Chicagoland's most popular professional boxer, David Diaz, 29-1-1 (16KO's) returns home this Friday night, March 17th as he faces Silverio Ortiz Jr., 16-8 (7KO's) of Merida, Mexico in a ten round lightweight bout which headlines Madness in March at the Aragon Ballroom, another fantastic evening of professional boxing presented by Dominic Pesoli's 8 Count Productions, home of the best in Chicago boxing, in association with Bob Arum's Top Rank Incorporated along with Miller Beer and TCF Bank.

Diaz's last fight at the Aragon Ballroom was a ninth round TKO over Jaime Rangel on December 10, 2004. He also posted a unanimous decision win over John Trigg on the undercard of the massive Fernando Vargas/Javier Castillejo event on August 20, 2005 at Rosemont's Allstate Arena in front of more than 10,000 Chicago fight fans.

David spoke about returning to Chicago and fighting in front of his loyal fans, "It's great to be back fighting in Chicago; the fans here have been terrific to me since I was an amateur and throughout my pro career. I'm also happy to be fighting on SOLO BOXEO, it's very important because all of the fight fans across nationally and internationally can see the fight and they get to know you."

About his current plans, David said, "I'm staying at 135 and I'm looking for bigger fights this year. Ortiz is a slick, skilled guy who likes to move and not trade so much so I'm going to have to play a little cat and mouse game and trap him."

Speaking about the main difference in Chicago and fighting out of town, David said,
"The refs and judges here are very fair and very knowledgeable. There's no hometown stuff in Chicago, plenty of guys have come from out of town and won decisions they've deserved, it's not like that in other places. They do things by the book here and that's the way it should be."

The classy Diaz finished up by stating, "It's going to be a great event on Friday
night and I'm looking forward to putting on a terrific show at the Aragon."

Said Dominic Pesoli, President of 8 Count Productions' "We're very happy to bring David back to Chicago this Friday night. David's a true professional, always on time, always on weight, always prepared to give 100% in the ring. The fans know that and that's why he draws such big crowds. Ortiz is a very skilled guy and should make for a great matchup."

"David's only 29, but in many ways the younger local fighters starting out really
look up to him. He had a great amateur career, made the 1996 US Olympic Team and handles himself in and out of the ring like a professional should. He's a very good mentor to the younger guys."

The co-main event features two welterweight prospects as Chicagoan Gilbert Venegas, (9-1-2, 6 KO's) battles Mexican Francisco Rincon, (10-3, 5 KO's) now fighting out of Dallas, Texas in a scheduled eight round bout.

The Aragon Ballroom is located at 1106 W. Lawrence Avenue on the north side of Chicago. Doors for this event will open at 6pm, with the first bell scheduled for 7pm. Tickets starting at $25 are available in advance by calling 312-226-5800.

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