By Steve Kim
This Saturday night, trainer Joel Diaz will be in the corner of Olympic gold medal winner Felix Diaz (19-1, 9 KOs) as he faces unified 140-pound champion, Terence Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs), who is one of the toughest puzzles to solve in all of boxing.
So just how do you defeat Crawford, who is not only one of the soundest boxers in the game but is adept at fighting from both the orthodox and southpaw stance?
"How do you beat him?," asked Diaz, rhetorically. "My plan of attack against Terence Crawford will be smart pressure. Smart pressure, I know he's very talented. He's got a lot of confidence in himself and he's an all-around fighter. So we're going to have to make changes round-by-round and watch the openings."
Crawford, who's listed at 5'8, has a decided advantage over the former 2008 Olympic gold medalist from the Dominican Republic. So with that Diaz explained his charge must,"attack the body from the beginning. I'm a fan of that. So we're going to try to get the body first and make some switches when he's not expecting it."
Diaz, who is currently in Tuscon, Arizona with Diego De La Hoya (who fights on ESPN against Erik Ruiz on Thursday night) understands that it will be nearly impossible to out-box the master boxer from Omaha, Nebraska. But he does have some special insight into 'Bud' Crawford.
"I can tell you when he was in California helping me for two camps with (Tim) Bradley, I analyzed him," said Diaz, who for years trained Bradley. "I know it's been awhile, he was younger, he wasn't as mature in the sport as he is now but I noticed that if you give him that distance to think he'll pick you apart. If you give him that time to think he'll pick you apart.
"But if you get in there, rough him up, make it a dog-fight and stay inside with him, it will be a different fight."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.