After controversy, heated conversations and negotiations were settled, former three-time lightweight world champion Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz and former junior welterweight world champion Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi met face-to-face yesterday to announce the December 12 rematch of their exciting August 22 bout.

Diaz and Malignaggi will square off on neutral ground at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois in a12 round junior welterweight bout that will be televised live on HBO's Boxing After Dark. More...

The fans demanded it and so did the fighters, so on Saturday, December 12, one of 2009's most exciting fights gets an encore, as Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz meets up with Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi once again, this time on neutral territory at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois in a 12 round rematch of their August 22, 2009 battle.

HBO Boxing After Dark will televise the bout along with a co-main event featuring the return of top junior welterweight contender "Vicious" Victor Ortiz in a pivotal 10 round matchup against the always dangerous contender Antonio Diaz. More...

Last night at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX, light welterweights Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi engaged in a spirited give and take contest that went all 12 scheduled rounds for the NABO title.

Former IBF titlist Malignaggi had managed to keep the fight largely on the outside for at least half the contest, where he could keep the shorter Diaz at bay and subject to jabs and right hands.

The New Yorker also kept the pace of the bout slower than what Diaz would have liked through the use of accurate countering skills and good footwork.

Diaz did break through Malignaggi's perimeter defense many times and the ex-world lightweight champion won most of the exchanges on the inside with his superb body-work and short hooks and uppercuts. More...

© Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos / Golden Boy Promotions

Headlining a big show tonight at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX is former lightweight champion Juan Diaz's move up to light welter to face Paulie Malignaggi in a 12 rounder.

Diaz, 34-2 (17), barely broke the lightweight limit during the weigh-in yesterday and former IBF 140 pound titlist Malignaggi, 26-2 (5), hit the scales at his lightest weight since 2002.

Both fighters have only two losses and both came against top competition; Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton for Malignaggi and Juan Manuel Marquez and Nate Campbell for Diaz. More...

© Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos / Golden Boy Promotions

Ahead of the Golden Boy Promotions fight card tonight at Toyota Center in Houston, TX, the principal boxers have been weighed.

NABO junior welter championship, 12 rounds
Juan Diaz: 137.75 lb
Paulie Malignaggi: 138.25 lb More...

© Aaron Sprecher

Former Three-Time Lightweight World Champion Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz will take on former Junior Welterweight World Champion Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi in a 12 round junior welterweight bout this Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.

The co-main event will feature a world title showdown between IBF Junior Lightweight World Champion Malcom Klassen and former Two-Time Featherweight World Champion Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero in a 12 round bout for Klassen's title. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

This Saturday on August 22, Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz will return to the ring to face Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi at the Toyota Center in his hometown of Houston, Texas. The bout will be at a catch-weight of 138.5 pounds and for some is being considered a cross-roads fight for the two fighters.

Malignaggi 26-2 (5) is one fight removed from a one-sided TKO loss to Ricky Hatton which was stopped by his trainer Buddy McGirt. After a unanimous decision against lightly regarded Christopher Fernandez in April the “Magic Man” was scheduled to face Mike Alvarado who pulled out of their proposed show down. With limited options available, Malignaggi accepted an offer to fight Diaz at a catch-weight of 138.5 which is the first time he has fought under the junior welterweight limit for some time.

Diaz 34-2 (17) is coming off the second loss in his career when he was stopped last February by pound-for-pound champion Juan Manuel Marquez. The “Baby Bull” was applying pressure well and winning the early rounds of the Marquez showdown until he was cut badly in the eighth round and later knocked down twice in round nine, where the fight was waved off by the referee.

Saddoboxing had the privilege of speaking to Diaz in an exclusive interview to discuss his upcoming bout with Malignaggi. More...

Houston's finest will be out in force at Toyota Center on the Saturday, August 22 HBO Boxing After Dark undercard, as unbeaten hometown rising stars Hylon Williams and Jermell Charlo will be featured on the hottest night of the boxing summer.

Joining Williams and Charlo on this stacked card will be fellow Houstonians Marcus Johnson, Adam Richards and Darlington Agha, as well as Philadelphia's undefeated rising star Danny Garcia, unbeaten power hitter Adrien Broner, Philadelphia's Mike Perez and Texas' Omar Figueroa. More...

After six weeks of hard work in the isolated mountains of Big Bear California, former two-time featherweight world champion Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero is entering the final days of training camp.

"I've been sparring with Sugar Shane Mosley and the knowledge he's been giving me is priceless," Guerrero said. "Shane is a great teacher and I'm grateful to be learning from one of the best fighters in boxing history. My weight is good and I can't wait to arrive in Houston. The final days are here and all the hard work and sacrifices will pay off come fight night." More...

Through 17 professional fights, Daniel "The Golden Child" Jacobs has passed all of his tests with flying colors, winning each bout impressively against increasingly tougher opposition.

On Saturday, August 22nd, at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Jacobs will face his stiffest challenge to date when he battles veteran contender Ishe "Sugar Shay" Smith in a ten round bout for the NABO Middleweight Championship that will open the highly anticipated HBO Boxing After Dark (BAD) telecast. More...

Tickets for Houston's upcoming showdown between four of boxing's best at Toyota Center are on sale now.

On Saturday, August 22nd, Houston's own and former Undisputed Lightweight Champion Juan Diaz will square off against former Junior Welterweight Champion Paulie Malignaggi in the main event while Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero will challenge for a world title in a second weight class when he takes on IBF Junior Lightweight Champion Malcolm Klassen in the co-feature. More...

There's nothing in the world like Texas heat in August. On Saturday, August 22nd, four of boxing's best will square off at Houston's Toyota Center in an event that will raise the temperature of a sweltering summer of boxing even higher.

In the main event, former Undisputed Lightweight World Champion and hometown hero Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz takes on former 140-pound world titleholder Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi of Brooklyn, New York, while the co-featured bout sees heavy-handed Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero challenge for a world title in a second weight class when he takes on IBF Junior Lightweight World Champion Malcolm Klassen. More...

British Champion John Murray believes he’s ready to take on the biggest and best names in the lightweight division and he’s willing to do so on away ground if necessary.

Murray makes the second defence of his British title at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan this Saturday (June 13th) knowing that a win could see him travel to Houston, Texas for a showdown with marquee U.S. name Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz later in the summer. More...

© Emily Harney

Lightweight contender Rolando Reyes made his first Houston visit a memorable one as he spent part of Thursday night assuring former world champion Juan Diaz that he is “more than ready” to return for a summer showdown. More...

SaddoBoxing has the honor of introducing Al Bernstein and his new exclusive column, "Al Bernstein On Boxing"!

In addition, Al authored the book "Boxing For Beginners", has written for The Ring and Boxing Illustrated and held the position of Managing Editor for Lerner Newspapers in Chicago.

We now live in a world where perception is much more powerful than reality. We see it in the political arena where spin doctoring by those in office and bias driven reporting by the media often colors public opinion more than actual facts…if we can still ascertain actual facts in that arena.

In America, many years ago there was a television police drama called Dragnet. In just about every episode the chief investigator Sgt. Joe Friday would interrupt a meandering witness by saying to them, “Just the facts.” Anyone who is truly involved with the sport of boxing, as a fan, a person who covers it, or someone working in the industry, would probably like to scream that Sgt. Friday phrase at the top of their lungs, to try and make some people actually care about the facts. More...

As most boxing fans know, when Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz wasn't hitting opponents in the boxing ring, he was hitting the books at the University of Houston.

The former three-time world champion will close the college chapter of his life on Sunday, May 17, when he will receive the academic equivalent of a world championship title as he accepts a bachelor's degree in Political Science during the University's commencement ceremonies at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. More...

Just under 27 years ago, two men stepped into the ring and created the most memorable 140lb bout to ever take place when former three division champion Alexis "El Flaco Explosivo" Arguello stepped up to challenge then reigning WBA light welterweight champion Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor in his quest for a fourth division championship.

Arguello, the crowd favorite by far, had not lost in five years and was widely considered one of boxing's pound for pound greats, while Pryor was undefeated and had developed an aura of invincibility, stopping 29 of his 31 previous opponents.

The bout did not disappoint onlookers in any way, shape or form as the two men went to war, giving it all they had until finally Arguello had enough and the bout was halted in the 14th round.

Until this day, no other 140lb bout has captured the heart of boxing fans the way Arguello vs. Pryor had, nor to this date has there been another light welterweight bout which produced the same amount of electricity that circulated through the air of Miami's Orange Bowl on November 11 1982. Not even when Julio Cesar Chavez faced off in the first of two meetings with Meldrick Taylor.

Some fans had even come to believe that we might not see another bout of that proportion in that division for another 50 years, if ever! This of course has little to do with the fact that talent has been scarce at that weight because the light welterweight division has been anything but lackluster in talent over these past 25 plus years. More...

It was a great night for boxing.

My friends and I got to the fight early. I was sent along to brave the Will Call window alone. There was a group of disappointed girls in line ahead of me that seemed to have bought their tickets from a scalper, only to realize later that they never actually received their tickets.

Ouch.

I struck up a conversation with a guy in front of me. He was a Texas fight scene patron, going to all the big fights in recent Texas history. Pacquiao-Barrera I, Chavez-Whitaker, heck…he’d seen them all.

The guy beside me was from Los Angeles. He told us he’d been to the past five big fights in Vegas, along with all of the Israel Vazquez-Raul Marquez masterpieces.

Feeling a little out of place standing there with my two in person fight resume, and nothing as big as any of those fights, I took solace in the fact that each of us seemed just as excited as the other. More...

© Hoganphotos

It was a big weekend of boxing across the globe but the biggest action took place last night at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX, with two world title fights on tap.

The clash for lightweight supremacy took place with the WBA, WBO and IBO titles at stake in a battle royale between former divisional kingpin Juan Diaz and ex-feather and super feather world champ Juan Manuel Marquez. More...

One of the most anticipated matchups in the lightweight division takes place tonight as Juan Manuel Marquez clashes with Juan Diaz for the WBA, WBO and IBO title belts at Houston's Toyota Center with WBA Featherweight Champion Chris John making his first American appearance on the undercard as the Indonesian faces local challenger Rocky Juarez.

Marquez, 49-4-1 (36), and Diaz, 34-1 (17), both made weight yesterday, coming in at 134.24 and 143.5 pounds respectively with John, 42-0-1 (22) tipping the scales at 125.25 pounds and Juarez, 28-4 (20), at 125.5 pounds.

At 35 years of age and a natural featherweight, Mexico's Marquez is risking a great deal in this contest with Diaz, who fought his first year as a pro at light welter and is ten years younger than Marquez.

Also, Diaz is immensely popular in his hometown of Houston and on his side he'll have a bigger portion of the large crowd expected to pack out the cavernous Toyota Center. More...