Excited and brimming with confidence, both Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi spoke at the final press conference about preparations for their rematch this Saturday night in Chicago. Their first fight, which took place in Houston, TX on August 22, ended with a questionable unanimous decision in favor of Diaz.
PRESS RELEASE:
JUAN DIAZ, Former Three-Time Lightweight World Champion
"I'm excited, I'm happy and I'm ready. I feel like Santa Claus came early this year because come Saturday night, its going to be easy money. Not just Houston and Chicago, but this time the whole world is going to feel my anger. They are going to see a "Baby Bull" they have never seen before. Saturday night I'm going to claim what's mine. I did it once and I'm going to do it again."
PAULIE MALIGNAGGI, Former Junior Welterweight World Champion
"I'm excited about Saturday. We have worked really hard for this fight. I'm ready and Juan says he is ready. It's going to be a great fight.
"I'm sharper and feel better than ever going into this fight.."
"They can tell me anything they want about Juan Diaz. They can tell me he moved mountains or that he jumped from Houston to Chicago in a single bound. I don't care. When the bell rings I know one thing, I'm ready.."
VICTOR ORTIZ, Top Junior Welterweight Contender
"I want to thank Chicago for having me and also thank Diaz's team for giving me the opportunity to fight someone who I grew up admiring [the Diaz brothers]."
"What's done in my past is done and I'm ready to move on."
ANTONIO DIAZ, Former World Title Challenger
"I took three years off, but I was not retired, I was just taking a break. I came back last year and now I feel younger, faster and hungrier than ever before."
"Victor Ortiz is a good fighter; he's tough and he can hit. Everyone has a bad night sometimes, I've had bad nights, and that is what Victor had when he fought Maidana. I'm not even looking at that fight. I'm looking at all his fights before that because I know that will be the Victor who will show up Saturday night."
"I'm ready for anything. I've been in the ring for 50 something fights so there is nothing new Ortiz can do that I haven't seen before."
DAVID ITSKOWITCH, COO of Golden Boy Promotions
"The main event is a rematch of a great fight from this summer. In one corner you have a guy, Juan Diaz, who is trying to prove what he already knows; he's trying to put an exclamation point on his win from August. In the other corner you have a guy who thinks he was robbed, so he's trying to prove that the judges got it wrong the first time. Fights like these are always exciting, and this one will be especially exciting after their great back and forth battle this summer."
"Victor Ortiz versus Antonio Diaz is a classic case of the young lion and the old veteran. The young guy is trying to prove what he's learned and the old guy is trying to prove how much he knows."
"Victor Ortiz is coming off a speed bump in his last fight, so there is a lot on the line for him on Saturday night. But as they say, it's not that you get knocked down, its what you do when you get up. Victor is ready to get up and show what a special talent he really is."
"The undercard for Saturday night is huge and I really do mean huge with 10 fights on the undercard. You have some of the great, undefeated up-and-comers, along with some former world champions. There really is a little bit of everything, and there are going to be some great fights before the main events."
LOU DIBELLA, President of DiBella Entertainment
"This is a really great fight card and it is the type of fight that the people of Chicago should be proud to host."
"I want to thank Juan Diaz for taking this rematch. He didn't have to; he could have been a punk like a lot of people are in this sport, but he took the fight and has shown once again that he is a bright spot in the world of boxing."
BERNARD HOPKINS, Golden Boy Promotions Partner; Former Two Division World Champion
"The first fight between Diaz and Malignaggi was a very close fight; it really could have gone either way. Some people say Malignaggi won, others think Diaz won, and that is what is great about the sport of boxing, it brings controversy which leads to great fights."
"I'm looking forward to seeing these fighters set the record straight and put an exclamation point on their great fight in August. These two are going to close out 2009 with a bang."
WILLIE SAVANNAH, Juan Diaz's Manager
"Juan is in tremendous shape, as he always is. He never enters the ring without being in great condition."
"Juan seems old, but really he's only 26. He's just been in the game for a long time. He won his first world title at 20, becoming the second youngest man ever to win a title, but even with all this experience, I've never seen him more motivated for a fight than he is to fight Malignaggi again."
RONNIE SHIELDS, Juan Diaz's Trainer
"Juan is in tip-top shape and ready to go. We have had a lot of success together and are looking forward to more on Saturday night."
SHERIF YOUNAN, Paulie Malignaggi's Trainer
"Everyone saw the fight last time and this time Paulie is more than ready. Come Saturday its going to all be over."
ROLANDO ARELLANO, Victor Ortiz's Co-Manager
"We have nothing but respect for Antonio Diaz. He is a world class fighter."
"When you have two opposing forces of that nature and they collide, you're in for an explosion."
DANNY GARCIA, Victor Ortiz's Trainer
"Victor is ready. He has been training really hard and running a lot. He is ready for a great fight against Antonio Diaz and he is going to take him round for round."
GABINO SAENZ, Antonio Diaz's Trainer
"We are ready for this fight. We came prepared and we are going to take it round by round. This fight is a young guy against a veteran. Antonio Diaz is the veteran, so when he gets in the ring, he knows what to do."
LUIS BARRAGAN, Director of Programming HBO Sports
"There is obviously some unfinished business between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi, but don't let the controversy make you lose sight of the actual fight. Appreciate it for what it is - a battle between two great fighters. Don't only worry about the judges' decisions."
"We're excited to have Victor Ortiz back on HBO. He hit a speed bump in his last "Boxing After Dark" appearance, but I'm sure he is eager to show that this was only a small bump and that he is deserving of all the accolades he's been given up to this point in his career."
KEVIN O'FINN, Director of UIC Pavilion
"This is by far the biggest fight we have ever had at the Pavilion but it shows this is the place to go in Chicago for boxing and we hope to see everyone there."
RON PUCCILLIO, Director of Athletics of Illinois State Athletic Unit
"I don't think you'll see a better fight all year or next year for that matter. This is going to be a great fight between two of the best boxers around."
About "Juan Diaz vs. Paulie Malignaggi II":
"By Popular Demand": Diaz vs. Malignaggi II features former Three-Time Lightweight World Champion Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz taking on former Junior Welterweight World Champion Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi in a 12 round NABO junior welterweight rematch of their exciting August 22, 2009 bout. The co-main event will feature a ten round welterweight showdown between top contender "Vicious" Victor Ortiz and former world title challenger Antonio Diaz. The evening of boxing is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and DiBella Entertainment in association with 8 Count Productions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and Dewalt Tools. The bouts will air live on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" beginning at 10:15 pm ET/PT (9:15 pm CT). The first fight starts at 3:15 pm CT at the UIC Pavillion.
TICKETS: Tickets, priced at $251, $156, $86, $51 and $31, are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-312-226-5800, toll free at 1-800-745-3000 and at the UIC Pavilion Box Office (open Thursday and Friday from 9 am - 4 pm CT).
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