By Eric Thomas: In a shocking upset, 36 year-old Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) had too much stamina for WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Diaz (33-1, 17 KOs), beating him by a decisive 12-round unanimous decision tonight at the Plaza de Toros, in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The final judges’ scores were 116-111, 115-112 and 114-113, all for Campbell. The first card, though, seemed the most accurate of the bunch, for Campbell dominated the fight after the sixth round when Diaz faded badly after tiring out from his early fast start.
The timing of the fade for Diaz conveniently came about at the same time that Diaz was cut over his left eye, which perhaps gives him an excuse for his loss. However, Campbell appeared to just have better overall endurance than Diaz, and just plain out-hustled from the six though the twelfth as he landed both the sharper and more numerous shots during that time.
Former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Julio Diaz’s (34-4, 25 KOs) busy fighting style was no match for the hard-punching World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association lightweight champion Juan Diaz (33-0, 17 KOs) who blasted him round after round with multiple combinations until Julio ultimately quit at the beginning of the 9th round on Saturday night at the Sears Centre, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. With the win, the 24-year old Juan Diaz adds the IBF lightweight title to his collection of belts, clearly showing that he’s the dominant fighter in the lightweight division.