Exclusive Boxing Interview: Juan Diaz

Click for larger image © Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

Foxwoods Resort & Casino will be celebrating their 100th professional boxing card on April 28, 2007. The “Foxwoods Fight Centennial” will be headlined by a world lightweight title unification match between undefeated WBA champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz, 31-0 (15) and WBO champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas 38-1 (32). The fight will be co-promoted by Banner Promotions and Don King Productions.

A two day press conference was held this week in Boston and New York to officially announce the “Foxwoods Fight Centennial.” Art Pelullo of Banner Promotions and Don King both praised each other and their respective fighters stating that it would be a turning point for both fighters’ careers.

Diaz and Freitas also spoke with great respect about one another promising to put on an exciting battle.

Saddoboxing had the pleasure of speaking to Juan Diaz in an exclusive phone interview last week from Savannah’s s Boxing Gym in Houston, TX.

Click for larger image © Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

SaddoBoxing: Next week you begin a two day press tour in Boston and New York to promote your upcoming unification bout with Acelino Freitas on April 28, dubbed “Fight Centennial” and marking Foxwoods 100th professional boxing card; how are you feeling?

Juan Diaz: “Very, very excited because it’s a great opportunity for me to be fighting a great fighter like Acelino. This is the opportunity that I have been waiting for, this is what I have been working for my whole career and it’s finally here. I am just very excited and I can’t wait.”

SB: Freitas announced his retirement in October 2006, then came out of retirement and was re-instated as the WBO Lightweight Champion. What are the details of how this fight came about?

JD: “My fight fell off in February because of problems with the mandatory guy. Then we were able to get an exception from the WBA so we said we are going to take advantage of this and go for a big name fighter. The name that popped up at first was Casamayor. But I think Casamayor kind of bidded his way out of a fight because he was asking so much from HBO and Showtime that none of them wanted to give it to him.

“Acelino Freitas came out of nowhere looking for a fight. While the bidding was going on between Casamayor and the two networks, Art Pelullo and Don King sat down and they just said Casamayor is asking too much, the networks don’t want to give it to him, Don King’s not going to give it to him so they worked out a deal between me and Freitas.”

SB: Did you think you would have the opportunity for a unification bout so soon after changing promotional firms?

JD: “I really didn’t think so. I thought that I was going to be in big fights but not unification fights.”

SB: When we last spoke just before your unanimous decision over Fernando Angulo, you were in the process of signing a three fight deal with Don King; have any details of the contract changed?

JD: “No, nothing has changed. That fight [Angulo] wasn’t one of the three, so this is going to be my first fight of the contract.”

SB: If you stay active you could easily have three fights in 2007; did you have a reason why you chose a three fight contract?

JD: “Yes, actually there is because a three fight deal they can’t put you on the shelf. I was put on the shelf about two years ago and I didn’t fight for almost a year. Me being such a young fighter, I need to stay active, I need to take advantage of my youth right now.

“I think that a promoter only having three fights to deal with me they aren’t going to put me on the shelf or try to pull a lot of strings and manipulate me like if I were to sign a three or four year deal.”

SB: Is your plan to stay pretty active this year? Do you think you will get three fights in or maybe just two since you are starting a little later at the end of April?

JD: “I’m starting a little later but if things work out on the 28th, then hopefully we’ll keep our normal schedule and fight every three or four months and if that’s the case, I should be able to get my three fights in this year.”

SB: How do you like being promoted by Don King so far?

JD: “It’s pretty neat so far, it’s pretty good. He gave me a fight in November which was pretty good, more money then I have made in my other fights and on top of that, now he is giving me this huge unification bout so it’s working out real good so far.”

SB: With the press tour next week you will be less than four weeks from the fight. When did you begin training?

JD: “Actually by the time the 28th comes I will probably have about two months of training. I have not stopped since my last fight. I took about a week and a half off and then I started running and swimming because you never know when something is going to come up. But specifically boxing, it’s going to be about two month’s total training.”

SB: Obviously you know a bit about Freitas, what are you expecting from him?

JD: “I have seen some of the fights that I have got on the tapes. I’ve seen him fight before but now I am really starting to study him a little bit more. I think he is going to try and come out there and show me that he can push me around for maybe the first two rounds and than maybe start boxing like I have seen him do in previous fights.”

SB: Do you feel you have any advantage since this will be his first fight in twelve months?

JD: “I don’t see that as an advantage what I do see as an advantage is if he punches and moves that’s going to work right into my game plan. All the fights I’ve fought everybody has seen me come forward and put pressure and guys normally try to box me or go back and that’s when I’m at my best.”

SB: Freitas seems to have a variety of styles, he can be a boxer, a puncher and even in his last fight out against Zahir Raheem he was pretty passive throughout the fight; he can come in any type of way. Are you prepared for the different types of fighter you might be facing, the aggressive type or the passive, where you are going to have to be chasing him throughout the fight?

JD: “Yes, exactly I have three different sparring partners. They all show me different looks, one is aggressive, the other one moves a lot and runs. We are prepared for anything. Like you said we have seen all those different types of fights and fighting styles that he brings to the ring.

“I guess it depends on how he’s feeling or how he sees his opponent but we have seen that he can be aggressive; he can be a mover so we are prepared for it.”

SB: Would you like to make any predictions for the fight?

JD: “I am 23 years old, I am very anxious, very motivated and I’m not going to be denied come the night of the 28th. I know I am going to win, I don’t know how I can’t make that prediction but I know I’m going to win that night.”

SB: This is your first time in a while where you are headlining a major televised event for HBO, does that make any difference to you in the fight?

JD: “It definitely feels good to be on the spotlight because you know when you’re going to fight. You know you are the main event. It makes it that much more exciting knowing that all the eyes are going to be on you. It adds that little extra boost of confidence and energy that it makes me train hard because I know that everybody is going to be waiting for me to come out.”

SB: Besides your unification bout, Erik Morales is moving up to the lightweight division to challenge David Diaz for his WBC Lightweight title. Not looking beyond your fight, but are you excited about some of the possibilities that are going to be down the road for you?

JD: “Oh yeah, definitely. There are a lot of great opportunities right now for the lightweight fighters and I’m looking forward to winning this fight and being in some of those great fights.”

SB: How does your boxing career balance with your school schedule? Are you taking any classes this semester?

JD: “Yes. I am still taking classes. I am taking two government classes this semester. I actually started taking three but at times you may come across a professor that is not willing to work with you and doesn’t really care what you do or your work.

“Sometimes they don’t work with me and that’s one of the problems that I have come across. But as long as they are willing to work with me I am willing to work extra hard and keep my classes.”

SB: How has school been going overall?

JD: “It’s been going pretty good. I am scheduled to graduate in about a year and a half, if I keep this pace up of two or three classes a semester.”

SB: Can you explain about some of the charity work you are doing with Homeboy Industries?

JD: “I actually went to California to see what they do. It depends on the event sometimes I will get directly involved with it. I decided to have them be the ones to print my promotional Baby Bull T-shirts because it will give the opportunity for troubled youth and grown-ups to have something to do and work. That’s why I started working with them.”

“I also recently got involved with the Missing and Exploited Children’s Foundation as their spokesperson. I will be going to different cities here in Texas , speaking on how to show parents what to look for or how to prevent their children from becoming a victim or be abused by sexual predators.”

SB: That’s really great work that you are doing, you seem to have a very full plate right now.

JD: “Yes, a lot of the times I can’t make these events but when I can I’ll make sure to make it out to support them.”

SB: I look forward to seeing you next week at the New York press conference and I wish you the best of luck and appreciate the time.

JD: “Thank you very much.”