It's Diaz vs. Diaz on Saturday at Sears Centre
In a fight whose winner will claim three of the four world boxing associations' lightweight championship titles, two Mexican-Americans will square off Saturday at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz, 24, the undefeated WBA and WBO lightweight champ, will try for his 33rd consecutive victory when he meets Julio "The Kidd" Diaz, the 27-year-old IBF lightweight champ with a 34-3 record.
The boxing begins at 4 p.m. Saturday with the first of six undercard fights. HBO will feature the Diaz vs. Diaz fight on its 10 p.m. "Boxing After Dark" program.
Both fighters said they are excited about the fight, dubbed "El Dia de los Diaz" ("Diaz Day").
Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz training
"From what I saw, Chicago is a big fighting town, they love the sport of boxing," said Juan Diaz, who with Julio Diaz participated in the Mexican Independence Day parade in Chicago last month.
Juan Diaz was born in Houston, where will still lives. He started boxing at age 8 because his dad was always "a big boxing fanatic," he said. Juan Diaz's 21-year-old brother is also a professional boxer.
The minimum age to join professional boxing in the United States is 17, but Juan Diaz went pro at age 16 with fights in Mexico.
"As a little kid, it was fun traveling around the country, meeting new kids, different people and seeing new cities," he said. "Now it's still fun, but there is more added pressure because of that factor, 'What if I lose?' "
Highlights
His opponent, Julio Diaz, was born and raised in California, where he still lives. In a family of seven boys and two girls, all but one of the Diaz brothers got into boxing at a young age, following the example of the eldest. All reached the professional level, but Julio Diaz is the only one who is still fighting.
"After school we all went together, and then everybody did their thing and we left at different times," he said.
Julio Diaz turned pro at age 19 after missing the cut for the U.S. Olympic team.
Despite earning good money through boxing, both fighters said they intend to get a college degree and move on when their boxing career is over.
Julio Diaz said he'll start taking college classes when he retires, probably in about four years. He is not sure what kind of degree he wants, though likely something related to law enforcement, he said.
Juan Diaz has been taking part-time classes at the University of Houston, from which he expects to earn a bachelor's degree in political science in December 2008. After that, he plans to go law school.
"A lot of boxers start making money and they think, 'I got it made,' but that's a big mistake," said Juan Diaz, who would be the first in his family to graduate from college. "A degree is something that nobody can take from you."
Organizers hope to set up a match between the winner this fight with WBC champ David Diaz (of Chicago), who has held the WBC lightweight title since August 2006, said Trayce Zimmerman, of Don King Productions.
Joel Casamayor of Cuba, however, is another top-ranked contender also looking for a shot at the title.
Tickets: Priced at $35, $75, $100, $150 and $300, they are on sale at the Sears Centre box office, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway in Hoffman Estates, by phone at (888)-SEARSTIX or online at .searscentre.com.
Tale of the tape
Juan Diaz Julio Diaz
Baby Bull Nickname The Kid
Relentless brawler Style Classic precision puncher
24 Age 27
5-feet-6 Height 5-feet-9
67 Reach 70
32-0 (16 KOs) Record 34-3 (25 KOs)
Source: HBO.com, KOCorner.com