Juan Diaz vs. Julio Diaz
Under 11.5 Rounds (+215)
1.5 units
3 title belts are on the line Saturday night when lightweight champions Julio Diaz meets up with Juan Diaz in Chicago. Julio Diaz, holder of the IBF lightweight title, has patiently awaited a crack at Juan Diaz, owner of the WBA and WBO belts. Ticket sales to the fight have been slow, causing promoter Don King to practically beg the people of Chicago to turn out for what will surely be an explosive brawl. Real boxing fans surely know that this has the potential to be an incredible brawl.
For a variety of reasons, some outside of his control, the 5'9" Julio Diaz hasn't been a very active fighter in the last 2 years. Julio fought Ricky Quiles in February of 2006, easily winning a 12 round decision and in turn taking possession of the IBF title. His next fight against Jesus Chavez in March, 2006, ended abruptly in the 3rd round after his opponent's knee gave out. Julio's overall record is solid: 34-3, with 25 wins by KO. It's worth noting that 2 of his 3 losses came by KO.
The undefeated Juan Diaz is a bit of an anomaly in the boxing world. At 24, he's a full time student by day - a mild mannered one at that, and an international boxing champion by night. His record is a stellar 32-0 with 16 wins by KO. His last win came in April of this year against the seasoned Acelino Freitas, who retired in the 8th, having had all he could stomach of Juan Diaz's punishment.
It's a bit surprising that the oddsmakers chose to set the under in this fight at +215 and there is excellent value on the play. I don't expect Juan Diaz to lose this fight, as he's the younger and faster fighter who comes into the fight with a perfect record. Nor do I see Julio Diaz outpointing Juan Diaz, but there is a chance that the younger Diaz could get sloppy with his defense - as some big punchers tend to do - and allow himself to get caught with some damaging shots. Julio Diaz certainly has knockout power, so the under proposition covers the off-chance that Juan lets his guard down and gets floored. However, it's more likely that Juan Diaz will come with a late round knockout en route to a spectacular unification. He's simply too strong and too busy of a puncher to allow Julio Diaz any real chance of taking all 3 belts.