By Jake Donovan
The weekend wasn't supposed to go dark. Once upon a time, January 12, 2008 was scheduled as the date for HBO to make its boxing debut. Nobody was quite sure what would occupy the time slot, only that HBO would make a grand entrance.
The first rumor had the date being held for the final leg of the lightweight Diaz series. Chicago's David Diaz had taken care of business against the legendary Erik Morales in nearby Rosemont, IL in August, recovering from a first-round knockdown to outwork the future Hall of Famer en route to a unanimous decision in an incredible action fight.
The next logical step was to wait out the October 13 "Dia de los Diaz" card in Hoffman Estates, with Juan and Julio set to duke it out stake. The winner, which would be Juan, would then face David, for a slew of alphabet titles as well as bragging rights as the world's best lightweight.
Of course, politics set in, bringing everyone back to reality, that an all-Diaz tournament never had a chance of coming off without a hitch.
The popular version had the unscrupulous sanctioning bodies ruining what would've been a grand Diaz finale, since Juan now had overdue mandatories. There's some truth to that, but it's not the whole story, just the one told by writers who fear the wrath of promoters when they deviate from the script (read: tell the truth). After all, sanctioning bodies only issue title belts, which these days are far easier to obtain than a ringside credential, especially if every typed word isn't a glowing review.
No problem. Should the Dia de los Diaz winner be stuck fighting a mandatory, David Diaz could always turn to rumored Plan B in preserving the date. That plan called for a showdown with undefeated Michael Katsidis, who was coming off of back-to-back Fight of the Year candidates against Graham Earl (TKO5) and Csar Amonsot (UD12), the latter having aired on HBOPPV and drawing rave reviews from fans and HBO brass.
Diaz-Katsidis: two all action, defensively-challenged lightweights producing the year's first, and most likely, bloodiest, Fight of the Year contender. What a way to ring in the new year.
Too good to be true, right?
For whatever reason, everyone's plans changed after an October 13 night that produced far more confusion than it crept toward closure, its original intention. By that time, Manny Pacquiao defeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the second time in as many attempts, and, along with (though mostly through) his promoter, Bob Arum, had openly discussed the strong possibility moving up to lightweight.
By that time, David Diaz already knew that a fight with Katsidis was most likely not happening, with the Aussie, who holds an interim version of one of the three titles Juan Diaz owns, was instead advised to wait out the slew of lightweight bouts, and see whose hand he could force the most, which added up to David Diaz once again in need of a new opponent.
Diaz thought it would be Pacquiao. Only Pacquiao, or more specifically Arum and Golden Boy (who owns a small piece of the Pac), decided to wait out the results of the November clash between former nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez (promoted by Golden Boy) and Rocky Juarez. As expected, Marquez won with ease, a hell of a lot easier than the process of securing a Pacquiao rematch, three years in the waiting.
After flirting the ideas ranging from a trip to lightweight all the way to a 2008 catchweight bout with Oscar de la Hoya, Team Pacquiao finally ended the waiting game, signing on for a Marquez rematch this coming March.
Oh well, we could always go back to Diaz-Diaz, right? Not quite.
Juan Diaz spent the holidays figuring out the best way to further his career, while keeping his titles but losing promoter Don King, with whom his contract extension ends this coming March. Diaz was set to fight Katsidis, after Golden Boy Promotions won the purse bid, only for King to squash the fight the moment he yelled "lawsuit." GBP and HBO backed off, and Katsidis moved on, as he will now face Joel Casamayor in March, one week after Pacquiao-Marquez II. Juan also resurfaces in March, now against Nate Campbell, for less than expected – and contractually guaranteed – but enough to keep everyone happy.
What does any of this have to do with January 12? Nothing, which is exactly what we will see, at least in the form of live boxing action.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and presently serves on the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.com. Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com