"I felt like I just couldn't pull the trigger that night. I trained so hard for the fight and my biggest problem was when I was getting to him, I didn't let my hands go and I didn't punch, so I think that was my biggest mistake throughout the whole night...I think that my best chances are at lightweight. Even right before the fight, I weighed in at 144 pounds, so I didn't really gain that much weight. It's so easy for me to make the weight, so I didn't have a problem. At lightweight, I have to diet a little bit more and be a little more strict with my meals and I think that after I rehydrate and go back to 144, I feel good. I feel bigger and stronger than the guys at lightweight," stated former lightweight champion Juan Diaz as he shared his thoughts on his loss to Paulie Malignaggi, his future plans and much more. Check it out!
BT: Hey Juan, how's it going?
JD: I'm doing pretty good Ben. Everything's going pretty good. Right now, I'm just resting up. I just finished up getting a haircut, me and my little boy, so we're just getting ready for the holidays. How about yourself?
BT: I'm doing good man. I can't wait until the holidays myself. I definitely need a break (laughing).
JD: Don't we all (laughing).
BT: So any major bumps or bruises from the fight?
JD: Actually, it's one of the fights that I came out the cleanest from. I mean, besides the cut on my left eye, that was it. But even that, it wasn't that bad. I wasn't bleeding as much I have been before.
BT: Yeah, I was going to ask you about that cut. I wasn't sure if it was something major or if it was just something that required some glue to patch back together.
JD: They could've just took some glue, but what they did was they stitched a needle, like one stitch on the inside and two on the outside.
BT: Yeah, that doesn't sound major. So have you had a chance to see the tape and take a look back at the fight at all?
JD: Yeah, actually, on Sunday, when I got home, I wanted to see it because the way I felt in the fight, I felt like I just couldn't pull the trigger that night. I trained so hard for the fight and my biggest problem was when I was getting to him, I didn't let my hands go and I didn't punch, so I think that was my biggest mistake throughout the whole night.
BT: It's funny you say that because when I was watching the fight, I was expecting you to let your hands go, but it just seemed like you couldn't; like something was off that night. Do you remember anything in particular that Paulie was giving you problems with?
JD: I think that this past Saturday night, I beat myself because I'm known for throwing a lot of punches and being a volume puncher, but on Saturday night, what the strategy was...okay, you know, in the first round, we were going to confuse him a little bit and wait a little bit and box a little bit and see how that works. Even Ronnie told me, "Look, in the first round, we're going to see how he comes out. We pretty much know that he's going to box you, but let's see. Maybe he'll get a little aggressive. It doesn't matter if we lose the first round because we have 11 more." I think that after that first round, I just didn't get off. I got too complacent and just didn't do anything else after that first round.
BT: What about the weight? Do you think the weight had anything to do with it? Putting on those extra pounds, do you feel like it made you a little more sluggish at all or did you feel fine going into the fight?
JD: Actually, I felt fine going into the fight because I was happy I was eating more and I had that extra four pounds of lean weight, so I felt great. I felt great, but at the same time, if we go back and see Paulie's fights, they always consider him as the smaller guy. These two fights that I fought with him, he obviously looked like the much bigger guy, so I think that the weight difference did come into affect at that point. I know for sure that I am a true lightweight and not a jr. welterweight.
BT: Yeah, I was going to ask you if you were going to take anymore catchweight fights at the higher weight or if you planned on staying down at lightweight now.
JD: I think that my best chances are at lightweight. Even right before the fight, I weighed in at 144 pounds, so I didn't really gain that much weight. It's so easy for me to make the weight, so I didn't have a problem. At lightweight, I have to diet a little bit more and be a little more strict with my meals and I think that after I rehydrate and go back to 144, I feel good. I feel bigger and stronger than the guys at lightweight.
BT: Going back to the fight with Paulie, this may sound odd, but do you think that having already fought him may have actually hurt your performance? Like, do you think maybe knowing that he was going to play a game of chess with you maybe made you overthink things instead of just going in there and trying to overwhelm him with your workrate?
JD: I think it did affect me to some extent because that's what he's known for, his slickness, moving away and boxing. Me, I'm not known for sitting there and thinking and counterpunching. I'm known for counterpunching, but on the inside. I put on pressure and the guy lands 2 or 3 shots, but I'm going to land 4 or 5 or 6 punches right back. That was one of things that I didn't work on for this fight and I think that it was one of my biggest mistakes in the fight.
BT: When you were able to back him up or force him to fight, it looked like you were getting the better of him when you guys were exchanging. You were landing some bigger shots and better combinations. Was this simply a case of one guy wanting to fight and the other guy prefering to box? I mean, you have some guys who go in there with the mentality that they don't mind getting hit in order to land a land their own to make a fight and then you have other guys who don't want to get hit at all and are less willing to trade.
JD: That's exactly what happened on Saturday night. On Saturday night, you had Paulie, who doesn't like to be hit, avoiding any inside fighting against me. That's one of the things that I don't mind doing. I like to give fans a great fight, especially when it's a toe-to-toe fight. That's what makes boxing so much more interesting, when two guys go in there and get it on. When we were in close, I took advantage of that, but not like I should have. I went back and I reviewed the tape; I was going inside, but a lot of times, I would let him tie me up. I would let him stick the elbow out and I couldn't really do anything. In the first fight, that wasn't the case. In the first fight, I just came in and punched and when we got close, I was still punching. That's one of the things that I didn't do in the second fight. I waited too much before I got off and I let him get off too many punches while I was waiting.
BT: Yeah, but you know what was funny was that even though Paulie got the win, in the end, he still appeared to be the one getting the boos.
JD: Yeah, right?
BT: I think a lot of fans prefer to see two guys who are willing to go in there, exchange heavy leather and really inflict damage on each other as opposed to a technical chess match between two guys who don't want to get hit. I mean, I enjoy both, but I think that's the reason why a lot of fans were actually booing him even though he won. Truth be told, I honestly don't know how much Paulie's win actually helps him in the eyes of fans? I don't think it helped his case for a Marquez or Hatton fight.
JD: You know, you bring up a great point. I was sitting down talking with my brother and my family about the fight. All the fans on my Facebook and MySpace, and I've been getting emails from people who support me 100% and told me this loss didn't mean anything because he didn't really want to fight me. I believe that fans know that when it comes right down to it, I'm going to fight. I'm going to give fans a great show. If a guy is willing to get in there and trade with me and fight and make it a toe-to-toe fight, I'm going to give fans what they want. Paulie...I think that's why a lot fans are turning to the UFC because boxing isn't giving them that excitement and that action. A lot of fighters nowadays want to punch and move. I know that it's considered the Sweet Science. Boxing is the sweet science of hitting and not getting hit, but at the same time, fans want their money's worth and a lot of fans are going to start deviating from boxing if us fighters don't give them what they want. I think that by Paulie being the type of fighter that he is, he's not going to be too fan-friendly and it's going to be hard for him to get fights as well.
BT: Well, I doubt you've lost much stock simply because of the way that the fight looked. Styles may make fights, but not all styles are entertaining to watch. I think the crowd made that clear every time they booed Malignaggi, but cheered whenever you pressed the fight. But regardless, you guys are 1-1 now. Paulie's going to move on to other fights at jr. welterweight and, meanwhile, you've got a lot of entertaining fights that can be made back at 135. Have you given any thought about your next move?
JD: Exactly! Now, the division is getting some real good fighters. You still have Juan Manuel Marquez, you have the South African, Ali Funeka, you have Guzman, you have a lot of these great fighters who are coming up and in a few months, by next year, the lightweight division is going to be up there as one of the top divisions with all of us guys in the division.
BT: And again, the important thing is that there's entertaining fights that can be made. Actually, come to think of it, Juan Manuel Marquez could end up fighting Ricky Hatton early next year. If so, he'll likely have to give up his title, which would make Michael Katsidis the new champ. I know you just got done with one rematch, but there you go; that's another possible rematch that you could be in that would provide some fireworks.
JD: Right! And from seeing Katsidis, he's improved a lot from the time that we fought and I think that would be a great rematch as well for the both of us because we're both fan-friendly and we like to mix it up.
BT: Knowing HBO, they'd probably put on a rematch between you and Katsidis faster than they'd make a fight between Paulie and Devon Alexander.
JD: Right! Exactly! You know, even though we fought two fights, I do wish Paulie the best in his career. We were talking trash to each other, but after the fight, he came in and congratulated me on a good fight and wished me the best and I do the same for him. I wish him the best because it is a sport and we shouldn't take anything personal. It's a competition and competitions get ugly sometimes.
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