Marquez vs. Pacquiao II: Undercard LiveBlog

It looks like we'll get three televised fights on the undercard tonight as we head live to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. First up is David Diaz, the lightweight title-holder who is widely assumed to be Manny Pacquiao's next opponent should he win tonight. He'll be facing Ramon Montano, though not many of the fans are in their seats to see it.

Montano certainly doesn't look like a complete stiff, showing a determined body attack in the opening round. This fight is reminiscent of the opening rounds of the recent Campbell-Diaz fight in the sense that both men seem to want to fight as close together as possible. Diaz looks a little more comfortable in the second round, finding more space to land to the head and body.

Through four rounds the fight is still being waged at close range. It's hard to see this tactic working for Diaz if he chooses to try it against Pacquiao. Round five sees a little more space start to develop and that favors Diaz, who lands a nice right-left combo about midway through the frame.

The sixth round turns into a contest of uppercuts with Montano backed up against the ropes. He manages to weather the storm, though, and still doesn't look like he's in any danger of getting knocked out. Jim Lampley starts talking about the ring girl between the seventh and eighth round, which should give you an idea of how safely Diaz seems to be winning this fight.

There's no question that Montano is tough. He absorbs a wicked right that snaps his head back in the ninth but shows no signs of quitting. His only chance is a knockout, though he doesn't appear to have the power for that, so it should just be a formality for Diaz to wrap this one up. Referee Joe Cortez makes a sweet move by replacing Montano's mouthpiece on the fly. Both guys trade right up until the final bell.

As expected, Diaz wins the decision, though one judge mysteriously scores it a draw. Solid work, but Diaz doesn't appear to have the speed to hang with Pacquiao.

Next up is Abner Mares against Diosdado Gabi. Amazingly, Gabi put on 15 1/2 pounds overnight, going from 119 1/2 to 135. It's a Mexican versus Filipino clash just like tonight's main event. Larry Merchant says Mares has never faced a southpaw in his brief pro career.

Gabi starts out strong but gets staggered by a couple of right hands with about 40 seconds left in the first round. He makes it to the end of the round, but we'll see how badly he's hurt.

As it turns out, he really was hurt. Gabi goes down early in the round from a straight right hand, then again from a rising left that glances off the side of his head. The ref stops the fight and Mares is the winner by TKO at 49 seconds of the second round.

The final undercard fight pits Steven Luevano against Terdsak Jandaeng for Luevano's WBO featherweight belt. A left from Luevano seems to stun Jandaeng early on, but he stays on his feet.

Luevano's accuracy is serving him well through three rounds, though Jandaeng is sticking in there and throwing hard pitches when he gets an opportunity. Between the third and fourth rounds, highlights from Marquez-Vazquez III are shown, which is never a bad thing.

Just when it looks like Luevano is cruising, Jandaeng fires a left that scores a knockdown with just under a minute left in the fourth round. He tries to follow it up, swinging wildly and unsuccessfully. Jandaeng hits the canvas himself late in the round, but it's ruled a slip.

The fifth round starts out as a bit of a slugfest, which does not favor Luevano, but it settles down later on. Luevano is able to control the rest of the round with his counter-punching skills, and he seems like he's shaken off the knockdown. Mike Tyson is shown in the crowd.

Emanuel Steward praises Luevano for his patience and technique, and Jandaeng's face is starting to show a lot of damage on both sides. He's still coming forward consistently but Luevano's footwork is excellent, and he's able to move laterally to avoid getting in trouble.

In the eighth round, Luevano gets hit with an obvious low blow, and the ref gives him time to recover. Steward says he doesn't think it was intentional, but it still looked painful. He's back to picking his foe apart for the rest of the round, and as long as he doesn't get caught and knocked down again, he should be in good shape.

Jandaeng's corner is telling him he needs a knockout to win, which is good advice. He's definitely going for it in the tenth and eleventh rounds but to no avail. A left hand knocks Luevano's mouthpiece out with about a minute to go in the 11th, but he manages to readjust it himself and avoid more incoming punches.

Harold Lederman actually gave the 11th round to Jandaeng, though he should still be way behind on the scorecards. He did score the knockdown though, and this is boxing, so you never know. Luevano is doing a lot more running in the final round, and the crowd seems to be on Jandaeng's side since he is actually going for it. Luevano circles all the way until the bell and we'll go to the scorecards.

Luevano wins by unanimous decision, and though I don't put much stock in CompuBox numbers, the stats show he landed about four times as many punches.