Baby Bull on the verge of losing a title, wants to unify against Diaz while Katsidis and Campbell fight, disses Casamayor

GL: Congrats on your victory over Julio Diaz. Can you give us some thoughts on your performance? "It was a great night for me. October 13 was a great night for me, myself and my team. This was one of my better performances considering that Julio Diaz is a great fighter and a two time world champion. I was very pleased with the way I handled myself in the ring and the way I handled Julio in the ring."

GL: Were you surprised that he quit on his stool?

Juan Diaz: "I sure was. I was very surprised. In the interviews before the fight and at the press conferences before he said he wasn't going to do what Freitas did. Sure enough, that's exactly what he did and in the same round as well. I think the pressure I put on them and the nonstop punching broke him down."

GL: Were you surprised that he came out eager to exchange?

JD: "I was happy when he fought that way. I was like this is my kind of fight. This is what I want. When he was willing to stand there and trade with me, it became my fight. This is what I do and this is what I train for. I was very happy he came to fight."

GL: Was there any point in the fight when you know you had him completely under control?

JD: "Within the first six rounds I realized that I could hit him at will with whatever I wanted to. I kept using my jab and put combinations together on him really well. I had plans of picking it up even more if the fight would have continued."

GL: Who's next?

JD: (laughs) "Me and you spoke a while back about the sanctioning bodies and now they're giving me a lot of grief, especially the WBO who are trying to make me defend against Michael Katsidis. Right now I don't think that's going to happen. I'm going to do my best to keep all the belts, but until this point, I don't know know who is next."

GL: If you had it your way who would you want to fight next?

JD: "If I had it my way my number one pick would be Manny Pacquiao."

GL: And amongst the current lightweights? Campbell and Katsidis are both mandatories, Casamayor is out there, David Diaz. Which one of those guys?

JD: "All of those guys would make great fights. They're either ranked number one or mean something. Whichever one they put in front of me, that's the guy I want to fight."

GL: Are you in a position where the WBO will strip you if don't fight Katsidis and the IBF will strip you if you don't fight Nate Campbell?

JD: "It seems that way. It seems like I'm in that situation. We're trying to work things out and see if they can give me an exception to fight David Diaz and unify the division."

GL: Have they responded to your exception request?

JD: "They haven't responded yet, but we're waiting to see what's going to happen with that."

GL: I also recall us speaking about how in cases where there is a unified champion with two mandatories due, the mandatories should fight each other to preserve the unified title. If Micahel Katsidis and Nate Campbell fought each other and you fought David Diaz to unify the division, would you definitely fight the winner of Katsidis-Campbell for all the marbles in your next fight?

JD: "Yes I would fight the winner next. I think that concept would make things more fascinating and more interesting to the fans. Me going to unify the whole division while these guys fight each other would be a great thing. At the press conference after the fight, me, my manager Willie Savannah and Nate Campbell who was present there as well, all agreed that this would be the best way for things to go down."

GL: If that doesn't happen and the sanctioning bodies continue to do what they've been doing for the last God knows how many years, and it comes down to you definitely losing one of the belts, which mandatory will you make Katsidis or Campbell.

JD: "That's a question that has to be answered by my manager and my promoter. I'm a three time world champion and they're going to decide what fight is going to be better for me. I let them make the decisions, my job is to get in the ring and go in there to fight."

GL: Which fight do you think would make for a more exciting fight?

JD: "Both fights are good. We've seen Katsidis come forward. I come forward and that would be a great action fight that the fans would enjoy. Nate Campbell is a boxer, but he's shown that when you put pressure on him he's been able to step up to the plate and really get down. Both guys would make interesting fights that I believe the fans would want to see. As for myself, I have nothing to lose with those two guys, but I believe Nate Campbell has been in the public eye longer than Katsidis. I don't think anybody would have a problem with me fighting either of those two."

GL: If you lost one of the belts would a fight with the linear champion Joel Casamayor interest you more?

JD: "I thought about this so much because so many people ask me about this question with Casamayor. My honest opinion with Casamayor is that he's looking for the biggest payday he can get and I think he's going to pull one of those Barrera moves. Go in there, survive and get one last big payday. I don't think he's looking to put on a good fight for the fans. That's why I don't think I make that fight."

GL: You know he's going to have a lot to say in response to that.

JD: "It's my honest opinion. I'm here to put on great fights for the fans and I don't think he'd come to put on a great fight."

GL: When will there be a formal update on your next move?

JD: "I'm almost sure that it's going to be at the end of this month. We should know something definite by then."

GL: Until then can we have some closing thoughts for the fans?

JD: "I want to thank all the fans once more for their support. It's been a great year for me and my family, and I'm expecting nothing but bigger and better things for 2008."

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