"In order for me to even consider taking an opportunity like that would be to come up the rankings again. I know that I have to prove myself once again to the public and to all the boxers that I am one of the best fighters out there so I have to pay my dues once again...I'm going to apply the pressure as I do best and I don't think he's going to be able to handle my pressure and my workrate. I don't think that he's going to be able handle it for the amount of rounds we do," stated former lightweight champion Juan Diaz as he talked about his upcoming clash with Paulie Malignaggi and his desire to climb his way back to the top to face the best fighter in and around the lightweight and jr. welterweight divisions. Check it out!
BT: Hey Juan, what's going on bro?
JD: Nothing much. Just over here on a hot Houston day; just trying to make it through this heat.
BT: You sweatin' it out down there?
JD: Oh yeah!
BT: Well, I wanted to congratulate you on graduating from college. That's a major accomplishment.
JD: Thank you very much man. It's seven years of hard work and finally I saw the light at the end of the tunnel; I took it, ran with it and finally finished up.
BT: How important do you think that is, not just for you, but for any boxer to get that degree and have something to fall back on once their boxing careers are over?
JD: It's very important for me man and I'm very excited that I actually got a chance to finish my degree while boxing because with boxers, any day at any point, our career can end and a lot of boxers don't have a gameplan as far as what to do after boxing. As far as I'm concerned, I'm ahead of the game already because I already got a call from IBM, well, not a call, but actually I was in one of those city council meetings and I met one of the representatives from IBM and he offered me a job and I was excited. I was like, "wow, I can't believe it." And it's not only because I'm a professional boxer, but because I am a college graduate and a professional boxer. So they offered me the job and I gladly said, "well thank you very much and I'll definitely be thinking about it." But for right now, I said to myself, "I don't think I'm ready to take a paycut just yet."
BT: (Laughing) I don't blame you. So how hard was that? I mean, when I went to college, I had to work my way through and I know it was tough to just hold down a job and go to school and get good grades. How difficult was that to do for you and have a boxing career? Do you think that ever affected any of your training camps for any of your fights?
JD: No, it never affected any of my training camps at all because I put in 100% of the work day in and day out everyday. I think the only thing that was different was that I definitely caught a lot of colds throughout training camp because my body would be so tired and my immune system would be so weak because day in and day out, I would go to school, box, do sparring sessions and whatnot, so my body was really broken down at the end of the day, which didn't leave me a lot of time to recuperate during the night and be up the next morning to do the same thing. So I think the only thing that's hopefully going to change now is that when my body starts breaking down, I can go home and relax instead of having to be physically and mentally stressed.
BT: I was just about to ask you that because I know on August 22nd you have the big fight with Paulie Malignaggi coming up and this is like your first real training camp without having to worry about the stress of school. Have you noticed a difference at all in training?
JD: Yeah. I definitely do. It's amazing what mental stress does to you. Just to know that right after practice, you have to go to school and hear the teachers for two hours speak, man, it's so stressful, but now that I know that I don't have to do that, I'm totally relaxed now. I'm 100% more relaxed than I have been in the past.
BT: That's gotta be a relief to not have to worry about doing a paper or something like that (laughing).
JD: Yeah, turn in a term paper or take a test or memorize things; all I have to do now is practice on what punches and what combinations to throw rather than concentrate on trying to memorize three or four pages of answers for a test.
BT: So how is training camp going?
JD: Right now, everything is running smoothly. I'm excited. I'm motiviated. Obviously, I have two losses and after my first loss against Nate Campbell, I was definitely ready to get back in the ring. Then I lost to Juan, same thing, I was ready to get back in the ring. I'm hungry. I'm hungry to become a world champion soon and it's just exciting for me. These times are very, very exciting for me.
BT: Especially fighting back in your hometown too again; that's gotta make you pretty pumped to get back in there.
JD: Yeah, it does. It's like a relief from everything else, like all the preparation that goes into traveling, getting hotels, finding places to eat and whatnot. Fighting here, it's just real, real relaxed and I don't have to worry about anything except showing up to the arena on the 22nd.
BT: Do you think that makes it easier on you? Do you feel less stress fighting at home in front of your fans or would you prefer to be in another city away from all the hussle and bussle?
JD: It doesn't really matter to me. It could be a little more stressful at times when I fight here in Houston because the promoters, they want me to go out and promote the fight so I have to go do interviews and I have to do publicity things as far as open workouts or go and sign autographs; that takes three or four hours. That's about the only thing that I do not like when I fight here in Houston. It's a promotional thing so I know I have to do it in order to put butts in seats, but that would be about the only difference. I don't mind fighting out of the state and out of my hometown. It doesn't matter where I fight because ultimately, when the bell rings, in that ring, it's just you and your opponent and that doesn't change whether we're here in Houston or somewhere in Alaska.
BT: Did you happen to see Victor Ortiz's fight or hear some of the comments he made after the fight?
JD: (Laughing) Yeah, I sure did. I definitely heard the comments. Some fighters, once the pressure is put upon them, they can't take the pressure. Some can, some can't. Maybe he was feeling those emotions at that time. Who knows? Who knows where his heart was at that moment in time? He might go back and see the comments that he said and say, "man, I can't believe I said that. I really do have love for this game and I don't want to give it up right now."
BT: Well, that's what I was going to ask you. He came out and said he got caught up in the moment and the crowd, he didn't really mean what he said and he didn't fight the way he had planned on fighting. Being young, how do you avoid not being caught up with the crowd and all that, especially when your fighting in your hometown.
JD: Well, the week of my fight, I turn off my cell phone. I don't look at any of the interviews that I or my opponent do. I don't let any of the fans distract me as far as comments on different types of websites or radio interviews. But the best thing I do is I turn off my cell phone because I know I have a lot of friends and family who call me who are super excited about me fighting here and they can't wait until they see me fight. I try to stay away from all the family and friends. All that excitement that they feel, I try to avoid that because I know that if I let them excite me, that's going to keep me away from really concentrating and focusing on what I have to do.
BT: So the fight's taking place at a catch-weight, right?
JD: Yeah, 138.5.
BT: I think this might be the first time that Malignaggi is considered the bigger guy.
JD: (Laughing) Yeah, I think so. I think it is. This time, I'm going to be the smaller guy, which I usually am not, but this time I am and it's a step to see how comfortable I feel fighting a little bit closer to the jr. welterweight division.
BT: So are you actually trying to put on a little more size for the fight? Are you just going to do a little less and come in a little heavier?
JD: Well, all my workouts are going to stay the same. Everything is going to stay the same because I can't take away from my workouts. I'm going to do my workouts as planned. The only difference is that I'm going to eat a little bit more. I'm going to eat an extra meal at night. Instead of eating something small, I'm just going to eat a regular meal at night, which is going to help me a lot because even right now, we still got about 7 weeks away from the fight and I'm weighing about 143 right now.
BT: So you're not going to have any problems with the catch-weight or anything like that. You should be good to go.
JD: I never do. I never do. Even at lightweight. I mean, three and half pounds...the thing that always kills me is that last pound. It always seems like I get to the end of the week or weigh-in time and that one pound is right there nagging at me so I think this time, it's going to be like, man, I gotta little room so I can eat a little bit more (laughing).
BT: Assuming all goes well on the 22nd, are you going to stay down at lightweight or are you going to go ahead and move up to jr. welterweight?
JD: It depends. It depends on what the options are. If a good fight comes along, a good championship fight comes along at 140, I'll take it and if a good fight comes at 35, then I'll go back down to 35. It all depends on what the options are. For me, it's about fighting the best guy out there and if it's at 135 or 140, it doesn't matter, I'm willing to fight at either weight.
BT: Well you know Manny Pacquiao is floating around at 140 now. I know you were licking your chops to get a hold of him at one point (laughing).
JD: (Laughing) Yes, at one point, I sure was. Right now, Manny Pacquiao is out of the picture and out of my radar right now because he's like America's most wanted right now. Everybody wants to fight him. In order for me to even consider taking an opportunity like that would be to come up the rankings again. I know that I have to prove myself once again to the public and to all the boxers that I am one of the best fighters out there so I have to pay my dues once again.
BT: Yeah, Manny's pretty much reached Oscar De La Hoya status where he can pick and choose his opponents. Everyone just kind of sits and waits and hopes they're the next lucky one to get picked.
JD: Yeah and I'm definitely not going to be waiting around for that. I have my own career and my own reputation and legacy to leave behind. I'm young so I'm willing to fight the best and establish myself as one of the best fighters pound-for-pound in the sport.
BT: You've only lost to Nate Campbell and Juan Marquez. Those are elite fighters and honestly, a lot of people had you winning the fight against Marquez so there's still a lot of options out there for you.
JD: Yeah, definitely and that is why I requested for a rematch against Marquez because when I look at the tape, I know that I was winning the fight. I got cut. I gotta give it to him. He caught me with some good punches and I went down. I requested for the rematch, but obviously he went for the biggest payday which was a fight with Mayweather.
BT: How bad were those cuts? Was there blood flowing in your eye? Was it a case where you vision was impaired? How big of role do you think those cuts played, not just in the Marquez fight, but in the Campbell fight as well?
JD: The blood was coming down my eyes and it's not like water. It just kept going and going and going. It's a lot thicker so it kind of made my vision a little blurry in my right eye, which I was cut right above my right eye. It made my vision a little blurry, which prevented me from seeing those clean punches he started catching me with.
BT: Do you think that also kind of plays on your mental state of mind just knowing that you're cut and you have to deal with that as well?
JD: I think it affected me differently this time, but with Nate Campbell, yes, it was that kind of attitude like, "man, I'm cut, what am I going to do?" Against Marquez, I think it affected me the other way around. I said, "man, I'm cut, I don't care, the hell with it, either I go down or he goes down." That mentality is what caused me to just go in there and trade punches without clearly seeing what he was throwing at me which caused me to get hit more than I had to. If I would have just laid back and boxed a little bit smarter, then I think the outcome would have been different.
BT: Well, you were definitely on your way to winning on the scorecards. Had that turned out another way, you might be fighting Manny Pacquiao right now (laughing).
JD: (Laughing) Yep, yep. But you know, that's a big if. I'm not going to dwell on the past, but just continue and move on with the future.
BT: Getting back to the future, you got Malignaggi coming up. He's known for being more of a slick boxer. Do you feel like you have to make any changes to your style or can we expect to see the same exciting Baby Bully coming at him with the constant pressure?
JD: Definitely. I'm going to apply the pressure as I do best and I don't think he's going to be able to handle my pressure and my workrate. I don't think that he's going to be able handle it for the amount of rounds we do. We're debating it right now whether to do 10 or 12. We're trying to get 12 because I believe that 12 will benefit me, but it all depends.
BT: So they haven't decided if it's going to be 10 or 12 yet?
JD: No, not yet.
BT: Well I think 12 would definitely benefit you (laughing).
JD: Yes it would (laughing).
BT: It's funny about boxing. Boxing is totally different than MMA. In MMA, you can have like 10 losses and still be considered an all-time great fighter. You've only got two losses to two great fighters. It's odd to think of it this way, but this fight with Malignaggi is almost like a do-or-die fight.
JD: Yeah, it sure is. It's one of those fights where I have to be focused and be ready for whatever comes up so that's the way I'm taking it. I'm going to take it one day at a time and be as smart as possible about it.
BT: It's just hard to believe that fans are so quick to write off fighters after one or two losses. Heck, they're already calling for Ricky Hatton's retirement now. I mean, you guys fight in some deep divisions. Win or lose for you or Paulie, there are a ton of guys in the division. You still have rematches with Nate Campbell and Juan Marquez that you can go after.
JD: Yeah, that's one of the things I don't really like about the fans of boxing. They write us off too quickly, but, it's one of those things that happens and that's just the way the sport is. Now, it's just a matter of me getting back in the ring, doing what I do best and coming out a winner big time.
BT: So you've been in the ring with Marquez and Campbell and you know what they both have to offer. They both have fights coming up. So who do you like? Campbell is facing Timothy Bradley and Marquez is facing some guy by the name of Mayweather (laughing).
JD: (Laughing) Well, I definitely think Mayweather is going to be the clear winner out of that fight and as far as Nate Campbell and Timothy Bradley, I think that Nate Campbell is probably going to have the edge on that fight.
BT: Really? As far as skill, I probably would say that Nate has the edge, but man, he's getting up there in age and there's something to be said about youth.
JD: Yeah, there sure is, but my two losses have been against seasoned fighters so I'm not going to be the one to write off an older fighter (laughing).
BT: (Laughing) That's definitely true. So August 22nd, tell us what the fans can expect.
JD: They can expect the Baby Bull back in action 100%. I plan on giving a lot of pressure and giving the fans what they love, which is to see a great action fight.
BT: Okay Juan, I don't want to take up too much more of your time. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
JD: Basically, just thank my fans for their support. Don't write off the Baby Bull because I will be back stronger than ever.
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