Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz Headline’s Top Rank’s March 19 Show In Houston

Diaz Headline’s Top Rank’s March 19 – Top Rank returns to the Lone Star State on Saturday, March 19, with a show at the Arena Theatre in Houston. The main event is a 10-round lightweight contest pitting local fan favorite Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz against Fernando Garcia. In the co-feature, Mike Alvarado opposes Saul Corral in an 8-round welterweight contest. The event is an installment of the “Solo Boxeo Tecate” series televised on UniMas.

The 32-year-old Diaz (40-4, 19 KOs), a former WBA, WBO, and IBF lightweight champion, has won five straight after a 33-month layoff. A crowd-pleaser, his 2009 contest with superstar Juan Manuel Marquez was named the Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. The 27-year-old Garcia (30-7-2, 19 KOs) last appeared on October 30 of last year at Plymouth, Massachusetts where he was stopped in the fifth round by world ranked lightweight contender Sharif Bogere. Garcia hails from the prizefighting hotbed of Tijuana.

Mike Alvarado (34-4, 23 KOs) is coming off a 14-month layoff that came on the heels of five consecutive fights sanctioned for a version of the welterweight title. His signature win was a unanimous 12-round decision over previously undefeated Brandon Rios in the second of their three meetings. The 35-year-old battler, who fights out of Denver, will oppose Saul Corral (19-6, 10 KOs) of Monterey, Mexico. Alvarado is in a situation where he has lost four out of his last five fights, and the last fight of his trilogy with Rios saw him stopped after three rounds, so there are very real questions about what Alvarado can still bring to the table.

Also announced for the undercard is undefeated Brazilian Esquiva Falcao, who is 12-0 as a professional. The 26 year old southpaw campaigns at Middleweight and is still awaiting a confirmed opponent.  Look for more fights to be added to the live event as we approach fight time.

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