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Good read, good question : Why is Juan Diaz not respected or a fan favorite?
Juan Diaz Deserves Your Respect
http://www.secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=23011
By Matt Wells: How many undefeated, championship-calibre fighters are there out there? Not many. How many fighters hold three major championship belts? Not many. How many fighters in boxing have ever accomplished so much at the age of 24? Not many. Yet despite all this, why is it that Juan Diaz, with a record of 33-0, and possessing the IBF, WBA, and WBO lightweight belts, is still not even close to being a boxing superstar?
Mind you, young Diaz did get a few heads turning in his direction with his utter destruction of rugged ring warrior Julio Diaz last weekend, which earned him his IBF stripe. Yet this bout received only a fraction of the attention that that was given to the big fight of the previous weekend between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera. That fight was on pay-per-view; Diaz’s win was on regular HBO. Pacquiao and Barrera fought to a packed house; the Diaz and Diaz show attracted only a handful of spectators.
Many will claim, with some justification, that even to try to compare these two events is absurd. Barrera is something of a living legend, while Pacquiao is a nothing short of a marketing phenom. And their rematch had been highly-anticipated ever since their first match-up. Few fights could match the hype, and money, generated by that contest.
At the same time, it is still noteworthy how Juan and Julio’s bout felt so much like an afterthought after the previous weekend’s proceedings. Julio had squared off with some of the best fighters the lightweight division has had to offer, and never made a bad showing of himself, even when he lost. Juan already had a well-established reputation for full-bore action and excitement, and was carrying two belts into the ring with him. For all their accomplishments, in the days leading up to their duel, few fans and pundits seemed appeared particularly excited about it.
Juan came out the winner, of course, and, given his impressive performance, and the fact that he is a three-time major title champion, one would expect that he would begin to get the attention he deserves. But what is the big story from the weekend that everyone is talking about? Evander Holyfield’s loss to Sultan Ibragimov. A heavyweight that should have retired at least five years ago losing to another who once drew against the likes of Ray Austin. Huh?
Given all of this, two questions linger. One: does Juan Diaz deserve to be considered a potential (or current) boxing superstar? Two: if so, why does he not get the attention of other (many less-talented) fighters?
Juan is not without his faults. Lack of power is his most glaring. No matter how many times he whacks an opponent, he can never seem to score a KO blow. Fights end by stoppage only when his opponents quit on their stools. One wonders what would happen if he faced an opponent that could stand up to his blows and deliver more powerful shots in return. Pacquiao, called out by Juan and his camp following his latest win, could be just such an opponent.
Suffice it to say that Juan is likely not ready to face the likes of Pacquiao. But that’s not to say that he couldn’t give the Filipino sensation trouble somewhere down the road. Juan may not be able to end fights early, but given his incredible endurance, he may never really to do so. Juan often looks just at fresh in round 12 as he does in round 1. As he relentlessly pounds his opponents from wire to wire, they often can’t come close to matching his energy in the late going.
Juan is no mere wild swinger, however. His punches come quick, and they land more often than not. Even if his opponents block much of what is coming at them, as Julio was able to do, they can’t block everything, and the shots that do get in take their toll. Juan’s combinations are elaborate affairs, with lefts and rights coming in quick succession and in varied forms and patterns. Julio, about as tough a customer as they come, simply looked overwhelmed in the ring when Juan was at his best, and he lost control of the fight quickly after the opening bell.
Juan has other problems. His defence is often suspect. Julio was able to get his some good punches of his own, even with all the momentum of the fight going against him. Juan has also taken damage in some of his other high-profile fights.
He’s not perfect, but no fighter is, and many are a lot worse. More than that, however, Juan gives you plenty of bang for your buck: his style is purely offensive, even when he is facing return fire. His is a crowd pleaser all the way. That is, he is a crowd pleaser when the crowds actually show up to watch him.
Juan is not an obscure fighter by any means. But given his record, given his talent, and given his exciting style, it’s strange that he is not even close to being a marquee name in the sport. Why is Juan not as big a draw as he probably should be?
It’s hard to determine what makes a fighter popular, or what makes him unpopular. Certainly success and a pleasing style go into the mix. But, for many fans, there are likely other factors in play as well, factors that are harder to nail down in concrete terms.
Juan doesn’t have the bravado of a Roy Jones Jr. or a Floyd Mayweather Jr. He doesn’t cut a mean figure like the best of the heavyweight greats. He doesn’t possess the scary intensity of Barrera and his rival Erik Morales. He doesn’t chomp on a cigar and make wisecracks like James Toney. Though he is from a working-class family, he doesn’t have the English working-class charm of a Ricky Hatton. Juan is a soft-spoken young man, and slightly soft around the edges to boot. He doesn’t scare or offend outside the ring. He calls boxing a pastime as he looks to law school and a possible career in politics.
In short, Juan does not behave like a boxer. But, unlike Jermain Taylor, who seems to lack focus both inside and outside the ring, Juan is a genuine boxer. So it’s a shame that his class and good manners are possible reasons why he is ignored. Not all fighters can turn themselves into a complete entertainment package in the manner of Jones Jr. But such showmanship should not distract the hard-core boxing fan from what really matters, and Juan delivers every time when it comes to his craft.
Juan has had some bad luck in his career, as well, which has cost him from a marketing standpoint. A highly-anticipated match-up with Ebo Elder, slated for an ESPN pay-per-view show a couple of years back, had to be cancelled when Juan suffered a serious cut near his eye. The cancelled fight dealt such a blow that his first fight back a few months later wasn’t even televised.
Juan bounced back and scored a big win over Jose Cotto in early 2006, but then spent much of the rest of the year waiting for mandatory challenger Kostya Tszyu to commit to a rematch. That never happened, and then Juan ran into promotional entanglements as he signed with Don King Productions after reports had him going to Golden Boy. Nothing serious in the way of litigation followed, but the movement to a new promoter necessarily caused further delays. It wasn’t until April of this year that Juan was once again matched up with a truly worthy opponent in Acelino Frietas, whom he dispatched with relative ease.
Now that Juan’s troubles seem to be behind him, however, it’s time for fans to step him and give him the accolades he deserves. He may not be a pound-for-pound great, but he is one of the most exciting attractions in the sport today. Here’s hoping his next fight is in front of a sell-out crowd, with a big television audience tuning in to watch him work his furious fists.
October 19, 2007
Why is Juan Diaz not respected or a fan favorite?
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Originally Posted by Bilbo
Very well stated...but I thought that he was the WBC champ?
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