Juan Diaz Guts Out Close Fight With Paul Malignaggi
Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 6:32PM ;)
Juan Diaz (R) lands a punch on Paulie Malignaggi (L) on his way to winning the NABO junior welterweight crown.
In what has to be one of the closest fights of the year but on Saturday night Juan “The Baby Bull” Diaz (35-2, 17 KOs) was awarded the fiercely contested battle as the young Texan captured the vacant NABO junior welterweight title by beating brash New Yorker Paul “Magic Man” Malignaggi (26-3, 5 KOs) over twelve rounds in front a raucous crowd of adoring fans at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston.
Early on you could see that this fight was going to be one that came down to the wire. Ever the master boxer, Malignaggi came out firing his jab with pinpoint accuracy. Diaz managed to block a good number of these jabs as he stalked Malignaggi around the ring. Diaz found success in the second round as he peppered Malignaggi with a number of hooks. Malignaggi responded with some playful antics that included sticking his tongue out at his stalking opponent. Malignaggi came out aggressive in the fourth round flicking out his jab and causing some redness to form around Diaz’s eye. In the fifth round a cut began to bleed over the left eye of Diaz. Referee Lawrence Cole ruled the cut was caused by an accidental elbow but Lou DiBella, Malignaggi’s promoter, screamed that the cut was caused by a punch. Malignaggi had a strong showing in the sixth round, using his quickness to cause Diaz trouble, but the “Baby Bull” was able to end the round strongly with a flurry of punches. The rest of the fight played out in two parts: Malignaggi firing a high number of punches with Diaz landing the more forceful salvos.
It was a close fight and opinions differed greatly among the press as to who deserved the victory but in the end the judges awarded the fight to Diaz with scores of 116-112, 115-113, and 118-110.
;)
Robert Guerrero (R) lands an uppercut on Malcolm Klassen (L) to take the IBF junior featherweight title.
In the evening’s co-featured main event Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 KOs) of Gilroy, CA, engaged in a grueling back and forth battle with Malcolm Klassen (24-5-2, 14 KOs) of Toekomsrus, South Africa, but managed to hold on to win the IBF junior featherweight title.
Guerrero came out strong in the opening rounds keeping Klassen at bay with constant pressure and a two-fisted assault. Utilizing angles and deft ring movement Guerrero was able to repeatedly land a barrage of thudding shots to the head and body of Klassen. Guerrero upped his assault in the fourth round letting loose a barraged of body shots that looked to have Klassen in trouble. But the tough and determined African fighter was able to rally back and began landing a number of straight right hands that repeatedly found their mark on Guerrero’s head. Emboldened by his success Klassen began to take the fight to Guerrero landing blow after blow on the Californian. Guerrero seemed to be uncomfortable with Klassen’s smothering assault and tried to regain his success by boxing from the outside. Unfortunately for Guerrero, Klassen kept on coming and his right hands continued to find a home on Guerrero who suffered a cut on his left eye as a result of an accidental head butt. The pace slowed around the tenth round as both fighters battled fatigue as a result of the grueling pace of the action. But somehow Guerrero was able to muster enough energy to successfully rally back in the final two stanzas.
The judges’ scorecards read as follows: 117-111, 116-113, and 116-113 in favor of Guerrero.
;)
Danny Jacobs (L) trades punches with Ishe Smith (R).
Ishe Smith (21-4, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas was to be the biggest test of the much hyped Brooklyn prospect Danny Jacobs (18-0, 15 KOs) and against the slick and tough veteran he managed to pass gutting out a ten round unanimous decision.
Things started off well for Jacobs who used a stiff jab and lateral movement to keep Smith at bay. But ever the tactician, Smith patiently stalked his prey behind a high guard. The action began to intensify in the third round as both fighter let their hands go much to the delight of the crowd. But the action in the ring soon boiled over as both Jacobs and Smith got into a heated skirmish after the bell. The heated emotions carried over into the fourth and fifth rounds as the fighters took matters to a personal level. But while Jacobs superior hand speed enabled him to land some hard salvos, Smith’s intellect soon enabled him to time and counter Jacobs’s assault. Smith was able to land a multitude of hard shots many that rocked the young New York prospect back on his heels.
The pace slowed in the sixth and seventh rounds as both fighters tired with fatigue. Their energy drained both fighters continued to give it their all with Jacobs throwing the higher number of punches while Jacobs landed the more telling counter shots.
CompuBox figures had Jacobs throwing 888 punches compared to Smith’s output of just 498 in the fight and that activity played a large role in the judges’ minds as they awarded the fight to Jacobs with scores of 96-93, 96-93, and 100-89.
Philadelphia based prospect Danny Garcia (14-0, 9 KOs) looked good in dispatching grizzled veteran Oscar Leon (28-10, 18 KOs) of Miami, FL over three rounds. A hard salvo of punches put Leon down in the third and he failed to beat the count. The official time of the knockout was 2:39 in the third round.
Hylon Williams (11-0, 3 KOs) was forced to dig down deep in scoring a six round unanimous decision over Baudel Cardenas (18-18-2, 6 KOs) of Los Mochis, Mexico. Scores were 60-52, 60-52, and 59-53.
In a hard-fought battle, Jermell Charlo (9-0, 4 KOs) of Houston gutted out a six round unanimous decision over Varden Gasparyan (11-2-4, 5 KOs) of Glendale, CA. Scores were 58-56 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Omar Figueroa (7-0, 7 KOs) of Weslaco, TX brutalized Jeremy Marts (5-8, 3 KOs) of Ottumwa, IA, dropping him four times before the referee mercifully stopped the fight. The official time of the stoppage was 1:54 in the opening round.
Adrian Broner (11-0, 8 KOs) of Cincinnati looked impressive in stopping the usually durable Edgar Portillo (5-3, 3 KOs) of Midland, TX in the opening round. The time of the stoppage was 1:37 in round one.
In a spirited back and forth battle worthy of its own showcase Cleveland’s Mickey Bey (13-0, 7 KOs) earned an eight round split decision over Rashad Ganaway (10-2-1, 7KOs) of Little Rock, AR. Scores were 70-73, 76-75, and 76-75.
Houston’s Marcus Johnson (17-0, 15 KOs) wasted little time in dispatching of Matt Gockel (12-11, 7 KOs) of Topeka, KS, scoring a first round TKO minutes into the round. The official time of the stoppage was 1:37 in the opening round.
Adam “Swamp Donkey” Richards (23-2, 14 KOs) of Houston gutted out a hard fought eight round split decision over Harvey Jolly (10-10-1, 4 KOs) of Adrian, MI. Scores were 77-74, 76-75, and 74-78.
Houston’s Darlington Agha (1-0, 1 KO) looked strong in his professional debut knocking out Joseph Rabotte of Long Beach, CA in the first round. The official time of the knockout was 2:32 in round one.
Mike Perez (4-0-1, 2 KOs) of Newark, NJ scored a four round unanimous decision over Jamie Rodriguez (4-6-3, 2 KOs) of Reno, NV.
Reader Comments (25)
I really enjoyed the Diaz- Malignaggi bout, the end result where a bit disappointing. Being from Texas am naturally going to be a Diaz fan. Having to be fair, the score was a lot closer then what the judges said. A draw would had made more sense, that at least would have caused a rematch. It's unfortunate that favoritism played a part in the judging of this bout, you could clearly sense the anger in Malignaggi camp, the frustration was obvious in his face and discouragement cry out in his voice. If all this bad judging could do this to a grown man, could you imagine what it does to the kids who box? Cause I personally seen the same thing happening in the amateur ranks here in the DFW area.You have officials doing the same thing, but only to kids. Just because they don't like there style or where there from or even cause there the wrong color. It embarrassing that anyone has to act that way, especially here in Texas, where we live by the motto " LET THE BEST MAN WIN"
well said stan. I agree.
I totally agree with you stan. It is a shame that boxing has instances such as this in both the pros and amateurs. Ringside I thought Diaz edged out Malignaggi 115-113 but I would have also agreed with a draw at 114-114. 118-110 is a complete joke and Gale Van Hoy should really be questioned as to how he had a score like that.
Gale Van Hoy should retire, but the blame should go squarely to Dickie Cole who defiantly selects judges and refs that HE wants, not ones that would appear to be objective. For NY'rs, Arizona and Oklahoma are the same as Texas so it appeared all the judges were "hometown" when only GVH is actually from near Diaz's home in Houston.
The Jolly-Richards decision was incorrect, 4-3 for Richards could be accepted, but really Jolly won 5 rounds of that fight. And those three were HOUSTON based judges.
A week or two ago, the Page-Hill decision was atrocious with one HOUSTON judge awarding 7 of 8 rounds to Hill when it was clear Page clearly won 6 rounds of the bout.
However, it is not ALWAYS the case. Page came to Houston and beat Hill via UD in their first matchup, and last week 3 HOUSTON judges gave Forrest Curry his first victory (two by shutout) over a Houston fighter in a bout that could have easily been scored 2-2.
Judging is subjective and done by fallible humans, so we must take their decisions knowing that computer scoring (Olympics) can be MUCH worse. In the end, only 3 opinions matter, and we must take solace in the fact that the "losers" on this night, Malignaggi, Klassen, & I.Smith all had their stock go up in defeat, and will be afforded good future opportunities, with hopefully objective judging..
Boxing in the State of Texas is HURT by its' own Boxing Commission...People Outside of Texas Can't Get Past All the Conniving & Corruption to Actually Notice the TALENT we have in this State...
This State is LOADED w/Good, Young Fighters, but all the B.S. Going on @ the Top Makes the Talent a Secondary Thought...Now, I'm Not Saying Malignaggi WON or Got Robbed, but he Openly Spoke of his Concerns BEFORE the Fight & he was Proven Right...
Bottom Line, Texas & its' Boxers will NEVER Get the Respect they Deserve Until we Clean House on the Snakes in the Boxing Commission...
Speaking of Dickie Cole, why is it that his Son ALWAYS Gets the T.V. Ref Assignments???...Jesse Reyes & Robert Chapa are Excellent Ref's, yet when the T.V. Cameras Come to Town, Dickie's Son Always Gets the Gig...There was 3 Televised Fights on HBO Last Weekend & Laurence Ref'ed 2 of them...
Well, stan i think that is just your opinion, sorry you feel that way. but do you know that the officials in the amateur rank donate there time, we dont have to do this, but we do it anyways. if you dont like it you need to go somewhere outside the DFW. from the sounds of it you might be a wanna be boxing coach and are upset cause your kids proably get whoop
You sound like you're an official yourself, 8-count. If so, then you ALREADY know about the biases that go on in the local amatuer system. Around here, if certain judges don't like your style, your trunks or your trainer, they'll automatically score the fight against you, no matter what actually happens in the ring.
I know of 2 officials that don't even try to hide it. 1 of them has a name that rhymes with "Police"....The other 1 has a name that sounds like "Mean $hit Stain"...
Well first id like to ask, u say police? just say his name who is the one. second Yes u refs donate ur time but so do the coaches we too. Also there is favoritism in the amature here in dfw.but its not ALL refs but there is. and it is true i dont like ur trainer i dont like ur style the other guy does have a better chance of winning and ive seen it myself.BUT we as coaches also have to know ehn to bite our tounges and not kiss ass but not be assholes cause usually we are part of the reason of this. so if u dont want to get robbed just do what i do smile shake hands n leave it as that and chances are style or not that will probably help u . as for u refs ur only cheating the boy who won by helping him win a fight he lost what will he learn from that? go to another region n lose the first fight?
i thought paulie did get robbed. I thought he jabbed the hell out of diaz but im no ref just a reg ol boxing fan
Hey Sean these are some nice pic's. No way our friend the Eddie munster looking, happy days dressing, star war convention going, hot wheel collecting, porkchop having ED GARZA took these.... Say it ain't so....
True, many boxing clubs, parents even coaches along with there fighters have complained of cheating going on with our officials, and your right, its not all the refs that do this. But there is one that seems to stick out like a sore thumb and that's Mr.Solis, and I think its bullshit that someone who upholds the so-call law cheats kids and teenagers of all there hard work, just cause he has an attitude problem!
What is more troublesome along with confusion, is that fellow representative of the this same organization and know coaches are aware of this pricks wrongdoing and yet they don't do shit about it! But " SMILE SHAKE HANDS AND LEAVE IT AT THAT " Are you kidding me? What we seem to forget to understand is that in some communities, BOXING is used as a tool to build confidence in kids and teenagers. Also to construct a path of discipline to stay out of trouble and lead into future success. Don't think that by allowing heartless pricks like Solis get away with this , that where not doing the opposite!
Cause at the end of the day its not the coaches or officials that lose, its are kids morality. By not saying nothing about it. Hoping that handshakes and smiles will probably help us! ITS BULLSHIT! We preach to are younger generation that hard work pays off, not LYING AND CHEATING
BOUT TIME SOMBODY SPOKE UP!
wow, stan you seem a bit witout class, i think you could used better words, but nice one, cause i see it too
dayummm , straight up told da truth
From where I was shooting from ringside, I had Paulie Malignaggi winning the fight. Diaz may have landed the harder blows, but he missed way more than he landed, followed Paulie around instead of cutting the ring off, and his defense was not great enough which allowed Paulie to pepper him at will. Of course this was what I saw from my position ringside. Others may have seen it differently from the other 3 sides of the ring.
YO DADDY -
I did take these pictures. Glad you like them. I should have the full photo gallery up by Friday. There were 13 bouts so I have alot of pictures to go through.
STANWITHCLASS & YODADDY -
Why do both of you think that I am a Star Trek fan and collect Hot Wheels? I have no interest in any of those activities.
EDDDDDDDIE! Hey man, where you been buddy? You still going to take me out for that drink? well, it was nice to hear from you again. I swear I saw you at the star treak convention last year in cali! But anyways am glad your back.
STAN -
Of course I'm still down for drink. How about Saturday after the Grand Prairie show?
Well YODADDY, There's a time for war, and a time for peace.......Right now it looks like theres a truce, but don't be mistaken YODADDY , If they step out of line I have no problem breaking the treaty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cause am not just the John Wayne of blog wars.......... Am the DIRTY HARRY, SO GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY!
can somebody do something about are officials! Stan took a bold move about speaking out. Bring to surface a hidden issue.
i thought this site was to comment on paulie and diaz, not to bring out dirty laundry.
Yes "?", you are absolutely right. The "comment" section is to post comments on the related article, but we have many abusing it as they did the forum. I would like to see everyone stay on the subject of BOXING not everyones dirty laundry so I go through and 'screen' the comments and remove all INAPPROPRIATE comments.
Thanks for visiting NTF!
Cyndi, then in that case , can you do a story on the officials in are amateur ranks in the DFW?
@ STAN- Cyndi S. ain't going to write nothing about nothing! she like everbody else. Just stay quiet and then maybe are boys will win.
@ El Mero and Stan-
Unfortunately I tend to somewhat agree that there ARE some officials in our association that are not fair. With that being said, our association (Southwestern Association) is always in need of more officials. All you have to do is register with USA Boxing ($60), participate in an officials clinic, pass a test and your all set to go. You may judge, timekeep, clerk, and referee. You can do any or all of the positions I just listed. You are not required to work ALL tournaments, you may volunteer at any tournaments that fit your schedule. So lets not just sit back and complain about them, lets get in there and show them how its done. ;)
And by the way El Mero, what do you mean by saying "she's like everybody else?" Please don't presume to know about me and what I will or will not write about.
Thanks you guys for your comments and visiting NTF!
I think am in love! well said Cyndi....lol She told you MERO.