Tweet
Former lightweight titlist Juan Diaz and perennial featherweight contender Rocky Juarez are Houston's most well-known active fighters.
They came up together fighting for promoter Main Events. They both eventually wound up with Golden Boy.
They have fought on numerous cards together, including in their hometown. The most memorable one came in February 2009, when they co-headlined one of the best cards in Houston history. The packed Toyota Center rocked, but the hometown guys did not have their best nights.
Lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Diaz in the ninth round of what turned out to be the fight of the year. In the HBO-televised opener, Juarez got a gift draw in a featherweight title bout against Chris John in their first fight.
Diaz (35-4, 17 KOs) and Juarez (28-7-1, 20 KOs) are now in a bit of a no-man's land in their careers. Diaz, 27, is 2-4 in his last six fights. (And frankly, he should be 1-5, but he got a gift decision against Paulie Malignaggi in their first fight in Houston.) The 30-year-old Juarez has lost three in a row and is 3-6-1 in his last 10 fights, dating to 2006. Juarez is also 0-5-1 in world title bouts at featherweight and junior lightweight, but he had the unfortunate experience of running into the very best in each division at the time -- Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), John (twice) and Humberto Soto.
So now Diaz and Juarez are at a point in their careers where they don't have a lot of options in terms of notable or lucrative fights. It might mean they have to make the one fight that has always been in their back pocket for just such an emergency: a natural match against each other.
"We have been discussing a fight between the two of them," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told me the other day. "We'd do it from Houston, obviously, and fill up the Toyota Center. Our matchmakers [Eric Gomez and Robert Diaz] have talked about it. I basically told Eric and Robert to see if that fight can be made, and it's something we're working on. I think you would get a big gate for a fight like that in Houston. It's something I think the fans there would like to see. Maybe do it on a card with James Kirkland [who is from Austin]. That's just an idea."
Schaefer said his idea is to make the fight first and worry about a television deal later.
"The first thing is to get the fighters to agree to a deal and then get a venue and then you start working on TV," he said. "But you know what? It's a big enough fight in Houston where you don't necessarily need an HBO, because of the gate."
When Juarez lost a decision to Jorge Linares in July, he fought at 132 pounds. Diaz, who lost the rematch to Marquez on the same card, fights at 135, so weight would not be a factor if the fight was made.
Although I'm not all that interested in seeing Juarez again after several lackluster performances, Diaz is still an exciting and interesting fighter despite his recent run. But if I'm going to watch another Juarez fight, a match with Diaz is just what the doctor ordered, so I see where Golden Boy is coming from: Take two fading fighters, match them in a natural rivalry fight with hometown bragging rights on the line, and the winner will be at least a bit rejuvenated and get a chance for a bigger fight.
Willie Savannah, Diaz's manager, told me he's talked to Robert Diaz about the fight and said he's interested, although he has yet to sit down and talk with Juan Diaz specifically about the match.
"I don't know what Juan wants to do right now and I don't want to push him," Savannah said. "I would love to see him go to law school, but whatever his decisions are, I would support him 100 percent. If he wants to fight Rocky, or whoever, I will support him 100 percent."
Diaz and Juarez have known each other for years and are friendly, but they aren't close friends despite how often their careers have crossed paths because of shared promoters and cards.
"Rocky trained in my gym with Juan a lot of times and we've been knowing Rocky since he was, like, 14," Savannah said. "Juan and Rocky have no animosity toward each other. They are cordial to each other, but they are in different circles. I would say they're semi-buddies. They sparred together a few times in the amateurs."
Savannah agreed that the one match that could lift the winner out of his career doldrums is one between them.
"This is not a fight I would lobby for, but if it did come about there would be a lot of interest in Houston. It think they'd draw 14,000 or 15,000," Savannah said. "This would be a make-or-break fight for both fighters. 'Last man standing' would have to be the title. It would be the best fight I could think of for these guys. A good money fight for both guys, a good boost for their careers. It would jump-start Juan. It would be good for Golden Boy, it would be good for both guys.
"If Juan is going to continue, I don't see anything better for him than this."
Dan Rafael's blog
Comment