O’Malley fight to be televised

  • Charlie Laughtland / Special to The Herald
  • Wednesday, April 14, 2004 9:00pm
  • Sports

Edmonds boxer Martin O’Malley returns to action Saturday in a bout that will be televised by NBC.

O’Malley, 28, is scheduled to face Juan Diaz of Houston at the Pechenga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif., in a 10-round lightweight contest.

It will be the first outing in six months for O’Malley, whose Oct. 11 clash with Leonardo Rojas ended in a majority draw. While one judge scored the bout in O’Malley’s favor, the other two called it even.

Diaz, 20, hasn’t fought since registering a sixth-round technical knockout of Joel Perez on Nov. 22 to keep his unblemished record intact.

“It’s definitely not going to be an easy fight,” O’Malley said. “I’ve seen (Diaz) fight. He’s tough and he’s good at everything. But like anyone else, he’s beatable.”

For just the second time in his eight-year pro career, O’Malley (21-2-1, 14 knockouts) won’t be considered the favorite.

An up-and-comer on the Main Events management roster, Diaz (23-0, 11 knockouts) has won four of his past six fights by knockouts to climb to fourth in the most recent World Boxing Council rankings.

“Everyone is expecting him to be the superstar,” O’Malley said. “I can come in without any of that pressure.”

O’Malley had been mounting a charge of his own, but was sidetracked by a unanimous decision loss to Luis Villilata last July, followed by the disappointing draw with Rojas.

“Watching tapes of my past few fights, I know I’ve developed a bad habit of backing off and letting guys throw combinations,” O’Malley said. “I’ve been working on not letting up so much.”

Holding back is never an issue with Diaz, who compiled a 105-5 record as an amateur and opted to turn pro at 16 because he was three months too young to compete for a spot on Mexico’s 2000 Olympic team.

The University of Houston sophomore is touted by boxing insiders for his aggressive, crowd-pleasing style and a penchant for stiff body shots.

“He throws a lot of punches and wears guys down,” O’Malley said. “He goes to the body a lot and uses a lot of combinations. He’s always coming forward.

“But he’s not the type of guy that’s going to hit somebody and put them to sleep with one punch unless he throws it just right.”

The fight will mark O’Malley’s third appearance on national television. He out-pointed Danny Rios as part of an Oct. 2002 ESPN card and suffered his first loss as a pro to Leo Dorin on Showtime in July 2001.

“It’s a big break. You’ve got to perform well when you get a chance like this,” O’Malley said.

“I was in a position where I really needed to get something going. I’ve been praying for something to happen and this is the answer to my prayers.”

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