HOUSTON, Texas - Juan Diaz remained undefeated and retained his World Boxing Association lightweight title with a ninth-round technical knockout of Canadian Billy "The Kid" Irwin.
Diaz pummeled Irwin for eight rounds, living up to his nickname of "Baby Bull."
The Canadian challenger's right eye was badly swollen when referee Earl Morton stepped into call a halt at 1:27 of the ninth.
Diaz, 21, improved to 27-0 (13 KOs), handed Irwin, 37, the first knock-out loss of his career.
"It's like I'm on top of the world," said Diaz. "It was perfect with my plan. I stayed outside, boxed from outside. I just kept using my jab."
Diaz had taken the title from Mongolian Lakva Sim before his hometown fans here at Houston's Reliant Arena in July 2004 with a unanimous decision.
In his first title defence in November, Diaz again earned a unanimous decision over Julien Lorcy of France.
Irwin, who said before the fight that it would be his last, fell to 42-6 (30 KOs).
After Irwin's swelling eyes were checked by the doctor after the eighth round, Diaz landed a barrage in the ninth before Morton stepped in.
Diaz was the aggressor from the start, pinning Irwin to the ropes one minute into the first round and keeping him there. A left hook early in the second forced Irwin into a standing eight-count, marking the first time he had been knocked down since 1998.
"I have no problem with the referee stopping the fight," Irwin said. "He's not going to give me the benefit of the doubt. I'm not hurt, I'm fine. I've been sick since last Thursday and I thought I could fight through it.
"Being sick affected my power. I wish I could have performed better. I really thought I was going to win the fight."
In the ESPN co-feature, unbeaten heavyweight prospect Calvin Brock scored the biggest win of his pro career, stopping former contender Clifford Etienne in three rounds to put his name firmly on the list of heavyweights to watch in 2005.
Etienne's chin was once again the story, as he was dropped three times in the match. Brock improves to 24-0 (20 KOs). Etienne falls to 29-3-2 (20 KOs).
Notes: The WBA championship belt of WBA 135-pound titlist Juan Diaz was stolen Thursday night from his brother's car.
In other action, welterweight David Estrada stopped previously unbeaten Chris Smith in round eleven Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut. Estrada, 18-1 (8 KOs) dropped Smith hard in round seven. Smith, 19-1-1 (12 KOs) bravely managed to get to his feet to finish the round. Estrada ended it in the eleventh with an assortment of punches causing referee Steve Smogar to stop the action at 1:11.
Earlier, unbeaten junior middleweight Sechew Powell scored a eight round unanimous decision over Patrick Thompson. Powell's record moves to 15-0 (9 KOs), while Thompson drop to 8-4-1, (4 KOs).
Middleweight Eric Regan jabbed his way to victory, outpointing former IBF junior middleweight champion Yory Boy Campas over twelve rounds Friday night at the Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, California. Regan improves to 23-1 (15 KOs), while Campas falls to 85-7 (69 KOs). The judges scorecards read 120-108, 120-108 and 118-110.
Nina Sinclair
West Coast Correspondent
Information from other publications and wire services was used in the compilation of this report.
