David Diaz: The Warrior

David Diaz was bloodied, battered and motionless in the canvass as the referee hastily waved off the fight. It wasn’t how everybody expected the fight to end, after Diaz gamely traded punches against 27-year-old top prospect Henry "Hank" Lundy in Horseshoe Casino in nearby Hammond, IN.

This was again another setback to his career, another failed attempt to win back a championship belt. However, Diaz never failed to light up anybody’s boxing appetite. This was his promise—never back down and never gave up—and he paid dearly for it. He feels boxing needs good fights, blood, sweat and tears, and he is ready to give what the fans really wanted.

He knew the danger of slugging it out and moving forward, but he values every fan’s hard-earned money. He feels so much on how people struggled to make both ends meet. David had been a champion and for years he has been driving the same old Honda '91 model with no air conditioning. He knows how it is to be in a tight situation.

No boring fights, no running…it’s going to be war and Diaz will go out with guns blazing.

It’s not that he has known only one direction in the ring; he had been a decorated amateur fighter, being part of the 1996 Olympic team, four-time Chicago Golden Gloves winner and three-time National Golden Gloves. However, he had to find a niche in boxing. People love an underdog who loves to fight and never afraid to lose. It rightfully fits his personality…he fights not only for boxing but for the people who love the art.

Diaz is like a combustible material whenever he goes in the ring. He is walking on a live wire on a thin line. Bigger and powerful punchers feast on him. But Diaz never felt threatened; there is no room for him to be afraid. As long as he can punch everything is equal. For most part of his career, he was successful. “It’s either I go down, or you will go down” mentality.

At 35 years old Diaz still feels he still can fight two to three more years, and wants a Lundy rematch. Even after his knockout loss to Kendall Holt and Manny Pacquiao his style never changed. It is unlikely to go to the same battle with the same game plan. However, this is David Diaz, the boxer who fights with his heart and never backs down.

I never get tired of seeing Diaz fight. It may be the same old cliché or the same old script, but he never fails to excite me.

Bloodied, battered and motionless…but that didn’t stop Diaz from getting up. He retires whenever he feels it’s time. Nobody can stop a tough hombre from Mexico. Nobody can. Not a punch and not even a slowly degrading skill. David Diaz continues to fight no matter how big or impossible. He lives and dies with his gloves on.