Photo by AP
MANILA—Former WBC world lightweight champion David Diaz believes he can beat Mexico’s Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez should their planned July 2 fight in Mexico City push through.
Diaz told the Inquirer in an overseas telephone conversation that although no contract has been signed, “it’s a fight that I want and I really do hope it happens.”
At the same time, the southpaw who was battered by pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao into submission in a 9th round TKO in 2008 said “I’ve been in the gym, doing my roadwork and a little bit of shadow boxing so just in case they do want me, I’ll be ready for them.”
Diaz said “everybody knows the way I fight and its going to be one of those fights where I go to him. I’m not going to be running away from him but I’ll have to be smart about it and I think we have the tools to beat him.”
The 34-year-old Diaz has a record of 36-3-1 with 17 knockouts.
In his last fight early this year, the Chicago native beat Robert Frankel by a majority ten-round decision. Diaz earlier dropped a unanimous twelve-round decision to Humberto Soto for the vacant WBC lightweight title on last year.
Marquez, the reigning WBA and WBO champion, has a record of 52-5-1 with 38 knockouts.
Donaire, Top Rank contract dispute
Meanwhile, the manager of WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, Cameron Dunkin, said yesterday there will be a court hearing on the contractual dispute between Donaire and Top Rank sometime in June.
Dunkin told the Inquirer that “(Donaire) is going to court and we are going to have a hearing sometime in June and there’ll be arbitration of some sort.”
Donaire is in the middle of a tug-of-war between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank for the rights to promote his fights.