Junior lightweight prospect Joel Diaz Jr. (11-0, 10 KOs) is healthy and ready to make his 2013 debut on April 4th at the Bayou Event Center in Houston, Texas against Victor Sanchez (4-5-1, 1 KO).
Diaz was scheduled to face Tyler Asselstyne on February 8th in the co-feature of ESPN Friday Night Fights until he was sidelined with a wrist injury. The injury is healed and Diaz is ready to resume his impressive campaign towards the top of his division.
Diaz is an exceptionally popular prospect amongst boxing fans; his fighting style seems to resonate with the type of fans that expect entertainment and excitement. The injury caused layoff is one of the longest in Diaz’s career — dating back to only his 3rd pro fight — and with his fans use to seeing him compete on a regular basis, Diaz felt the need to get back to action as quickly as his body would allow him.
“It was frustrating to be out of action because I’m a fighter and it’s unnatural for me to not be preparing for a fight. I’ve kept my body in shape, but I was limited with the boxing stuff and even though I was doing everything I could physically do it’s still not the same when you’re able to train 100%. It just got irritating having to explain why I was out and when my next fight would be, all I wanted to do was get back in the ring for all my supporters,” Diaz said.
Diaz took this fight without hesitation and he was able to get back on track by staying disciplined during his hiatus. His goal for this fight is to get back to the fundamentals and he knows he can’t get over anxious.
“I’m really excited to get in the ring and I badly want to make a statement against my opponent. At the same time, I don’t want to let the excitement get the best of me because that’s how you make mistakes. I’ll just go in there and execute my game plan like any other time, but I’ll be a little more enthusiastic than normal.”
Mario Yagobi of Boxing 360, Diaz’s promoter, is happy to see his fighter back to doing what he loves and spoke about how refreshing it is to see a young fighter so passionate about his craft.
“I received so many calls and his fans were always asking me when he’s getting back in the ring, Joel is as popular as any prospect in boxing, if not more. His fan base can’t get enough and that has to do with his enjoyment for competing. Fans can tell when the fighter loves being in there and they respond when the fighters mix it up, but it’s twice as awesome when the fans see how much joy the fighter gets from mixing it up, it’s almost as if they are experiencing the moment together,” Yagobi said.
