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Rising From the Ashes
This Saturday, Interim IBF Lightweight titlist Julio “The Kidd” Diaz takes on full IBF Champion Jesus “El Matador” Chavez at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida on a Don King promotion. The fight will be broadcast on Showtime on the undercard of the Tomasz Adamek – Chad Dawson WBC Light Heavyweight title bout at 9PM ET. SaddoBoxing spoke to “The Kidd” after a press conference in Florida and you won’t want to miss what Diaz had to say in this exclusive interview.
SaddoBoxing: You’re fighting Jesus Chavez this Saturday on Showtime. How are you feeling?
Julio Diaz: “Good, very excited. This is going to be a great fight; we’re going to display a great performance”.
SB: How has your last loss against Castillo made you a better fighter?
JD: “I got the experience I needed. Sometimes you learn more from the defeats than the victories. There’s no way Chavez will bring the same size and power as [Jose Luis] Castillo. Castillo was an oversized lightweight. I was never hurt. The fight was stopped because I had cuts on my eyes”.
SB: Do you see any weaknesses in Chavez that you’re looking to exploit?
JD: “Well, you know his weaknesses are that he only has one style of fighting—just basic come on and get you. I think that will benefit me because I’m a natural boxer”.
SB: After a year-and-a-half layoff following a fatal KO of Leavander Johnson, do you think that Chavez is mentally ready for you or do you think he’s staking this fight because he has to?
JD: “From what I see, I don’t think that should be a problem, I think he’s ready to go. It’s tragic, but it could have happened to anybody. It wasn’t his fault”.
SB: How long have you been the IBF interim champion?
JD: “Since beating [Ricky] Quiles last year in March, I think it was”.
SB: Any prediction as to what’s going to happen when you and Chavez step in the ring together?
JD: “You know, I’m hoping the fight goes as planned for what I trained for. I should have no trouble with him if the fight goes how I trained for. As long as I have no problems with myself and I feel good, I should have no problem”.
SB: What about you will make you the ruler of the division?
JD: “I got the skills that it takes. You know, I’m a young, strong lightweight. I’m clean cut, well-spoken, educated. I got what it takes to be a super star in the division”.
SB: In a previous article, I wrote that Acelino Freitas would try to get out of a verbal agreement to fight you, because you’re tall and have long arms. What do you think made him avoid you?
JD: “I am a threat to any fighter to any fight coming in. All in all, I’m a great fighter and this guy didn’t want to take the risk in me. He wanted a bigger purse to lose against Casamayor”.
SB: It seemed that a mental weakness was exposed in the way that Freitas lost to Diego Corrales, one that I don’t think he can recover from, and I think anyone who remotely resembles Corrales has an automatic edge over him.
JD: “I wanted the Freitas fight because I’m a 100 percent sure he’s a lot easier than Chavez. He’s sloppy, he doesn’t have a heart, he’s like a bully and when someone steps up to him he doesn’t know what to do. Corrales stepped up to him and he didn’t know what to do. Chavez is a more careful fighter with more resistance. He has a lot more heart”.
SB: Do you see yourself being able to KO Chavez?
JD: “I’m looking forward to the stoppage. I’m looking forward to punishing him a lot. I know what kind of heart he has. He has a strong heart. I have a big task trying to put him down”.
SB: Is there anything that you’d like to say in closing?
JD: “Thank everyone for supporting”.
SB: Good luck on Saturday night.
JD: “Thank you”.
