While "Latin Fury" was an all out war where the winners triumphed in the manner expected of them, SHOWTIME brought us a battle of the Olympians, a ho-hum affair for many, but a source of interest for those of us who have followed these youngsters since they turned pro.

The opening bout of the SHOWTIME telecast was a lightweight, 10 rounder between thirty year old, pony tailed, former toughman competitor John Bailey, (20-9-2, 12 KOs) and Houston's 19 year old Juan Díaz, who came to the dance with a spotless 19-0, 9 KOs record. In short, Diaz demolished Bailey, rearranging his facial structure and prompting a 7th round stoppage within 1:15 of the assault. It has been reported that Bailey needed a shopping cart to carry his head around hours after the fight... (Just kidding, just kidding...)

Perhaps Rocky Juárez and 'Panchito' Bojado generate more interest, perhaps the hype machine runs on overtime for them. However, don't sleep on Juan Díaz, as he has all the goods; an articulate and very personable college student as well.

This young man has an arsenal of punches that would impress if a champion counted it among his own. For a teenager who has only been in the pro-game a bit over two years, I found his goods impressive. The uppercuts are vicious and seldom miss the opponent's chin, he throws them with such ease and fluidity; his jab is on the money and always carries sting behind it. If all that's not enough, he also shoots pretty decent hooks with both hands; he is patient in the ring, and seems to have a strong chin.

Taking a look at his pro-record one finds that unlike many of today's prima donnas he hasn't been overly protected. His opponents have been tough, and competitive. Their overall record stands at 190-117-10, not the numbers one would associate with an up and coming prospect fighting guys clad in knockout suits.

Juan Díaz was impressive, looked solid and although perhaps not a knockout artist at this point, we shouldn't overlook the remainder of his great qualities. It was very uplifting to know that he is actively pursuing a higher education at the University of Houston, should he fail to accomplish major goals within the sport of boxing. Congratulations to Juan Díaz for all of the above! He is the embodiment of an Olympian in and out of the ring.

Let's skip over Francisco Bojado's fight for a quick second and recap featherweights Rocky Juárez and Jason Pires. In Juárez we encounter a young man who has only been in the pro ranks for two years, and remains undefeated with 11 KOs in 15 fights.

A look at his opponents indicates that he hasn't been padded along the road either. The foes combined records show 172 wins, 75 losses and 11 draws, not a bad set of numbers at all.

Juárez is perhaps the more plausible of the three youngsters showcased on this Saturday, February 1 at the world's largest casino, the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. He is a technician who wastes little, has very good instincts in the ring, adapts well to his opponents' styles and ends up dissecting them along the way.

Against Hector Acero-Sanchez he seemed a bit off, but hey, he was fighting a former world champion with 52 fights to his credit, let's not forget that. Acero-Sanchez was a true test of Rocky's grit in my book.

Juárez took care of Jason Pires in grand fashion, and actually, shame on Pires' corner for not looking out for their man and stopping the fight long before the referee did. Pires took an unnecessary amount of blows to the head, and it was clear to all but the three blind mice in the young man's corner that he was out gunned, out classed and unable to muster enough to even be considered as a candidate for a puncher's chance.

Congratulations to Rocky Juárez for his performance and for the example he sets for other up and coming youngsters outside the ring as well.

On to the young man who prompted me to pen this piece, Francisco "Panchito" Bojado. I don't know about the rest of you, but I find the SHOWTIME announcers to be the most biased of all the broadcasting teams out there today. They dispense gloom and doom in the same manner Harold Lederman dispenses prescriptions at the pharmacy where he toils in real life in upstate New York. (Yes, Harold Lederman is a pharmacist, for those of you who didn't know...)

If you listened to Czyz and Albert, 'Panchito' Bojado is a doomed fighter. He is borderline shot, and his career is in serious peril. I can't help but wonder if Albert has gotten this bad since joining forces with the near genius badly in need of speech lessons... As I recall it, Steve Albert was a lot more grounded when he worked those great USA Tuesday Night Fights with the champ Sean O'Grady. Their chemistry was hard to beat, they kept it flowing and entertaining, their commentaries were intelligent and fair.

Is 'Panchito' Bojado a shot fighter? We are talking about a 19 year old kid here, a kid who might have pushed the envelope a bit too fast and a tad too soon, but a young man who I consider far from shot. The record of his opposition stands at 154-38-14, those numbers are nothing to sneeze at.

On Saturday, February 1, 'Panchito' Bojado, with a record of 10-1, 9 KOs, took on gritty Puerto Rican fighter Frankie Santos, age 24, with a 15-1-2, 7 KOs record. On paper, Santos seemed like a fairly even matched opponent for Bojado, although he had a few more fights and by virtue of his age, a bit more maturity.

What are the SHOWTIME commentators' expectations for Francisco Bojado? Frankly, I don't understand... Is he expected to knock out every single opponent that comes his way? Is he expected to not ever get hit by an opponent? Which? What? Why?

To say that the greatest fighters have all been hit and beaten, is an understatement. Why is the SHOWTIME team judging 'Panchito' by a different yardstick? I thought that 'Panchito' Bojado fought a good fight; it is a learning process for him, as he remains a work in progress. Having Floyd Mayweather, Sr. in his corner didn't hurt him, on the contrary. Their interaction was almost a word for word replay of the seconds before the opening bell in the 11th round of the bout against Vargas, when Floyd Sr. told Oscar de la Hoya: "Go knock him out." Oscar looked up at Floyd, and in a child like manner asked: "Knock him out?" To which his trainer responded: "Go knock this guy out." Did he knock Vargas out or what? Oscar almost took Vargas' head off his shoulders, steroids or not.

Mayweather, Sr. did the same with Bojado. He asked the kid to show him some energy in the 7th round, advising him that he couldn't fight going backwards. In between the 9th and 10th rounds, Floyd told Bojado to get rid of the guy, and the youngster went out and did exactly that and in dramatic fashion. Let's keep in mind that Santos was no push over, he was willful and strong. Santos definitely had his moments in the middle rounds, and looked good when he fought in the phone booth; Santos definitely came to earn his paycheck.

Juan Díaz and Rocky Juárez had a strong outing but in this writer's humble opinion so did Francisco 'Panchito' Bojado. Let's give the kid a break, let's allow him to bond with Mayweather, Sr., the third trainer in his short career. It has to be hard to deal with all the pressure, the hype and the expectations at such a young age, and out the 2000 Olympians it was Bojado who got anointed by the media as the newest super star of the sport.

Could it be that he is not superstar caliber? I don't know, but he has shown me heart, a willingness to listen and learn, and he also packs a decent wallop. Is it too much to ask to lay off the gloom and doom for this kid, and let him go ahead and develop? I would think not, and if 'Panchito' is reading this, I'd just like to say, go on, be all that you can be, and keep in mind that not all of us have given up on you.

2-01-2003