By Chris Robinson
During a recent conversation with Juan 'Baby Bull' Diaz I touched on a few key areas of the former champion's life such as his eventual return to the ring, his toughest loss as a professional, and his ultimate goals after boxing. Diaz closed our conversation by pointing out that he is a huge fan of the sport and it was only natural to get his take on a few ongoing story lines in the game.
Earlier this week Juan Manuel Marquez made his end of things official as he signed on for a third fight with Manny Pacquiao and I was sure to get Diaz's thoughts on the fight. The Houston fighter knows Marquez all too well, having engaged in two battles with the Mexico City star, and weighed in as to whether the move up from lightweight to welterweight would be too much for Marquez to cope with.
Diaz also gave his thoughts on the respect he has for Marquez as a fighter, who are the best available options out there for Pacquiao heading into 2012, his thoughts on why Timothy Bradley passed up on a potential Amir Khan fight, and why he has respect for WBA lightweight champion Brandon 'Bam Bam' Rios despite their recent feud online.
Continue on for all of Diaz's sound bytes...
An ode to Juan Manuel Marquez...
"What I respect about him is that he is a very accurate fighter. A lot of people may think that I'm lying or criticize me for saying this, but he's not the biggest puncher that's I've fought. But, one thing that he does have is that he's a very accurate puncher. Now, if you keep getting hit in the same spot over and over and over again, eventually you are going to fall. It's just like a tree, if you keep chopping at it, it's eventually going to fall. That's what Marquez has, I respect and admire him for that accuracy that he has."
Why Marquez is out of his league...
"I believe that Pacquiao is going to blow him away. I think that Marquez is out of his league moving up and that was already proven when he fought Floyd Mayweather. Obviously you can't compare them too much, because Floyd Mayweather is one of the greatest fighters in the sport but so is Manny Pacquiao. And I don't think Marquez gains weight too good. He doesn't carry the weight too well. "
The danger of moving up in weight...
"They don't understand at all. Because I even tried fighting at 140 pounds once and I was not successful. The way that I explain it to people, at lightweight weight, I will make 135 pounds but the next day I come weighing 145, 146 pounds. That's ten, eleven pounds I'm weighing above the limit. Now, when I fought at 140, I was coming in at 144, 145, the same weight. I was only gaining four or five pounds and the guys at 140 were coming in weighing 153, ten or thirteen pounds heavier than me."
Potential foes for Pacquiao in the future...
"I think right now Zab Judah would probably give him a little bit more problems than Timothy Bradley. Because Zab Judah is awkward, he's slick, and I think that's what would cause Pacquiao to have problems. But even then, I think it would be competitive for maybe five, six rounds and then Manny Pacquiao would come on and it would be hard to deal with his power and speed. The fight everybody wants to see is Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao but if that doesn't happen I believe the guy I would like to see him fight Victor Ortiz against Manny Pacquiao."
Ortiz's recent triumph over Andre Berto...
"I believe that it was absolutely awesome, what Victor Ortiz did to Andre Berto. I had predicted for Berto to win but just he shocked the whole world he shocked me as well. He came out and he was focused and determined to win that night."
Timothy Bradley's reluctance towards a big Amir Khan fight...
"Yeah, I was a little surprised, well I guess I can say 'Yes' and 'No'. Because it's a good opportunity to prove himself to the whole world that he does belong with the pound for pound best fighters. But Amir Khan is a tough fight and like everybody else he is waiting for a Manny Pacquiao fight, at which I don't think he is going to get it. Somebody else is going to get it before Bradley does. But that's why I say 'Yes' and 'No'."
The difference between sport and business...
"For us fighters it's a sport. For the promoters and mangers, it's a business. And I realized that a long time, even if you just train and fight and try to call out the best fighters out there, mangers and promoters have other agendas on their minds. The managers have a strategic way to get you to the top so that you can make the most money possible while you are a champion. But for the promoters, it's just about money. Whatever fighter, fight can make them the most money, they are going to go for it. It doesn't matter if the public wants it or not, they are going to go for the biggest payday."
Acknowledging Brandon Rios...
"I know that's he's a great fighter. I've seen him fight. I'm actually a fan of what he does, because that's what boxing needs. Boxing needs fighters like Brandon Rios, like myself, who are all-action fighters who come forward and want to fight and give the fans a good fight. I think he's going to be victorious in his next fight because he has that heart, that courage, and that dedication to win. And that's what it takes to be a champion and stay a champion."
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. An archive of his work can be found here , and he can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
