HOUSTON, TX - Juan Diaz captured the WBA lightweight title at the Reliant Arena Saturday with a 12-round unanimous decision over former titleholder Lakva Sim.
Diaz alongside experienced trainer Ronnie Shields implemented a fantastic game plan that utilized the Houston native’s quick hands and aggressive style to earn a well-deserved victory over the Mongolian.
Fighting in front of his hometown crowd, the 20-year-old Diaz became Houston's first major champion in boxing since 1994, when heavyweight George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer in Las Vegas.
Diaz managed to build an early lead and responded in kind to every Sim onrush, getting the nod from the judges by scores of 118-110, 118-111 and 116-112.
In the fourth, arguably the most exciting round of the night, Sim began to mount a comeback of his own, landing heavy blows to the midsection and head. The attack appeared to slow Diaz down for the first time in the fight. However the onslaught didn’t deter the pre-law college academic from returning fire.
Diaz pushed his record to 25-0 (12 KOs) with an impressive overall performance against the battle-tested Sim, who now drops to 19-4-1 (16 KOs).
All of Sims losses have come via judge’s decision.
In other action, Continental Americas champion Rocky Juarez, 21-0 (14 KOs) out pointed Zaheer Raheem, 25-1 (15 KOs) in an IBF featherweight elimination match.
Juarez, another Houston native, overcame a sluggish start, recorded a knockdown in the fourth round and was the beneficiary of Raheem being penalized three points.
"My legs are dead. The weight killed me," Raheem said to his corner prior to the 4th round.
A tell-tale sign of things to come.
Raheem was dropped by a left hook but quickly got up midway through the fourth. He was penalized later in the round for holding and hitting. Referee Robert Gonzalez punished him for the same infraction in the sixth and 10th rounds.
The deductions made a difference as Juarez won by the scores of 115-109, 113-111 and 114-110.
After the bout, an unimpressed Juarez evaluated his performance.
"From 1 to 10, I'd give myself a six because I didn't knock him out, and I didn't do some of the things I wanted to do."
Despite the loss, Raheem took some solace with his outing citing physical discomfort making the featherweight limit of 126 pounds.
"I know my ability and Rocky was not in my class," Raheem proclaimed. "That's why I don't blame the judges or the refs. I thought I could beat him easily. However, after the third round, my body my body was exhausted."
Juarez won a silver medal for the United States in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney while Raheem represented the US in Atlanta in 1996.
In the third featured bout, Kermit Cintron, 24-0 (22 KOs) captured the WBO interim and NABF welterweight championships by stopping former titleholder Teddy Reid.
Cintron knocked down Reid, 22-6-1 (16 KOs) with a straight right shortly after the opening bell and eventually stopped the born Jamaican at 56 seconds of the 8th round with a flurry of punches, including one final solid right uppercut that brought on referee Tim Adams to call a halt to the proceedings.
"I hurt my right hand in the last round. I felt it as soon as I hit him," Cintron said. "He was strong, but I’m still learning."
In other fights, welterweight Alexis Camacho knocked out Steve Vermner at 2:55 of the first round; Jason Litzau knocked out Frank Martinez at the end of the third round to claim the Texas state super featherweight title; Raul Martinez ran his record to 2-0 with a first-round knockout of Lamont Lindsey and heavyweight B.J. Flores stopped John Turlington at 2:53 of the fourth round.
Juarez, another Houston native, overcame a sluggish start, recorded a knockdown in the fourth round and was the beneficiary of Raheem being penalized three points.
Cintron knocked down Reid, 22-6-1 (16 KOs) with a straight right shortly after the opening bell and eventually stopped the born Jamaican at 56 seconds of the 8th round with a flurry of punches, including one final solid right uppercut that brought on referee Tim Adams to call a halt to the proceedings.