Eaters (4-0, 3KO)..............OPTION B: 2.0, OPTION C: 18.25
3. LM's Vodka Breath (4-1, 3KO)........OPTION B: 1.6, OPTION C: 14.0
4. Knuckle Sandwich (3-0-1, 3KO)......OPTION B: 1.63, OPTION C: 13.75
5. The Hitmen (5-1, 2KO)....................OPTION B: 1.2, OPTION C: 13.7
