The Baby Bull Goes Back to School
By Dave Sholler
It happens every year. Thousands of college graduates flood the job market, hungry and ready to make a buck. Although their flashy degrees cost nearly six figures, most workplace rookies are welcomed with woeful starting salaries. If low pay isn’t enough of a horse pill to swallow, a good percentage of these rooks must deal with older, more traveled co-workers who see their arrival as unneeded competition in an already crowded marketplace. Underpaid and hardly appreciated, many workplace babies come to wonder if a fifth or sixth year of college could have been more rewarding.
Lightweight boxer Juan Diaz hasn’t graduated college yet, but the 24-year-old is among a miniscule group of soon-to-be degree holders that thought they would not have to deal with the entry-level hassle. Since kicking off his pro career in 2000, Diaz has blown through opponents with relative ease. As his record ballooned, so did the hype surrounding the young man affectionately known as “Baby Bull.” For that reason, visions of future fights with Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz surely danced in the Houston native’s head, and the thoughts of hefty paydays made his handlers salivate.
However, last Saturday night, Juan Diaz got an unsettling dose of reality. Defending his titles against 36-year-old Nate Campbell, Diaz found himself on the wrong end of a split decision for the first time in his career. Outworked by a savvy industry veteran, Diaz lost to a seasoned fighter destined to win by any means necessary. Despite competing in a fight that would seemingly favor his own style, Diaz got bombed by Campbell at close range and ended up bloodied and bruised. Simply put, Campbell’s years of service proved to be the ultimate edge. For each ounce of youthful exuberance Diaz exerted, Campbell responded with calculated measures that oozed experience.
While the loss was physically and emotionally draining, the days leading up to the fight served as perhaps a precursor to the lesson Diaz was bound to learn on the second weekend of March. Entrenched in a management squabble, Diaz found himself in the unenviable position of preparing for a fight inside and outside the ring. Before he could even entertain the notion of Nate Campbell, Diaz – whether he realized it or not – was distracted by the Don King vs. Willie Savannah managerial mega bout. The fact that his future rested in the hands of two men who wanted nothing to do with one another was undoubtedly playing in Diaz’s mind. An intelligent, bright young man, Diaz knew he needed proper management. The fact that it was the source of much contention certainly became an unnecessary distraction in training camp. Fighters need mental clarity leading up to a fight and one must wonder if Diaz had the chance to get his mind “right.”
As he licks the wounds associated with his first loss, Diaz should take the defeat as a beneficial tutorial. Thanks to Campbell, Diaz discovered that there are still many valuable intangibles a young boxer should strive to learn. Other lessons not contained in textbooks or term papers were taught as well. For example, Diaz learned that sometimes you can fight your fight and still lose. He also saw that for every raging bull there is matador versed in reflex know-how.
Outside the ring, Diaz witnessed the cutthroat business dealings that plague the sport. Like a baby playing near an ignited stovetop, the 24-year-old unfortunately got burned. He’ll learn to keeps his friends close and his enemies closer though. He’ll learn that there are no management standoffs if you don’t first win in the ring. And he’ll become skilled in the art of deciphering managers who care and those who don’t.
In the months to come, Juan Diaz will graduate from college. Even with a diploma in hand, Diaz proved last Saturday that in the future he’ll need more than a college degree to survive in boxing.
Stiff Jabs
JAB ONE: I’ve forever criticized Sam Peter for his lack of progress. Against Oleg Maskaev, Peter finally appeared to have turned a corner. The “Nigerian Nightmare” established a nice pace for himself and looked poised. For the first time, Sam’s upper body worked in coordination with his lower half and as a result, Sam got off from different angles. Overall, Peter appears to be finding himself in the ring and it’s nice to see.
DOUBLE JAB: Kudos to HBO’s Emanuel Steward for pointing out that Sam Peter does not hit opponents on the back of the head intentionally. It doesn’t take much to see that Sam throws some wild, rangy shots that end up misplaced on the back of his foe’s skull. It doesn’t negate the fact that the shots are illegal, but Steward accurately assessed Peter’s unusual tendency.
TRIPLE JAB: Shame on Jose Luis Castillo. For what feels like the 300th time, the once-admired combatant failed to make weight. If he wanted to fight sluggishly, he should have signed up to fight heavyweights John Ruiz or Jameel McCline.
PARTING SHOT: Former king of the four-rounder Eric “Butterbean” Esch will be in my hometown of Atlantic City, NJ in the coming weeks to promote Yamma Pit Fighting, a new MMA organization founded by the original owner of the UFC. Maybe I can convince him to fight Kimbo Slice, as I suggested in my column last month. Anything’s better than Ken Shamrock, right?
Dave Sholler serves as a boxing and MMA analyst for radio stations across the country. He has been a staff writer for BoxingScene since 2006.