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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.
“I enjoyed beating Malignaggi the first time and I’m more than willing to do it again,” said Diaz, who scored a hard-fought 12 round unanimous decision win over Malignaggi in their first fight on August 22. “This time though, I’m looking for the knockout so I don’t have to hear his mouth anymore.”
“The public demanded this rematch and I am looking forward to fighting Diaz for the second time,” said Paulie Malignaggi. “This time I’m going to get the win on my record not just from the boxing community and the fans.”
“After how exciting and close their first fight was, it made a rematch a natural choice to close out the year for us,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “Diaz and Malignaggi are two talented young fighters at the top of their games, but there is no doubt that Juan won the first fight and he will beat Paulie again.”
“Sometimes rematches are forced and sometimes rematches are inevitable, but this rematch was necessary,” said Lou DiBella President of DiBella Entertainment. “I look forward to a great fight on December 12 and for all of the questions to be answered. I thank all involved for making the right thing happen.”
“The first meeting between these two fighters produced a close fight with great back-and-forth action, but the result obviously left a lot of people longing for a more gratifying outcome,” said Luis Barragan, director of programming, HBO Sports. “We’re pleased to be able to give fight fans an opportunity to see these two talented boxers fight again and hopefully battle to a more incontrovertible outcome.”
Diaz vs. Malignaggi II: 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 rematch of their exciting August 22, 2009 bout.
The co-main event will feature a junior welterweight showdown between top contender “Vicious” Victor Ortiz and former world title challenger Antonio Diaz. The evening of boxing is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and DiBella Entertainment in association with 8 Count Productions. The bouts will air live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:15 pm ET/PT (9:15 pm CT).
