| Juan Díaz | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Juan Díaz |
| Nickname(s) | Baby Bull |
| Rated at | Lightweight Junior Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | September 17, 1983 Houston, Texas |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 39 |
| Wins | 35 |
| Wins by KO | 17 |
| Losses | 4 (1 KO) |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Juan Díaz, born September 17, 1983 in Houston, Texas, is a retired Mexican-American boxer in the lightweight (135 lb) division. His record is 35–4 (17 KOs). He is the former unified WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world lightweight champion.
On June 7, 2011 Juan Diaz announced his retirement from boxing to attend The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Law School.
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Diaz was 105–5 as an amateur, winning 13 National Gold Medals, two National Silver Medals and four World Championships.[1] He thought he had qualified for the 2000 Mexican Olympic team but was informed he was too young to compete in Sydney. He did not want to wait four more years and turned pro.
Díaz made his professional boxing debut at age 16 on June 23, 2000 with a first-round TKO victory over Rafael Ortiz.[2] He won his first five fights by knockout.
On November 22, 2003, Díaz won the WBO youth lightweight title with a sixth-round TKO of journeyman Joel Pérez.[2] He accumulated a record of 24–0, which included wins over title challengers Joel Perez and Francisco Lorenzo, before challenging for his first world title.
On July 17, 2004, Díaz defeated Mongolian Lakva Sim for the WBA lightweight title by unanimous decision.[2] Díaz defended the title seven times.[2] On December 4, 2004, he defeated former two-time WBA lightweight champion Julien Lorcy by unanimous decision. In his second defense, he defeated Billy Irwin by 9th round tko. On April 8, 2006, he defended his title against undefeated José Miguel Cotto (brother of Miguel Cotto) with a unanimous decision victory.[2] In his next fight, he defeated Randy Suico by 9th round tko. On November 14, 2006, Diaz successfully defended his title for the fifth time against Fernando Angulo of Ecuador by unanimous decision.
On April 28, 2007, he successfully defended his title against WBO champion Acelino Freitas by TKO after Freitas forfeited the fight before beginning the 9th round, unifying the WBO lightweight championship with the WBA lightweight title. The fight took place in Mashantucket, USA.
On October 13, 2007, Díaz unified a third title by defeating IBF Lightweight champion Julio Díaz in Chicago Illinois. He became the first undisputed lightweight champion since Pernell Whitaker in 1992.
Nate Campbell defeated Diaz by split decision to become IBF, WBO, WBA Champion, on March 8, 2008 in Cancún, Mexico. This ended Diaz's undefeated streak of thirty-three wins.
Diaz's training is supervised by fitness guru Brian Caldwell of Houston Texas.[3]
Díaz (34–1, 17 KO's) won a 12-round split decision over Australia's previous WBO lightweight champion Michael Katsidis, (23–2, 20 KO's) on September 6, 2008. Diaz became the new IBO lightweight champion in the "No Retreat, No Surrender" main event fight at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Ringside judge Gale Van Hoy scored the fight 116–112 while Levi Martinez scored it 115–113, all for Diaz, but Judge Glen Hamada had it 115–113 for Katsidis.[4][5]
On February 28, 2009, Juan Manuel Márquez defeated Diaz in the 9th round of a 12 round bout for the unified world lightweight title. In the opening rounds, Diaz appeared to be winning the fight, pinning Marquez on the ropes and occasionally staggering him with big left hands. In the eighth round, Diaz was cut over his eye by a Marquez punch, much like he was in the loss to Nate Campbell. After starting strong in the ninth round, Marquez's precision punching proved to be too much and Diaz was knocked down twice, bringing an end to the fight. This fight was named "Fight of the Year" for 2009 by Ring magazine and ESPN.com.[6] A rematch was scheduled for July the 31st 2010. The fight was held live on Pay Per View and in U.S. Theaters[7] around the country.
On August 22, 2009, Diaz moved up in weight to challenge Paul Malignaggi for the vacant WBO NABO light welterweight title at a catch-weight of 138½ pounds in his hometown of Houston, Texas. Although the fight was competitive, Malignaggi appeared stronger in the latter rounds. Diaz was ultimately awarded a unanimous decision, however, the scores were controversial with one judge scoring the fight 118–110 in Diaz's favor. Harold Lederman scored the fight 7 rounds to 5 for Malignaggi. On December 12, he had a rematch vs Paulie Malignaggi and was out worked easily by the quicker Malignaggi. All 3 judges scored it 116–111.[8]
Diaz fought Juan Manuel Marquez for the second time on July 31, 2010. Marquez won the fight via Unanimous Decision, 117–111, 118–110, 116–112
| 35 Wins (17 knockouts), 4 Losses, 0 Draws,0 No Contest | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 35–4 | Juan Manuel Marquez | UD | 12 (12) | 2010-07-31 | Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | For WBO/WBA Super World Lightweight Titles. |
| Loss | 35–3 | Paul Malignaggi | UD | 12 (12) | 2009-12-12 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois | Lost WBO NABO Light Welterweight Title. |
| Win | 35–2 | Paul Malignaggi | UD | 12 (12) | 2009-08-22 | Toyota Center, Houston, Texas | Won Vacant WBO NABO Light Welterweight Ttitle. |
| Loss | 34–2 | Juan Manuel Marquez | TKO | 9 (12), 2:40 | 2009-02-28 | Toyota Center, Houston, Texas | For Vacant WBO/WBA Super World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 34–1 | Michael Katsidis | SD | 12 (12) | 2008-09-06 | Toyota Center, Houston, Texas | Won Vacant IBO Lightweight Title. |
| Loss | 33–1 | Nate Campbell | SD | 12 (12) | 2008-03-08 | Plaza de Toros, Cancun, Quintana Roo | Lost IBF/WBO/WBA Super World Lightweight Titles. |
| Win | 33–0 | Julio Díaz | TKO | 9 (12), 0:01 | 2007-10-13 | Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois | Won IBF Lightweight Title. Retained WBO/WBA Super World Lightweight Titles. |
| Win | 32–0 | Acelino Freitas | RTD | 8 (12), 3:00 | 2007-04-28 | Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut | Won WBO Lightweight Title. Retained WBA Super World Lightweight Titles. |
| Win | 31–0 | Fernando Angulo | UD | 12 (12) | 2006-11-04 | Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona | Retained WBA World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 30–0 | Randy Suico | TKO | 9 (12), 2:06 | 2006-07-15 | MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada | Retained WBA World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 29–0 | Jose Miguel Cotto | UD | 12 (12) | 2006-04-08 | Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada | Retained WBA World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 28–0 | Arthur Cruz | TKO | 5 (10), 1:44 | 2005-07-16 | Coushatta Casino Resort, Kinder, Louisiana | |
| Win | 27–0 | Billy Irwin | TKO | 9 (12), 1:27 | 2005-01-21 | Reliant Center, Houston, Texas | Retained WBA World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 26–0 | Julien Lorcy | UD | 12 (12) | 2004-11-04 | AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas | Retained WBA World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 25–0 | Lakva Sim | UD | 12 (12) | 2004-07-17 | Reliant Center, Houston, Texas | Won WBA World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 24–0 | Martin O'Malley | TKO | 2 (10), 0:55 | 2004-04-17 | Pechanga Entertainment Center, Temecula, California | |
| Win | 23–0 | Joel Perez | TKO | 6 (10), 1:27 | 2003-11-22 | Reliant Center, Houston, Texas | Retained WBC Youth World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 22–0 | Francisco Lorenzo | UD | 10 (10) | 2003-07-19 | Reliant Center, Houston, Texas | Retained WBC Youth World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 21–0 | Eleazar Contreras Jr | UD | 10 (10) | 2003-05-10 | Pechanga Entertainment Center, Temecula, California | Won Vacant WBC Youth World Lightweight Title. |
| Win | 20–0 | John Bailey | TKO | 7 (10), 2:16 | 2003-02-01 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut | |
| Win | 19–0 | Arthur Cruz | TKO | 4 (10), 0:39 | 2002-11-22 | Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| Win | 18–0 | Roy Delgado | TKO | 6 (10), 0:46 | 2002-10-19 | Reliant Center, Houston, Texas | |
| Win | 17–0 | Peter Nieves | UD | 10 (10) | 2002-08-24 | Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| Win | 16–0 | Michael Davis | UD | 10 (10) | 2002-07-05 | Civic Center Arena, Laredo, Texas | |
| Win | 15–0 | Nelson Ramon Medina | UD | 8 (8) | 2002-04-27 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut | |
| Win | 14–0 | Juan Carlos Juarez | UD | 8 (8) | 2002-02-15 | Radisson Hotel, Houston, Texas | |
| Win | 13–0 | Rudolfo Lunsford | UD | 4 (4) | 2001-11-10 | Reliant Center, Houston, Texas | |
| Win | 12–0 | Ubaldo Hernandez | SD | 8 (8) | 2001-09-01 | Don Haskins Convention Center, El Paso, Texas | |
| Win | 11–0 | Scott Buck | TKO | 1 (6), 2:26 | 2001-07-27 | Soaring Eagle Casino, Mount Pleasant, Michigan | |
| Win | 10–0 | John Trigg | UD | 6 (6) | 2001-06-23 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut | |
| Win | 9–0 | Carlos Horacio Nevarez | KO | 1 (6), 2:44 | 2001-05-19 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut | |
| Win | 8–0 | Mahan Washington | UD | 6 (6) | 2001-03-02 | Texas Station Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 7–0 | Bradley Jensen | UD | 6 (6) | 2001-01-13 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut | |
| Win | 6–0 | Michael Lucero | UD | 6 (6) | 2000-12-01 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Nevada | |
| Win | 5–0 | Antonio Young | TKO | 2 (?) | 2000-11-10 | Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 4–0 | Starr Johnson | TKO | 3 (4) | 2000-09-22 | International Ballroom, Houston, Texas | |
| Win | 3–0 | Juan Carlos Alvarez | TKO | 1 (4) | 2000-09-02 | Salon Teotihuacan, Mexicali, Baja California | |
| Win | 2–0 | Miller Vazquez | KO | 1 (4) | 2000-07-22 | Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal | |
| Win | 1–0 | Rafael Ortiz | TKO | 1 (4) | 2000-06-23 | Poliforum Zamna, Mérida, Yucatán | Juan's professional debut. |
Díaz maintained a full-time academic schedule while boxing,[1] graduating high school from Contemporary Learning Center in Houston in 2001 [1] and obtaining a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Houston–Downtown.
Diaz is a community activist who has been deputized as a Volunteer Voter Registrar for Harris County (Texas). He works with the League of Women Voters of the Houston Area to promote full participation in civic life.[9]
Diaz's company, Baby Bull LLC, partners with ESPN Deportes to produce the radio show ``The Baby Bull Show, which guests popular boxers like Joel Casamayor, Saul Alvarez to name a few. He also has a trucking company, JD Trucking, with his brother Jose as partner.[1]
| Preceded by Lakva Sim |
WBA Lightweight Champion July 17, 2004 – February 23, 2007 Became super champion |
Succeeded by Jose Alfaro as Regular champion |
| Preceded by N/A Inaugaral champion |
WBA Lightweight super Champion February 23, 2007 – March 8, 2008 |
Succeeded by Nate Campbell |
| Preceded by Acelino Freitas |
WBO Lightweight Champion February 23, 2007 – March 8, 2008 |
|
| Preceded by Julio Díaz |
IBF Lightweight Champion October 13, 2007 – March 8, 2008 |
|
| Vacant
Title last held by
Pernell Whitaker |
Unified Lightweight Champion October 13, 2007 – March 8, 2008 |
|
| Vacant
Title last held by
Isaac Hlatshwayo |
IBO Lightweight Champion September 06, 2008 – February 28, 2009 |
Succeeded by Juan Manuel Márquez |