RING Theory, a regular feature at RingTV.com, is an audio boxing talk show featuring columnists Eric Raskin and Bill Dettloff. They review recent events, look forward to coming fights and discuss the quirky side of the sport. The show appears twice a month.

Ring Theory.

Nestor Rocha has two strikes against him in his on-going quest to win a bantamweight world title:

The first strike is the fact that he has already challenged for a major belt -- against Hozumi Hasegawa in Japan last July -- and was knocked out in the first round. The second has to do with is technical style. Rocha, a quiet native of Montebello, Calif., is a methodical boxer who doesn’t draw attention to himself in or out of the ring.

Rocha’s first strike bumped him from the bantamweight rankings of all four sanctioning organizations. The 28-year-old fringe contender’s second strike has kept him out of the ring for an entire year.

“It is hard to keep Rocha busy because the networks don’t want to see him,” said Roberto Diaz, a matchmaker for Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Rocha. “He’s not an all-action guy. He’s a pure boxer who takes his time in the ring, so the TV executives don’t call us up and try to get him on their boxing programs.”

Rocha (21-2, 7 knockouts), who finally gets back into the ring against Benji Garcia on Thursday, is grateful for the opportunity to fight on a local card that will be nationally televised.

His six-round bout with Garcia (14-15-3, 1 KO) at downtown L.A.‘s Club Nokia is the co-featured bout of this month‘s Fight Night Club, which will be televised on Fox Sports Net (tape delayed) and streamed live on RingTV.com and Ustream.com.

Former Olympian Gary Russell Jr. faces veteran Mauricio Pastrana in six-round featherweight bout.

“A six rounder against a guy like Benji, who will fight anybody, was the only way to get Rocha back on TV,” Diaz said. “It would have been very difficult to get him back on TV with a 10-round bout because he’s got a good record, only two losses, and people in boxing know he can box. The better opponents, guys who are ranked, want to get paid a lot to fight him. His best bet is to have a couple six-round fights on Fight Night Club to knock off the rust and get his name back out there.

“The idea is to eventually match him with (Jose) Navarro in a Telefutura-level bout, and the winner of that one can maybe get a title shot or a fight with (Top-10 bantamweight contender) Abner Mares.”

That plan sounds good to Rocha, who is excited about fighting on a regular basis.

“I didn’t want to take that much time off when I returned from Japan last year,” Rocha said. “I was back in the gym two weeks after the fight, and I was ready to fight again within a month of the loss (to Hasegawa).”

Garcia is the perfect comeback opponent for an inactive seasoned fighter because he‘s guaranteed to shake off the rust. The aggressive San Diego-based journeyman is seldom intimidated by an opponent’s reputation or skills, however superior they may be to his. The 27-year-old brawler simply brings it, round after round. Garcia pressed the come-backing Navarro for six hard rounds in May.

“I saw tape of the last round with Navarro,” Rocha said. “Garcia’s a tough guy.”

However, tough guys don’t bother Rocha much. Over the years, he’s probably sparred 500 rounds with aggressive lightweight contender Urbano Antillon, who used to be trained by Rocha’s coach, Rudy Hernandez.

Earlier this year he spent one month in Thailand sparring with Michael Katsidis, arguably the most rugged 135-pound fighter in the sport.

“I sparred with Michael in Las Vegas last year, helping him get ready for his fight with (Vicente) Escobedo,” Rocha said. “I guess he liked the way I worked with him because he wanted me to be one of his sparring partners for his fight with Kevin Mitchell (in May).

“He had some bigger Thai guys working with him, but I was his main sparring partner as far as working on his defense and strategy.”

How can a natural 118 pounder spar with a lightweight as strong and physical as Katsidis? Two words explain it: skill and technique.

Rocha doesn’t view those two attributes as strikes against him, so don’t expect him to change his style to appease fans or network executives any time soon. He gets too much personal satisfaction boxing in the manner he always has.

“I get more of a thrill from using all my skill and outboxing a guy than by knocking him out,” he said. “I like to prove that I’m better by being smarter.”

Diaz says he enjoys watching Rocha’s technical brand of boxing.

“When I watch Rocha box, Miguel Canto comes to mind,” said Diaz, bringing up the name of the hall-of-fame former flyweight champ from Mexico. “He’s totally a boxer, but not one of those who are running around the ring. His game is a finesse game. You have to be a die-hard fan to really enjoy him.

“I wasn’t shocked that he lost to Hasegawa last year, because Hozumi was a fantastic champion, but I was surprised at the way Nestor lost because he’s usually clever enough, wise enough not to get hit like that.”

Despite his long layoff, fans can expect a sharp and ready version of Rocha against Garcia on Thursday. The little technician is wise enough to know that he can’t afford another strike against him.

Juan Manuel Marquez had a horrible night against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his last fight, at least in terms of boxing. A proud champion made a lot of money but was reduced to a patsy, as the scores made clear: 120-107, 119-108 and a generous 118-109, all in favor of Mayweather. Marquez landed 69 punches in the fight.

And no one was surprised. Marquez moved up two weight classes at 36 to face one of the best boxers of this era. It was boxing suicide.

Ten months later, though, Marquez doesn’t seem to have regrets. The several-million-dollar payday he received was long overdue considering his accomplishments and, he’ll tell you, he truly gave an impossible task his best shot.

Plus, THE RING lightweight champion remains a hot commodity with lucrative prospects -– including a pay-per-view rematch with Juan Diaz on July 31 in Las Vegas -- and plenty of motivation as he nears the end of his hall of fame career.

“I knew going into the [Mayweather] fight that it would be a difficult task,” he said through a translator on a conference call Tuesday. “What made it a little more difficult was the excess weight Mayweather had. He was about 15 pounds heavier [than Marquez] inside the ring. I felt good. I gave it my all. I hope everyone realizes I gave 100 percent.

“… My theory is that to be the best, you have to fight the best. I’ll never go back on that.”

Marquez (50-5-1, 37 knockouts) certainly isn’t taking on a transitional opponent in his first fight since Mayweather.

He and Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) engaged in the 2009 RING Fight of the Year, an epic battle with the typical ebb and flow of classic fights. Marquez seemed to wilt under Diaz’s constant pressure early in the fight only to rally and score a hair-raising ninth-round knockout.

Both of them have had setbacks since, Marquez the loss to Mayweather and Diaz two shaky performances against Paulie Malignaggi in an ill-fated foray at 140 pounds.

However, while Marquez’s status as an elite fighter is a giant question mark after moving up to welterweight and then back down to lightweight at 36, Diaz is perceived by many to be the fighter in more-serious decline even though he’s only 26.

No one will be surprised if Marquez wins. And if he does? He’ll be in demand because of his name-recognition and the perception that he’s beatable.

Junior welterweight titleholder Amir Khan, who along with Marquez and Diaz is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, said he would like to fight the winner of the July 31 fight before later saying he’d like to face Timothy Bradley.

The Khan fight is particularly attractive to Marquez because it would give him an opportunity to become the first Mexican to win a belt in four weight divisions, something even the great Julio Cesar Chavez couldn’t accomplish.

“That’s very important,” he said. “It’s something that keeps me going.”

If Khan goes a different direction, the options are many. Michael Katsidis (Golden Boy) at 135; several 140-pounders, including Marcos Maidana and Victor Ortiz (both also Golden Boy); his countrymen Erik Morales (whom Marquez mentioned) and Marco Antonio Barrera; Ricky Hatton (another name Marquez brought up); and possibly Diaz again if the Houston native manages to win.

And, of course, there’s always the possibility of a third fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Marquez would rather not look into the future, though.

One reason he has climbed to the pinnacle of the sport is that he’s a professional. And professionals take every fight seriously –- especially a Fight of the Year rematch. We can speculate all we want but all he sees is Diaz.

“Right now my mind set on July 31,” he said. “After July 31, we’ll sit down and see what’s next in the future.”

They’ll be plenty to talk about.

Wish list: Marquez was asked who he would like to fight if he could simply choose an opponent. His first choice is no surprise: Pacquiao, the opponent of choice for everyone near his weight division because of the money involved.

Marquez probably has a more-legitimate claim to that fight than most, though. The two engaged in two hotly contested and controversial fights in 2004 and 2008. They drew in the first fight, after Marquez went down three times in the first round, and Pacquiao won a split decision in the rematch.

Many believe that Marquez should’ve been awarded decisions in both fights.

“That’s my desire,” Marquez said. “I want it so badly. I want that third fight with him before my career ends.”

Marquez probably shouldn’t hold his breath, though.

“Pretty much all the boxing writers at the post-fight press conference, people who saw it live, thought Marquez won the second fight but he didn’t get the decision,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy. “I was there. I was pretty upset. I had some heated words with Bob Arum [of Top Rank, Pacquiao’s promoter]. It wasn’t right. There has to be a third fight.

“Arum didn’t want to hear anything about it then, though. I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear anything about it now.”

Marquez also mentioned Morales and Hatton as possible opponents.

At a loss: Schaefer was asked recently whether he thinks the fact both Marquez and Diaz are coming off losses will harm the promotion in any way.

“It’s interesting,” he said. “In UFC, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose. Some of their champions have just as many losses and wins. Still, people turn out en mass to watch their cards. Why? Because they want entertainment. The fans just want action. And boxing fans know they’ll get action in this [Marquez-Diaz] fight. There’s no way in the world this is going to be a boring fight.”

Trainer loyalty: Nacho Beristain, Marquez’s longtime trainer, implied that he didn’t like the fact his fighter bulked up to 142 pounds to face Mayweather. He also doesn’t believe that Marquez should face Amir Khan at 140 if he beats Diaz, which has been discussed.

Marquez could fight as a heavyweight, though, and Beristain would be by his side.

“I wasn’t 100 percent on board with it but it was necessary for that fight,” Beristain said of Marquez’s decision to add muscle for the Mayweather fight. “… What could be his (weakness) is he loves what he does, he loves to work hard, but at times he can exaggerate his work. He’s a fine fighter. He doesn’t need to overtrain to perform in the ring.

“In that fight, for instance, instead of working with weights a couple of weeks, he might’ve done it for four weeks. It was a little too much.”

And Beristain didn’t mince when he was asked whether jumping back up to 140 is a good idea.

“No,” he said. “Juan has a small physique. To compete at higher weights is very difficult. Yet I have to support him 100 percent. His performances and the respect he’s earned cannot be denied. I have to support him and go with him to battle.”

One hour free: HBO will broadcast two of the early fights on the Marquez-Diaz cards for free.

In one of the fights, Sakio Bika (28-3-2, 19 KOs) of Australia faces Jean Paul Mendy (28-0-1, 16 KOs) of France in a super middleweight title eliminator. In the other, welterweight prospect Frankie Gomez (4-0, 4 KOs) of East Los Angeles will fight an opponent yet to be determined.


Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

A showdown between junior flyweight champ Ivan Calderon and hard-punching beltholder Giovani Segura, arguably the best matchup that can be made in the 108-pound division, is close to being finalized, according to Segura's manager.

THE RING’s No. 1-rated junior flyweight will challenge the magazine’s unbeaten champ on August 28 in Puerto Rico, Ricky Mota told RingTV.com on Tuesday.

“We’ve signed the contract, we’ve agreed to everything,” said Mota, Segura's manager, “and from what I’ve heard from Fernando Beltran (of Zanfer Promotions) and the Riveras (Peter and Ivan of PR Best Promotions, the promoters of the bout), Calderon is on board.”

In an email to RingTV.com, Ivan Rivera confirmed that the fight is close to being done.

"We are working on (finalizing the deal)," Rivera told RingTV.com. "It will be the best fight for the little guys for the past years. We are just waiting for Segura's contract before we make an announcement."

Calderon-Segura will headline a PR Best-produced pay-per-view card in association with Top Rank and Zanfer, according to Mota. The show will take place in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, the hometown of Calderon (34-0-1, 6 knockouts).

Calderon is scheduled to fight 108-pound “interim” beltholder Johnriel Casimero on the August 28 date, but Mota says the 20-year-old Filipino will now face Ramon Garcia Hirales in Mexico on July 24.

Segura (24-1-1, 20 KOs), a Southern California-based southpaw from Guerrero, Mexico, is scheduled to defend his belt against Manuel Vargas on August 7 on a Fox Sports en Espanol-televised bout from Lagos de Moreno, Mexico. However, that bout will be canceled, according to Mota, who says a press conference for Calderon-Segura is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles sometime next week.

“This is something we’ve wanted for a long time,” Mota said. “Calderon is the golden boy of the lower weight classes. Giovani wants to fight him to prove that he’s the best at 108 pounds. He was thinking of going up to flyweight (112 pounds) to fight for a title there because he didn’t think he would ever get the chance to challenge Calderon, so he’s pumped up that he’s finally getting the shot. He doesn’t mind fighting Calderon in his hometown. He says his hands will be the judges.”

The fight won’t cause major ripples in the sport but hardcore fans -- especially those of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent -- want to see if Segura can indeed impose his youth, power and relentless pressure on the quick, slick-moving southpaw.

The 35-year-old counter-puncher, who defended a 105-pound belt 11 times before winning THE RING's junior flyweight title in 2007, is lauded as one of the best pure boxers in the sport.

The New York State Athletic Commission on Tuesday voted to lift the suspension of Golden Boy Promotions’ license to promote boxing in the state, a commission spokesman confirmed.

The NYSAC issued a 90-day suspension on July 6 after Golden Boy failed to provide written agreements with certain fighters after a May 15 card in New York City – as required by law – in spite of numerous requests.

Also, a Golden Boy employee told a NYSAC representative that the Los Angeles-based company had provided all agreements when in fact it hadn’t.

Golden Boy acknowledged that it erred, saying its mistakes were honest, and forwarded the agreements in question to the NYSAC. The promotional firm also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine.

Thus, the commissioners voted unanimously to lift the suspension.

“Golden Boy did submit what it was supposed to submit and agreed to pay a relatively small fine. Now everyone is moving on,” NYSAC spokesman Gabe Roth said.