By Jake Donovan
Photo © David Martin Warr/DKP

No fears, the rest of the article is in English. Though no matter your preferred language, the anticipated action to come from this weekend's lightweight clash between Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz and Julio "The Kidd" Diaz (Saturday, HBO 10PM ET/PT from Hoffman Estates, IL) should speak for itself – as well as the present and future state of the lightweight division.

Most lightweight debates these days seem to have two sides: those who recognize Joel Casamayor as the linear (and therefore, only) champion, and those who actually prefer their leaders to surface more than once a year, and actively pursue the best.

The latter is what leads us to the first stop in deciding the best Diaz in a lightweight division loaded with 'em. Some argue that the last man standing will not just prove to be the best Diaz, but in fact the best lightweight in the world, whether or not Casamayor loses between now and then.

Both participants seem to co-sign on that theory.

"In order to be the best, you have to beat the best," contends young Juan Diaz (32-0, 16KO), who makes his second straight HBO Boxing After Dark appearance this year.

"If you ask me, a unification bout between two of the division's best is more significant than a champ who doesn't want to fight anyone," insists Julio Diaz. (Note: three alphabet titles are on the line; hence, the unification claim). "Joel Casamayor claims he's the best and that everyone's ducking him, yet he's the one turning down fights and not fighting anyone."

Casamayor is actually fighting someone – Jose Santa Cruz, on the undercard of the highly anticipated Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley bout next month at Madison Square Garden. That would be the same Santa Cruz whose last significant bout ended with him on the canvas, and David Diaz exploding on the lightweight scene with the come-from-behind 10 th round knockout last year in Las Vegas.

It was Casamayor's unwillingness to face David Diaz for an assortment of reasons that led to lightweight turmoil, as well as three different Diaz' all claiming to be champ.

Barring a draw or any other inconclusive occurrence, the next chapter shall read "And Then There Were Two" after Saturday night. David Diaz, who edged out Erik Morales in nearby Rosemont, IL this past August to retain his alphabet strap, will be an interested ringside observer to see which "other" Diaz becomes a potential opponent in 2008.

Naturally, this is where the other two Diaz' begin to differ on opinion.

"Personally, I think a win over Julio (this weekend) should make me #1 in the division," says Juan, "but I don't mind fighting David Diaz after this. He has the other belt, so beating him will give me all 4 titles.

"But since I already beat Freitas, a win over Julio Diaz will give me two big wins after several title defenses at lightweight. If you ask me, I become the man to beat after October 13."

Not quite, says Julio.

"First of all, he's not beating me, so pretending where he ranks with a win over me is irrelevant. But let me say, I don't even see anything special in the kid. They keep saying he's the next leader and all this, but I'm the one with more experience going into this fight. I've been through more ups and downs, and have seen more scenarios.

"He's not presenting anything I haven't already seen. My experience is the difference."

Despite just turning 24 (Julio himself only 27 years old), Juan believes it's his perceived lack of experience that allows him to sneak up on the rest of the pack.

"People look at me, and still see the teenaged kid crying after a tough win," believes Juan, referencing a 2001 split decision nod over Ubaldo Hernandez two weeks prior to his 18 th birthday. "Acelino Freitas thought his experience was going to be the difference, and that I was in over my head. We all saw what happened there."

What happened was a graduation for young Juan, from a question mark titlist to a major player at lightweight.

The ceremony took place in Mashantucket, CT at the Foxwoods Casino, an arena that has become a home away from home for Freitas in recent years, playing host to his last four stateside fights (including the Diaz bout). Diaz was 31-0, and making the sixth defense of an alphabet title he claimed in July 2004, but was considered a reluctant favorite in facing what was perceived to be the biggest test of his career to date.

Through the first three rounds, The Brazilian had oddsmakers second-guessing themselves, as he was holding his own and seeming to control the tempo in the early going, before hitting a wall midway through the bout. Once Diaz gained control of the bout, he never looked back. As Diaz grew stronger with each passing round, Freitas began to wilt, physically and mentally.

The end result was Freitas quitting on his stool prior to the start of the 9th round. With one former star beaten into retirement, another was born on that April night.

Naturally, the result left a bitter taste in the mouth of Julio Diaz, who late in 2006 was led to believe he was heading for his own clash with Freitas on Boxing After Dark. Julio even agreed to travel to Brazil to take the fight, only for Freitas to claim retirement (only to unretire 11 days later in pursuit of other options), leaving Julio stuck without a dance partner, forced to end 2006 on a seven-month inactive stretch.

"I couldn't believe it happened that way," recalls Julio. "For the better part of last year, I'm sitting here waiting for November to roll around to send this guy into retirement, and he decides to take that trip on his own, leaving us hanging just weeks before.

"What hurt worse was not that he even came back 11 days later, which was a joke, but that winds up fighting Juan, who I've been calling out for like two years. I've been waiting forever to catch my big break, and in one night, Juan captures my glory against the guy I was supposed to face and beat. But that's boxing, and I'll just have to save it for October 13."

Though an eight year vet himself, Julio might feel out of place in ring come this weekend. The bout will be his first in over eight months, and only second since August 2005. His lone ring experience in 2007 came this past February against Jesus Chavez, a three-round anti-climactic affair that was ended before it had a chance to get going. Chavez, himself riddled by inactivity by way of injuries, blew out his knee in round three, forcing the early stoppage.

The win made it for straight for Julio, though not the proudest moment of his career. Still, it extended his win streak to four straight, following a disappointing stoppage loss against Jose Luis Castillo in March 2005. Diaz took the fight on a month's notice, having pulled out of another scheduled fight and vacating an alphabet title in order to pursue what he believed was a necessary risk.

"Looking back, my handlers wish they didn't have me take the fight," says Julio. "They felt I was still growing and that Castillo was too much, too soon. "But that fight with Castillo was a great learning experience for me. Even though I didn't win, I became a better fighter for having gone through that. It was a necessary step I needed to take in order to progress."

Not unlike, say Juan Diaz' mindset heading into this fight?

"It is funny, Juan's pretty much in the same position I was in two years ago. Back then, I was a kid on the rise, facing a tough, experienced Mexican at the top of his game while in the biggest fight of my career. Now, Juan is a kid on the rise, facing me, a tough, experienced Mexican at the top of my game, as he enters the biggest fight of his career."

Juan agrees with the backdrop, but that the similarities end there.

"I remember two years ago, after Julio lost, he started calling me out. That's when this rivalry began. He's been calling me out for two years, hoping that I would make the same mistake he did, taking a chance when I'm not ready. But now I'm ready, I'm at the top of my game, and at the point in my career where know I have what it takes to beat anyone."

What Juan doesn't have, however, is the same team that brought him here.

Gone are Main Events, the New Jersey-based promotional company who signed him just weeks after his sophomore year in high school. Diaz let his contract run out in 2006, taking on one more fight as a restricted free agent before bolting for good last summer.

A brief – though highly publicized – game of promotional three-card Monte led Diaz to Don King, barely a day after a press release was sent out insisting that Golden Boy had won the Juan Diaz sweepstakes. Once the smoke had cleared, it was King left in the director's chair, with Juan set to make his third fight under the DKP banner.

This weekend, however, will be his first without longtime trainer Ronnie Shields. A scheduling conflict forced Shields to choose between Diaz and former cruiserweight and heavyweight king Evander Holyfield, who faces Sultan Ibragimov on the same day in Moscow.

Shields sided with Holyfield, but agreed to work with Diaz until the end of training camp. Manager Willie Savannah vehemently decided against it, instead replacing him with longtime assistant Derwin Richards.

Diaz dismisses the belief that the change of scenery and out-of-ring conflicts could potentially affect his performance this weekend.

"That's why I have a manager for all of that stuff," says Diaz. "If there was any issue of a promoter not stepping up, Willie jumps in and makes sure that everyone holds up their end. The trainer issue wasn't as much as people make it out to be. Ronnie can't be in two places at once, so he chose to go to Russia with Evander. I wish I could have him in my corner, but I'll still have Derwin and Willie. In the end, I'm still the same fighter, and have no plans of changing, whether it's Ronnie or Derwin or whoever giving me instructions in the corner."

For Julio, it's still Lee Espinoza in the corner. And while his career has been stalled by circumstances beyond his control, it's the same faces in the gym that enable Julio to maintain a positive outlook.

"I know it's been a while since my last fight, and ring rust is a concern," admits Julio. "But it's not like I've been sitting around waiting for a fight. I maintained in the gym, and being in familiar surroundings have kept my spirits up, everyone insisting that good things come to those who wait.

"Everyone believed in me while I was waiting, and the belief is even stronger now that the opportunity is here. So I bring that into the ring with me, along with the knowledge of what's at stake here. The fight is in Chicago, the next natural step is David Diaz, since this is his town. But the first step is Juan. There's too much at stake in the future for me to overlook what's in front of me right now."

From one Diaz to another, Juan echoes such sentiments.

"I have no doubt that I'm the best lightweight in the world, but what I believe means absolutely nothing if I can't produce on October 13. I know he feels the same, which is why I'm so excited and why boxing fans are so excited. It's going to be the Fight of the Year. Boxing fans can't ask for anything more."

Except, perhaps some clarification in the lightweight division. Fortunately for all, we'll get that as well this weekend.

Jake Donovan's column runs ever Tuesday on boxingscene.com . In addition to his contributions as a writer, Jake is also currently licensed as a manager, promoter and judge (ABC certified), and is a member of the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. He may be reached for questions and comments at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com