It's official: Paul Malignaggi vs. Juan Diaz II on 12/12 in Chicago plus Victor Ortiz

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/news/story?id=4626191 Diaz, Malignaggi to meet again Dec.12 By Dan Rafael ESPN.com Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi, who slugged it out in a controversial unanimous decision win for Diaz in August, will meet again in a junior welterweight rematch after the sides concluded months of negotiations Thursday. This time, the fighters will meet on neutral territory with the 12-rounder scheduled for Dec. 12 (HBO) at the UIC Pavilion on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. In their first fight, Diaz claimed the decision in his hometown of Houston, where many believed he was the recipient of a little home cookin'. Particularly panned by critics of the decision was the 118-110 scorecard rendered by Texas judge Gale Van Hoy. "I enjoyed beating Malignaggi the first time and I'm more than willing to do it again," said Diaz, a former unified lightweight titlist. "This time though, I'm looking for the knockout so I don't have to hear his mouth anymore." Diaz (35-2, 17 KOs) moved up in weight for the first fight, which was contracted at a maximum weight of 138½ pounds. Diaz agreed to 139 for the rematch. "The public demanded this rematch and I am looking forward to fighting Diaz for the second time," said Malignaggi, a former junior welterweight titlist. "This time I'm going to get the win on my record." Diaz promoter Golden Boy and Malignaggi promoter Lou DiBella spent the last two months trying to iron out details of the fight. Besides the typical financial haggling, the main issue was where the fight would take place. Malignaggi (26-3, 5 KOs) refused to return to Texas, where he believed he was robbed of a decision. Diaz manager Willie Savannah did not want to come to Malignaggi's hometown of New York or even to an East Coast site such as Atlantic City, N.J., which had significant interest in hosting the bout. So the promoters settled on Chicago, where they hope to draw from the large population of Mexican- and Italian-Americans. "After how exciting and close their first fight was, it made a rematch a natural choice to close out the year for us," Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya said. "Diaz and Malignaggi are two talented young fighters at the top of their games, but there is no doubt that Juan won the first fight and he will beat Paulie again." Said DiBella: "Sometimes rematches are forced and sometimes rematches are inevitable, but this rematch was necessary. I look forward to a great fight on Dec. 12 and for all of the questions to be answered. I thank all involved for making the right thing happen." In a supporting bout on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" telecast, junior welterweight Victor Ortiz will face former welterweight title challenger Antonio Diaz (46-5-1, 29 KOs), who is looking for his fifth consecutive win since ending a three-year retirement in 2008. Ortiz (24-2-1, 19 KOs), the 2008 ESPN.com prospect of the year, is coming off his first loss, a sixth-round TKO to Marcos Maidana in June after which Ortiz took a lot of heat for quitting at the end of the all-action interim junior welterweight title bout. "After Victor's first loss, I think Diaz will test him," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said. "I told Eric Gomez and Shelly Finkel that I hope you guys know what you're doing. This is a good chance for Antonio Diaz too. I know Diaz whenever he fights, it's a good fight. This is a fight I am personally looking forward to. Frankly, I'd like to have someone a little easier for Victor." Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.