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06/14/2006 Archived Entry: "David Diaz on Friday’s Fight: Ready, But Hinojosa is Out!"
David Diaz on Friday’s Fight: Ready, But Hinojosa is Out!
Interview and photograph by Juan C. Ayllon
David Diaz (left) does mitt drills with Mike Garcia at JABB Boxing Gym in Chicago
CHICAGO –At 30-1-1 and 16 knockouts as a professional boxer, 1996 Olympian David Diaz is itching for a world title. He is long overdue.
Finished with sparring and originally slated to fight Efren Hinojosa for the IBA Lightweight Title this Friday at Cicero Stadium in Cicero, Illinois, he is now looking at facing another fighter, as Hinojosa has dropped out at the last minute.
With two prospective opponents with records comparable to Hinojosa’s, Diaz is confident that he will still get a shot at the IBA title.
Taking a few minutes away from his home life, this last Saturday afternoon, Diaz talked about his upcoming fight, preparations, and his career.
JUAN AYLLON: How are you doing today?
DAVID DIAZ: Ah, pretty good!
JA: Are you all set for this Friday’s fight?
DD: Yeah, we’re getting there.
JA: What are you doing right now, as far as training goes?
DD: Actually, my last sparring day was yesterday. We went 10 rounds and I felt pretty good about it.
JA: What have you done differently in this training camp versus others?
DD: Just started off about three to four weeks earlier, so we did a whole bunch. We got ready for this fight almost eight weeks to really prepare ourselves for this fight.
JA: And what are you looking for, in terms of Efren Hinojosa?
DD: Well, see, now, there you go. The thing is that he dropped out. Something happened with his medicals. So, he’s out of the picture.
Right now, they’re looking at this one guy named Lamont Pearson and Daniel Alicea. Both guys have pretty good records and fought world rated fighters and hopefully, we’ll fight one or the other.
[Editor's note: According to www.boxrec.com, Lamont Pearson is 23-3-1 with 12 knockouts, with a win over Shamir Reyes for the vacant USBA Super Featherweight Title in September 2005 and two of his losses to Robbie Peden in August 2003 (L by TKO 7 for the vacant USBA Super Featherweight Title) and Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai for the WBA Super Featherweight Title in December 2002 (L by KO 9), respectively.
Daniel Alicea is 30-5 and 2 with 22 knockouts. His wins include a unanimous decision win over Brian Adams for the vacant NABF Super Featherweight Title in April 2002, a TKO victory over Juan Gomez in December 2005, and a stoppage victory over Hilario Guzman for the WBC Continental Americas Super Featherweight Title in November 1999. He lost his NABF title to Nate Campbell in September 2002 (L by KO 2) and was stopped by Acelino Freitas in December 2000, and Naseem Hamed for the WBO Featherweight Title in June 1996.]
JA: What do you know about either fighter?
DD: Not much, just that they fought against pretty good guys, lost against a couple of them. So, you know, they’re about the same caliber as Hinojosa, so that’s good to know.
JA: Will you still be fighting for the IBA Lightweight Title?
DD: Yeah, I believe I will because their record is pretty good. I think the IBA would approve them.
JA: Looking ahead, assuming all goes well, what would you like to do next?
DD: After this fight, hopefully we could get other big names and fighters. But, right now, I just want to concentrate on this fight, just take care of this one first.
JA: Are there any other fighters you would like to rematch? For instance, I know you had a hard time with Silverio last time around.
DD: Yes, if he gets down to weight and comes in at weight, I would have no problem fighting him again, or anybody else. Whoever gets in front of me is the one I’m going to fight. It’s up to my management and my promotion now to decide who I fight and when I fight. And, if I have to fight these guys again, then I’ll do it again.
JA: Now, you had one loss against Kendall Holt. I’ve heard various things about that bout. Is that one you would like to avenge at some point?
DD: Well, I mean, if it comes, it depends where he’s at in his career and where I’m at in my career. If I need him more than he needs me, then obviously, I would like to do it and if I don’t need him, then there’s really no reason to fight. But, it all depends on the path that we are on at the time. And, if there comes an opportunity like I said, I don’t duck nobody. I’ll fight anybody again, even if I lost to the person or I beat the person. I’ll fight them again. I have no problem with that. So, yeah, I would; I would fight him again. Yeah, I would fight him again today or tomorrow. But, first, we’ve got to take care of the opponent we’re going to face on the 16th.
JA: Are you feeling comfortable at lightweight?
DD: Yeah, I’m feeling pretty good. We’ve been like two to three pounds away from [1]35, not wanting to hit it yet. We’ll definitely hit it next week. So, we should be all right. We’re coming out the gym like at ’38 or ’37, so, you know.
JA: On a personal note, I know that you had a boy about a year ago. How is he doing?
DD: Mmm-hmmm. Oh, he’s doing good; he’s doing awesome. He’s walking around being a little menace in the house. It’s really, really nice.
JA: What’s his name again?
DD: David Anselmo.
JA: And his middle name is after your father, right?
DD: Yes, yes.
JA: Do you plan on having any other kids?
DD: Maybe. We’re not sure yet. We’ll see what happens first. [Laughs].
JA: I know that in the past you talked about once you finish with your boxing career, you wanted to get into training. Is that still your heart?
DD: Oh yeah! Definitely. I’m finding that I can talk to some of the guys and see something. That’s definitely something I would think about doing.
JA: I also remember you were looking for a promoter a couple years ago. Now, are you signed up with Dominic Pesoli?
DD: No, I actually signed up with Top Rank. So, my promotion company now is Top Rank and this will be our second fight. The last one with Silverio was our first fight. This will be our second one under Top Rank promotions.
We’re still working with Dominic here close. Anytime I fight here, Dominic is going to be helping promote any fight I’m in and I owe a lot to Dominic. He’s a very nice guy. I appreciate everything he’s done for me.
JA: And how have you found your experience with Top Rank so far?
DD: Well, so far, so good. It’s only been one fight and this is our second fight. So far, it’s pretty good—I mean, they’ve given me two TV fights. So, I guess it’s good. [Laughs].
JA: As far as your style goes, are you making any real changes?
DD: Not much. I’m just going to go out there and just give it my all and adapt to the fighter and see which guy I fight and how I’m going to do.
JA: Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fight fans?
DD: I just hope that everybody goes out there and enjoys it. And, if they can’t go, they watch it on TV and hopefully, with the grace of God, we will become Champion on June 16th and we can all celebrate!
