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 Angel In My Corner For Julio Diaz
By David A. Avila (March 21, 2003)
Photo © Chris Farina Top Rank
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In business ventures you have angel investors, but for boxing it’s better to have Angel Hernandez in your corner, according to lightweight contender Julio Diaz. “He’s helped me a lot,” said Diaz, 23.
Coachell, California’s Diaz needs all the help he can get when he steps in the ring Saturday against Ernesto Zepeda (32-6-3, 29 KOs) for the WBC Latin American lightweight title at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The fight will be shown on Showtime pay-per-view for $29.95.
Diaz will be facing one of Mexico’s quickest and hardest hitting fighters in any division. He had been scheduled to fight Jose Luis Castillo, but the former lightweight champion suffered a hand injury and was forced to cancel. Instead he gets Zepeda.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Diaz (26-2, 19 KOs), who is on a two-fight winning streak. “I’m prepared for anybody.”
Zepeda, 26, has been knocking out opponents that others want to avoid.
With power in either hand, the Mexican lightweight usually wins by knockout or he doesn’t win at all. His last win by decision was 23 fights ago in 1998 when he beat Jose Luis Montes on points. His business is knocking people out, not seeking the judge’s approval.
“He’s a pretty good fighter,” said Diaz. “I have power too.”
It helped that Diaz had 154-pound bomber Hernandez in his training camp. The Mexican-born fighter known as “Torito,” for his bull-like charges, spent many rounds trading punches with the fighter known as “the Kidd” in the mountain training camp.
“He punches hard,” said Diaz, who at 135 pounds looked puny next to the muscular Hernandez. “When we first started sparring, I thought he was too strong.”
Within the first few days of training camp that began in January, Diaz began asserting himself and using the assets he possessed such as his speed and movement. Soon he was able to stay out of range from the heavy-handed Hernandez.
“Julio is very quick and he’s strong,” said Hernandez, who fought last Saturday and won by technical knockout in his hometown Chicago. “He’s going to surprise people.”
Zepeda, originally from Mazatlan but now fighting out of Tijuana, knocked out Juan Valenzuela who knocked out Diaz. But in boxing circles that doesn’t mean much.
“Styles make fights,” said Diaz, who uses quickness and precision punching to offset power punchers like Zepeda. “He can’t be stronger or hit harder than Angel Hernandez.”
Diaz trained in Big Bear for the first time in his career knowing a win could lead him to a world title fight later this year.
“It’s an important fight for me,” said Diaz, who was at his fighting weight two weeks ago. “If I want to fight for the title then I have to beat fighters like this. And if I win the title I have to fight fighters like this. So it doesn’t matter. I’ll fight anyone.”
His trainer and manager, Lee Espinoza, sees a marked difference in his attitude and reflexes.
“I can see he’s getting stronger having someone like Angel Hernandez sparring with him,” said Espinoza, who winced every time Hernandez cut loose with one of his patented overhand rights that sounded like a building crashing when it landed. “You have to get stronger or Angel will knock you out.”
Other fighters who sparred with Diaz were bantamweight stalwart Jose Aguiniga and a young rising lightweight star named Rolando Ruiz. Both fight out of Oxnard
“It was great to come up here and spar with somebody like Diaz,” said Aguiniga, who will be fighting in his hometown Oxnard on Mar. 28. “You can’t help but learn when you have guys like Julio and Angel up here.”Espinoza said it was the best training camp he had ever seen for one of his fighters. He hopes the preparation pays dividends for Diaz.
“It was like praying for a miracle and having a guardian angel come to help,” said Espinoza. “That’s what Angel Hernandez did for Julio, he’s like a guardian angel.”
The strong pay-per-view card also features Jesus Chavez (38-2) vs. Carlos Gerena (38-4); Miguel Barrera (22-0-2) vs. Roberto Leyva (21-1-1) for the IBF strawweight title; Dmitriy Salita (11-0) vs. Joey Bartole (6-2); Kelly Pavlik (16-0) vs. TBA; and one other bout.
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