Juan Diaz’s 2nd Comeback Fight Set For Aug. 17, on TV

by David P. Greisman

Juan Diaz will appear on UniMas on Aug. 17, meeting Adailton De Jesus in the main event of a “Solo Boxeo Tecate” broadcast, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com.

The card, which will take place in Laredo, Texas, is promoted by Top Rank.

Diaz had left the sport in June 2011, about a year after he lost a unanimous decision to Juan Manuel Marquez in their July 2010 rematch — his second loss in a row, his third loss in four fights, and his fourth loss in six fights. He withdrew from a scheduled fight and decided to focus instead on his professional life.

He returned to the life of a professional prizefighter this past April, however, scoring a sixth-round stoppage of Pipino Cuevas Jr. That brought his record to 36-4 with 18 knockouts.

Diaz once held three of the four sanctioning body belts at lightweight. He told Rafael that he’s looking to return to the top of that division.

“I want to become a lightweight world champion once again, but that is not my end goal,” Diaz said. “I feel a little older, a little stronger, so in the future [I’ll] give it another shot at 140.”

De Jesus is 30-7 with 24 knockouts and also is coming off an extended layoff. His last appearance was in December 2011. A look at his record reveals defeats against Humberto Soto in November 2011, Marco Antonio Barrera in June 2010, and Yuriorkis Gamboa in October 2007.

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com