By Ian S Palmer
Former unified lightweight champion Juan Diaz will return to the ring after more than an 18-month absence when he takes on Fernando Garcia of Mexico at the Arena Theater in Diaz’s hometown of Houston, Texas on Saturday, March 19th. This will also be a comeback bout for Garcia as he hasn’t fought since October of 2014. The 10-round lightweight bout can be seen live in America on the UniMas network. The 32-year-old Diaz has been out of action due to a torn rotator cuff and enters the fight with a record of 40-4 along with 19 Kos. The 27-year-old Garcia has a mark of 30-7-2 with 19 Kos to his name.
Diaz held at least one version of the lightweight title between 2004 and 2008 and at one time he held three belts after unifying the division. He retired from the sport back in 2010 after losing to Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez for the second time. However, he returned to the ring three years later and won five straight fights before injuring his shoulder and missing 2015. Diaz is a fan-friendly boxer due to the sheer volume of punches he throws even if he isn’t a big knockout artist.
Garcia hasn’t been in the ring since he was stopped in the fifth round by Sharif Bogere back in October of 2014. He was also stopped by Jose Felix 16 months earlier, but won three straight fights until meeting Bogere. Garcia has also been stopped by Raul Hinojosa, Sergio Torres and Eduardo Gutierrez as well as dropping decisions to Edivaldo Ortega and Miguel Beltran Jr. He also has a pair of draws against Byron Gonzalez. He’s never fought a top-ranked boxer as of yet and is stepping up in class against Diaz.
Garcia stands 5-feet-6-inches tall and has a reach of 72 inches. He’s gone 140 rounds since turning pro in 2007 and his current knockout ratio is 46 percent. He’s been stopped five times out of seven losses so obviously has issues with his chin. Diaz has 325 pro rounds under his belt since 2000 and has taken on some elite boxers during his career. Diaz is 5-foot-6 and has a wingspan of 67 inches. His current knockout ratio stands at 43 per cent.
Diaz lost to Marquez by unanimous decision and a ninth-round stoppage as well as losing a split decision to Nate Campbell and a unanimous decision to Paulie Malignaggi. His biggest wins were over Malignaggi, Michael Katsidis, Julio Diaz, Acelino Freitas, Jose Miguel Cotto, Billy Irwin, Lavka Sim and Julien Lorcy. He has a lot of speed and energy as well as fine boxing skills and a solid chin. Diaz could make a name for himself once again in the lightweight division id he can bounce back from his recent shoulder surgery, but he’ll need to beat Garcia in impressive fashion on Saturday night.
Prediction
Diaz should be too fast and too skilled for Garcia. Although he’s not known as a heavy hitter, Diaz could also stop his opponent on Saturday by overwhelming him with volume punches.
