LAS VEGAS (AP) — Juan Manuel Marquez is eager to get back in the ring against Juan Diaz after nearly a year away from boxing.
It’s just about the only place he can get away from the nagging dissatisfaction of chasing Manny Pacquiao.
Marquez and Diaz will meet Saturday night in a lightweight rematch of their acclaimed February 2009 bout. 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.
But Pacquiao still looms in the back of Marquez’s mind as he prepares for the final stop before a likely move to the star-studded 140-pound division.
Marquez got a draw and a split-decision loss in his first two fights against Pacquiao, and is desperate for a third shot.
