Thread: Awesome article on Juan Diaz

http://m axboxing.com/Kim/Kim101907.asp

Here are some excerpts:

"I think if we had just about three or four Juan Diazes they'd bring back boxing," said Larry Merchant, who called this past weekend’s bout for HBO. "He is a real phenomenon; I don't recall a fighter like him, as busy, as well-conditioned, being able to sustain such a high punch rate for as long as he does on the highest level. Because there is a vulnerability in a fighter who fights as aggressively as he does. But he just keeps coming. In the modern era I haven't seen a guy like him, because aggressive guys are usually punchers. They usually can break opponents down and get them late in the fight. But he does it a different way.

"The two fighters I've heard him compared to - two old-time fighters, greats - Tony Canzoneri, who was a great featherweight, lightweight in the late 20's and early 30's. I know Teddy Atlas thinks he's the greatest of all the Italian fighters - even over Marciano. A very busy fighter with a fairly low knockout ratio. And Henry Armstrong, now, he doesn't punch as crisply as Armstrong did, probably, but that kind of perpetual motion is unheard of."

It's fighters like Diaz that are boxing's greatest counterpunch to forces like MMA.

"Cus D'Amato used to say that the idea of professional prizefighting was to make money," recalled Merchant of the noted trainer. "The way you make money is by fighting in a style that people want to pay to see and people want to fill the seats, whether it's on television or in the arena. And so after a kind of a lull, in which we saw guys who were safety-first or semi safety-first fighters and happy to box their way to the bank, suddenly, we're developing some crowd-pleasing type fighters, like Kelly Pavlik, like Juan Diaz, like Miguel Cotto,Ricky Hatton, Mikkel Kessler - who I don't know if he can make an impact here - and this is good.

So what does Freddie Roach think of a Diaz fight for his man?

"It's a tough fight at '35," he would admit. "Juan's very active but not a big puncher. It's a fight we would think about taking, for sure.

But for now, they have unfinished business at 130, it seems.

"Manny told me he wants to fight his next fight at 130," said Roach, who mentioned the same possibilities as Arum that reside at jr. lightweight.

Roach believes that they would have to work their way into being a lightweight before taking on the Houstonian.

"I want to see how Manny feels at '35 first, test the waters a little bit. Why go into a big title fight right away with a guy like him? He's a big, strong guy and he's very active. But he's a little bit slow of hand and so forth. I think Manny could out-speed him, but I would like to see how Manny reacts to 135."

What remains to be seen is just how much punching power Pacquiao - who won his first world title as a flyweight - would carry up with him.

"I think he'd still have good power but maybe not the devastating power he had at '26 and '30, where he's been," said the respected trainer. "His speed I'm concerned about also, because maybe the speed won’t be quite as sharp at '35. He had to lose a couple of pounds for the last fight because he wasn't watching his weight; it wasn't a problem making weight. He has no problems making '30 and after the fight he kept talking about '35, but the next day when he talked to me he said he wanted his next fight at '30."


From the same article,Roach's thoughts. Try and read the whole article,it's a great piece,as per the norm from Steve Kim.

Nice one bro thanks

I think ya can put ya house on this fight happening next year. Will be a tough fight for Manny like, dont know how he would cope with the power Diaz brings, and will Manny's power transfer up yet another weight division

Kudo's to Manny if he takes the fight

As everyone knows & admittedly...I was slow coming onto Juan.

He's fantastic though. Exciting & good for the sport. A very respectful opponent.

Honestly...I think that he'd be too much for Pacquiao & I also think that most legit fighters @ 135lbs would be. I think Manny is best suited for 130lbs & there's plenty more to accomplish there.

I think we're rightly putting some eggs in Diaz's basket. For 24 he's still a couple of years off his prime, I can see him leading the pack at 135. He needs to fight Casamayor though, sooner rather than later before people say he's over the hill. And that fight is no forgone confusion, Casamayor is as versalite as they come, his experience and toughness is something Diaz hasn't faced yet.

CC back Hitman. I want to see Juan v Casamayor!!

Very good read, thanks Mr. Gamo. Casamayor or Katsidis/ Juan will be just fine with me. 2008 won't come fast enough for me.