By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former 2007 WBC lightweight champion David Diaz (36-4-1, 17 KOs) spoke to Peter Maniatis of the KO Show about his career in the amateur and professional ranks when he battled the likes of Zab Judah, Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao.

You were a fantastic amateur, fighting Zab Judah and Oktay Urkal. What are your memories of those two fighters?

“The first fight I had with Oktay Urkal was when the USA fought Germany. He outboxed me and won the fight, but at the Olympics I thought I beat him. The first time I fought Zab Judah in the nationals trying to make the Olympic trials and we lost a decision to him there. We met up in the trials again and I beat him twice. I beat him at the box-offs and also in Augusta, Georgia for the birth to be in the Olympics.”

You won the WBC lightweight title in 2007 by beating Erik Morales. What can you remember about that night?

“For me honestly that is one of the best moments of my life. I had seen Morales fight on television. He fought Barrera and Pacquiao. For me, I thought ‘This is your moment David. If you are really (serious) about this life of boxing and want to be the best in the world – you beat Morales and you are on your way.’ It was a tough fight. A big moment in my life but I felt I did what I had to do to win the fight. Again one of the best nights of my life. Even though the fight was in Chicago – we have a very big Mexican population there. I thought they were more for Morales than myself. I can count the people for me and know who they were. Those people are the ones who helped me win that fight.”

Was Morales gracious after the fight?

“He wasn’t gracious at all. He said I was fighting dirty and I didn’t deserve to win the fight. He said also the judges were in my favor. I said, ‘How can they be in my favor? I am the guy who is trying to make it and you are the two-time world champion. You’re the one on pay-per-view for a long time. They are going to favor you more than they will favor me!'”

In 2008 you fought the great Manny Pacquiao. What can you remember from that occasion?

“I honestly felt I was going to beat Manny. I was bigger – I was stronger and he is coming up in weight class. I had fought guys who were fast – I had fought Zab Judah and other guys who had speed. This guy is no different. That was my mentality going into the fight. Boy first and second rounds I realized I was in over my head. He is fast. If I could get him to slug it out with me then maybe I had a chance. Every time we clinched he said ‘break – break – break’ and the referee would come in and break us up. There wasn’t a chance for me to dog it out with him. Manny fought his fight. Smart. Boxed and I tasted the canvas in the ninth round.”

Was the build-up to that fight bigger fighting Manny than any other fight?

“The spotlight didn’t deter me. It wasn’t the lights and it wasn’t the cameras. It’s just he was better than me. He could move around better than me. Should I have fought a different fight? Maybe, who knows? Would it be a different outcome? Maybe… He was a great fighter – the best I have ever fought obviously. I made a mistake. I jabbed to the body and turned my face away and he came in with a left hand and caught me. I don’t think the magnitude of the fight prevented me from executing anything I wanted to do.”

What was Manny Pacquiao like as a person leading up to the fight and after?

“Manny is a great person. Cordial and a great person to this day. He is a senator now. A big guy. I went to his birthday party that year. A good person.”

You beat Jesus Chavez. What memories have you got of that fight?

“We had a nice fight. A hard fight as well. I hurt him a couple of times and ended up winning a decision. He is a great friend of mine as well.”

You had 41 professional fights and won 36 fights. What is life like for David Diaz today?

“My life is pretty good. I can’t complain. I have time with my kids. I have a seventeen-year-old, a sixteen-year-old and a thirteen-year-old boy. None of them ended up boxing. They didn’t gravitate to it. They went to the gym a couple of times. My two oldest play baseball. My seventeen-year-old is a left hander pitcher and outfielder. My sixteen-year-old is a catcher, second baseman and shortstop. My little guy we just found out might be a volleyball player. I think we found his sport because he does no sport whatsoever. He is a fantastic drawer. He has got a talent in drawing. As for me I am in real estate (in Chicago) and going on my fifth year. It’s called Main Event real estate. My wife is the manager and we have fourteen real estate agent employees. The website is maineventrealestate.com“