By Jake Donovan
And then there were two – Diaz’, that is.
The card was billed “Dia de los Diaz”, but in the end, it was just another alphabet titlist forced to quit on his stool at the hands of undefeated lightweight Juan Diaz. Much as Acelino Freitas learned six months ago, Julio Diaz found himself in over his head early, and was forced to quit on his stool prior to the start of the 9th round of their lightweight clash.
The bout was the main event at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, IL.
An anticipated war going in, Juan (33-0, 17KO) made a tough fight look extremely easy, forcing a frenetic pace from the opening bell. Julio was never able to get untracked, always remaining at least a step behind the Diaz three years his junior.
It was an uphill battle from the opening bell for Julio, who allowed Juan to dictate the pace and the distance at which the bout would be fought. Juan closed the gap early, able to work Julio’s body and land right hands seemingly at will. Julio was never able to get the same leverage on his punches, at times throwing just for the sake of throwing, but never able to keep Juan off of him.
“It was just one of those nights,” said a dejected Julio Diaz (34-4, 25KO), whose four-fight win streak (extended over two years) comes to an end. “I couldn’t get started, and he attacked early. I didn’t box like I should have; I didn’t do anything my corner told me. No excuses, I give all credit to Juan.”
Juan gave plenty of credit to his opponent as well, but not before giving him eight rounds of hell. Julio was in search of a Plan B as early as round two, with boxing from the outside – the one plan that might’ve made a difference, instead seemingly the last thing on his mind. Julio instead switched back and forth from southpaw to conventional, attempting to trade body shots with Juan. The difference between the two – Julio threw to keep up, while Juan threw with conviction.
It was more of the same through round three before Julio finally gave those scoring the bout something to think about in the fourth. Beginning the round from the southpaw stance, Julio implemented a right jab into his offense, able to get off combinations for the first time in the fight while Juan played matador early in the round. Juan got back into his groove, digging to the body, prompting Julio to switch back to orthodox. It didn’t help much, as Juan was able to follow up a chopping right hand with a flurry of unanswered shots upstairs.
The fifth round showed the first signs that a stoppage was inevitable. Every Juan Diaz power shot was met with as much noise as could be generated from the disappointing crowd on hand (estimated at 4,000). Julio enjoyed minor success on the rare occasions Juan stopped throwing, though pushing most of his punches, inflicting little damage in the process.
The sixth was arguably Julio’s best round, though debatable as to whether or not he deserved to win it. Two of the three judges appreciated his activity, as he appeared to let his hands go more so in this three-minute frame than at any other point in the fight.
It was to be his last moment in the sun, which didn’t shine very bright to begin with. Juan took it to another level in the seventh, marking up Julio’s face in the process. More of the same came about in the eighth, the last completed round of boxing. The bell sounded for round nine, but Julio, on the advice of his Joel Diaz, Julio’s brother and cornerman, opted to remain on his stool.
Official time was 0:01 of the 9th round. Juan Diaz was up on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, by scores of 79-73, 78-74 and a surprisingly close 77-75. Many in press row saw it as a much easier night’s work for Juan, even if the fighter himself insisted the fight was anything but that.
“It was only easy because I worked hard to fight that well tonight,” says Juan, who for the first time in his pro career was without the services of veteran trainer Ronnie Shields, who instead found himself in Evander Holyfield’s losing corner in Moscow against Sultan Ibragimov. “He stayed in there with me and traded with me. He’s a tough warrior.”
Of course, it could be argued that Julio standing and trading for much of the fight is what made things so easy for Juan.
“I was surprised he fought the way he did,” Juan admitted. “I thought he was going to box me more but he came to fight. I was able to lure him into my fight, a toe-to-toe action fight. I was surprised by that, but not by the manner in which I won.”
With the win came another trinket to add to Juan’s collection, which now consists of three of the four major alphabet titles. With multiple alphabet titles come multiple mandatory challengers. While names like Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz repeatedly surfaced immediately after the bout and throughout the post-fight presser, Nate Campbell and Michael Katsidis stand in the way of making those potential fights happen. Joel Casamayor, considered by some to be the linear lightweight champion, is also in the mix.
As would be the case with any fighter, Juan wants whatever fight pays the most and convinces the public that he is the best lightweight in the world. That said, he does believe that one man provides the best of both worlds.
“I would love a fight with Manny Pacquiao,” said Diaz, who for the second straight time this year forced a Top-5 lightweight to quit on his stool after eight completed rounds. “Manny wants to keep fighting these old Mexican warriors, but it’s time for him to step up and fight a young Mexican in his prime. Right now my eyes are set on Manny Pacquiao.”
Eyeing Juan as he made that statement was Nate Campbell, who was at ringside for the bout and in the front row for the press conference. Campbell became Julio Diaz’ mandatory challenger last October, but has patiently awaited his well-earned shot at the top players.
Campbell doesn’t plan on playing the waiting game any longer.
“I’ve earned my shot. It’s not my job to take on these other guy’s challengers while they try to unify. I take the fights I’m told I have to take in order to earn a title shot, and that’s exactly what I did. I’m through having to do everyone else’s job for them. I want Juan Diaz next.”
Willie Savannah, who guides Juan Diaz’ career and is often referred to as the fighter’s second father, offered an alternate solution.
“If there’s a case where Juan can face the other Diaz boy (David) or Manny Pacquiao, then Nate can face Michael Katsidis in the co-feature. Let Juan clean up the division, and the winner of Campbell-Katsidis will be guaranteed a shot at Juan.”
Whether or not boxing politics allows any of the lightweight debates to play out that neatly remains to be seen. Whatever transpires, the debate over which lightweight Diaz shall reign supreme has been reduced from 3 to 2. David waits in the wings, but at the end of this Dia de los Diaz, La noche belonged to Juan.
