Finally, a title crack for Suico

The long wait for a world title crack is finally over for hard-hitting Mandaue City slugger Randy Suico but it won’t be easy sailing in his quest for the championship.

Suico takes on unbeaten World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight titleholder Juan (Baby Bull) Diaz in a 12-round bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on July 15 (Sunday morning, Manila) and oddsmakers seem certain the crown won’t change hands when the smoke of battle clears.

Diaz, 22, is a classy boxer whose speed, conditioning and intelligence are his chief assets. He doesn’t usually engage opponents in a brawl, preferring to jab and throw combinations from a distance. Diaz likes to attack the body, work the uppercut and frustrate his foes with his methodical style.

Suico, 26, is allergic to stylists like Diaz. Suico’s two losses were to fighters who boxed from long range and never allowed him the opportunity to inflict damage up close. Diaz is expected to fight Suico like Mzonke Fana and Javier Jauregui who both scored decisions over the Filipino known as "Komong Bato." Fana was decked twice by Suico but held on to win on points in Johannesburg in 2004 while Jauregui gave a neat boxing lesson in scoring a majority decision in Los Angeles last year.

What could tilt the balance is Suico’s awesome power. He has scored 21 knockouts in 24 wins with only Kazunori Fujita, Israel Melendez and Joe Escriber surviving the distance. And Diaz’ ability to take a punch is suspect.

Diaz has been floored once in his career, by Eleazar Contreras who used a right hook to score a knockdown in the sixth round of their May 2003 bout. Diaz got up to win a close but unanimous verdict. His chin has never really been tested because he is such an elusive target.

When Diaz beat Lakva Sim for the WBA crown two years ago, the Mongolian roughhouser repeatedly goaded him into fighting toe-to-toe but the clever challenger refused to oblige. Diaz stuck to his fight plan of outworking Sim from the outside and breezed to a comfortable win on points.

Diaz learned how to box with style in the amateur ranks where power is not a premium. He posted an amateur record of 105-5, in the process capturing the world junior championship and earning a ticket to compete in the 2000 Sydney Olympics for Mexico. Diaz, however, was disqualified from fighting in Sydney because he was three months under the age requirement.

Since dethroning Sim to become the youngest world lightweight champion in 30 years, Diaz has repulsed challengers Julian Lorcy, Billy Irwin and Jose Miguel Cotto. Suico is a late replacement for Diaz’ original challenger Almazbek Raiymkulov of Russia. He is making his lightweight debut after relinquishing the Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation superfeatherweight crown.

Suico was ranked No. 1 in the 130-pound class and next in line to challenge World Boxing Council (WBC) superfeatherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera but his title hopes vanished after losing to Fana. The loss to Jauregui was another dampener as Suico complained of struggling to make the weight.

Suico’s manager Joe Koizumi then decided to elevate him to the lightweight division where he is now rated No. 9 by the WBC and No. 12 by the WBA.

An advantage that Suico will exploit against Diaz is his towering height. He stands 5-9, three inches more than Diaz, and the reach edge could prove crucial in cutting the distance between the fighters. Suico will need to take away Diaz’ running angles and cut off the ring if he hopes to land consistently.

Suico was penciled to face Silverio Ortiz in the undercard of the recent Manny Pacquiao-Oscar Larios mainer at the Araneta Coliseum when the call to replace Raiymkulov came. Suico’s record is 24-2, with 21 KOs while Diaz’ is 29-0, with 14 KOs.

A reputed achiever, Diaz graduated fourth in his class with a grade point average of 3.8 at the Contemporary Learning Center High School in Houston in 2001. He is taking up pre-law studies at the University of Houston and hopes to eventually become a lawyer after hanging up his gloves.

"Nobody in my family ever went past high school so I want to be the first," said Diaz, quoted in his profile by Main Events Promotions. "Plus, you never know what will happen with boxing so I want something to fall back on."

Curiously, Diaz’ manager is Shelly Finkel who is Pacquiao’s braintrust. It will be strange for Finkel, who has close ties to the Philippines, to be in a corner opposite a Filipino.