CHICAGO (November 5) – The fans demanded it and so did the fighters, so on Saturday, December 12, one of 2009’s most exciting fights gets an encore, as Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz meets up with Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi once again, this time on neutral territory at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois in a 12 round rematch of their August 22, 2009 battle. HBO Boxing After Dark will televise the bout along with a co-main event featuring the return of top junior welterweight contender “Vicious” Victor Ortiz in a pivotal 10 round matchup against the always dangerous contender Antonio Diaz.
“I enjoyed beating Malignaggi the first time and I’m more than willing to do it again,” said Diaz, who scored a hard-fought 12 round unanimous decision win over Malignaggi in their first fight on August 22. “This time though, I’m looking for the knockout so I don’t have to hear his mouth anymore.”
“The public demanded this rematch and I am looking forward to fighting Diaz for the second time,” said Paulie Malignaggi. “This time I’m going to get the win on my record not just from the boxing community and the fans.”
“After how exciting and close their first fight was, it made a rematch a natural choice to close out the year for us,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “Diaz and Malignaggi are two talented young fighters at the top of their games, but there is no doubt that Juan won the first fight and he will beat Paulie again.”
“Sometimes rematches are forced and sometimes rematches are inevitable, but this rematch was necessary,” said Lou DiBella President of DiBella Entertainment. “I look forward to a great fight on December 12 and for all of the questions to be answered. I thank all involved for making the right thing happen.”
“The first meeting between these two fighters produced a close fight with great back-and-forth action, but the result obviously left a lot of people longing for a more gratifying outcome,” said Luis Barragan, director of programming, HBO Sports. “We’re pleased to be able to give fight fans an opportunity to see these two talented boxers fight again and hopefully battle to a more incontrovertible outcome.”
Diaz vs. Malignaggi II: Former Three-Time Lightweight World Champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz will take on former Junior Welterweight World Champion Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi in a 12 round junior welterweight rematch of their exciting August 22, 2009 bout. The co-main event will feature a junior 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. The bouts will air live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:15 pm ET/PT (9:15 pm CT).
A scholar outside the ring and a ferocious competitor inside it, former Three-Time World Champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz (35-2, 17 KO’s) juggled books and left hooks for much of his career before graduating from the University of Houston-Downtown in May of this year. One of the sports most exciting fighters pound for pound, Diaz defended his lightweight title five times including knockouts over Acelino Freitas and Julio Diaz. Now able to focus on boxing full-time before he begins law school, the 26-year-old wants to close out another impressive year that already includes an epic war against Five-Time World Champion Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez and the aforementioned August battle against Malignaggi with another win over Malignaggi on December 12.
One of boxing’s most technical craftsmen, Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi (26-3, 5 KO’s) has made headlines for years with his fast hands and brash confidence. A former amateur star, the 28-year-old Brooklyn native has been in with some of the best in the world over the course of his career, including Diaz, Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton. The former Junior Welterweight World Champion knows that with a win over Diaz, he will be on his way to another shot at a world title.
Ventura, California’s “Vicious” Victor Ortiz (24-2-1, 19 KO’s) is one of the most promising young fighters in the game today, as evidenced by his knockout wins over Emmanuel Clottey, Jeffrey Resto and Mike Arnaoutis. Despite suffering a loss in his exciting first world title bout against Marcos Maidana in June, Ortiz’ star is still on the rise, something he plans on showing veteran Antonio Diaz this December.
For over 14 years, Coachella’s Antonio “Tono” Diaz (46-5-1, 29 KO’s) has specialized in delivering unforgettable fights to fans around the world. The owner of wins over Cory Spinks, Emanuel Augustus, Ivan Robinson and Micky Ward, the 33-year-old Diaz took a nearly three year break from the ring in 2005, but he has won four in a row since returning in 2008 and is sharper than ever as he looks to take out young gun Ortiz on December 12.
A full undercard and ticket information will be announced shortly. For more information regarding the December 12 event, please visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.dbe1.com or www.8countproductions.com.
