Former lightweight triple crown world titlist Juan Diaz hopes to launch himself back onto the world stage with a new six-fight, 18-month contract with Top Rank. For starters, Diaz (37-4, 19 KOs) will take on Juan Santiago (14-10-1, 8 KOs) in Denver on the HBO-televised Mike Alvarado-Ruslan Provodnikov card on Saturday.
"I'm just excited to be back on national TV and have my fans know that I'm back," Diaz told BoxingScene.com/The Houston Chronicle. "I've been speaking to Top Rank and after this fight we're going to sit down and schedule the road map to a championship for 2014."
Diaz, 30, announced his retirement in 2010 after losing four of his last six bouts, albeit to top-shelf fighters. He returned to the ring earlier this year and is 2-0 (2 KOs) in his comeback.
"Now that I'm in my 30's, I feel like a lion," Diaz said. "In my 20's, I kind of considered myself a peacock - they're flashy, they like to show their feathers, they're young and full of energy. That's the way I kind of felt; I was young, full of energy and at times I don't think I took things as seriously as I should've. Now in my 30's I sit back and examine every move I make. I think that's going to take me a little bit further than it did in my 20's."
Diaz returns to a lightweight division a lot weaker than the one he left. The three fighters who defeated him in his first career - Nate Campbell, Juan Manuel Marquez (twice) and Paul Malignaggi - have either moved up in weight or retired. Yuriorkis Gamboa, Miguel Vasquez, Ricky Burns and Omar Figueroa currently hold alphabet belts in the division.
"Whenever the opportunity comes up and whenever the champions are available, that's the one I'm going to take on," Diaz said. "Style-wise, I think I can easily beat Ricky Burns from England."
With his new Top Rank contract, Diaz has fought under virtually every major promoter in the business. He started off with Main Events, moved on to Don King Promotions and ended his first career with Golden Boy. For now at least, he is earning a mere fraction of what he made as a triple-crown titleholder.
"The fights right now, they're not what I used to make, and I understand that," Diaz told the Chronicle. "I'm not doing it for the money immediately because I know the money's going to come. Right now I'm making about $30,000 a fight which is nothing compared to the $300,000-400,000 per fight I used to be making.
"But I've got to start somewhere. They want to see me in the ring and what I have left," Diaz said. "The more I win, the more lucrative the fights are going to be."
Under the Top Rank banner, Diaz will get the exposure of fighting alongside Bob Arum's stable of stars the likes of Miguel Cotto, Timothy Bradley, Alvarado, Marquez and possibly even Manny Pacquiao.
"I think only about 33 percent of the fans that used to be in my corner know that I'm back and that I'm serious about becoming champion again," Diaz said.
