Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Sayson: Baby Bull stampedes Julio Diaz By Homer Sayson Second Overtime
CHICAGO - Through an invite from Allan Hopper and Ed Keenan of Don King Promotions, I was a witness in the unification of three lightweight titles last night at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, a northwest Chicago suburb.
I sat at Row D, Seat 6. So close to the action, I almost got gored by one of the combatants, a 24-year-old Texan named Juan Diaz, nicknamed Baby Bull.
Diaz fought another Diaz, a guy named Julio, who entered the ring with the IBF belt on his waist. Julio, 27, lost his jewel by TKO, quitting on his stool in the 9th round.
“I couldn’t get started,” Julio told reporters after his surrender. “He has a lot of energy. I tightened up when I tried to overpower him. Juan is a hyper kid with a lot of heart.”
To me, the Baby Bull isn’t just hyper. He is a whirlwind. He doesn’t have a one-punch knockout power, but he throws in perpetual motion. And his blows are dangerously accurate as proven last night, when he connected on 339 of 774 punches (44 percent).
And the Baby Bull is so quick, he should be renamed Baby Pony.
If Juan Diaz, a political science student at the University of Houston, were a courier service like UPS or Fed-Ex, his punches weren’t just delivered overnight or next day. His punches were stamped “next-minute delivery.”
That relentlessness was simply too much for Julio, who fell to 34-4 with 25 KOs.
Juan, a likable, very well-spoken young man, now owns the WBA, WBO and IBF crowns. He stayed undefeated at 33-0 with 17 KOs.
Because of his younger legs and patented aggressiveness, Juan was a heavy minus-500 favorite. You had to bet $500 on him to win $100. Julio was a plus-300 underdog, meaning a $100 dollar wager on him yields a $300 dividend.
The oddsmakers couldn’t have been more right. Juan bullied Julio right from the opening bell, chasing him around the small ring like a dejected lover.
And as constant as his advance was, it was amazing how Juan got hit only by 185 of the 885 punches Julio threw. The Baby Bull’s defense wasn’t exactly impregnable, but it definitely was somewhere within that province.
Juan did get hit with some sneaky uppercuts from Julio, but the Baby Bull, showing a champion’s chin, took the shots remarkably well.
Another Diaz—David—holds the WBC lightweight belt. A Chicago native, who beat and retired Erik Morales last Aug. 4 at the All-State Arena here, David was at ringside for the Diaz vs. Diaz. He looms as a logical next foe for Juan, but the Baby Bull has other plans.
Juan Diaz wants Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao.
“Pacquiao just beat an old legendary warrior (Barrera), it’s time for him to step up and face a young Mexican warrior,” Diaz told Larry Merchant of HBO in an interview atop the ring immediately after the fight. “My eyes are set on Manny Pacquiao,” Diaz said before a deafening roar from the sparse crowd that gathered for the event.
Juan’s promoter, Don King, also wants Pacquiao, saying, “that’s where the money is,” obviously referring to Pacquiao’s massive pay-per-view appeal.
Will Manny bite the bait?
Maybe, but so much money is still to be made at 130 pounds, where a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez figures to be a pay-per-view blockbuster, a grudge bout everyone wants to see.
Eventually, though, given his recent and pronounced weight struggles, Manny might have to move up. But he must test the waters first and see if he can bring his power at 135, and if he can take a punch from a guy who weighs 135.
If Manny can do both, he can easily clean up the lightweight ranks.
The remaining Diazes in the field — Juan and David – are ideal, if not tailored-made for Pacquiao. They both like to come forward and go for an all-out brawl.
