David Diaz Retires

**GrantZilla** Fri Mar 02, 2012 3:21 am

David Diaz, a 1996 U.S. Olympian and former lightweight world titlist, has announced his retirement from boxing after a 15-year professional career.

"I'm done with the sport. I love the sport, but I would be doing it an injustice if I kept fighting. My heart isn't in it anymore," Diaz, 35, told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "I could have taken fights just for the money, but it's not about that. It's about giving a good fight and having some dignity doing it."

Diaz (36-4-1, 17 KOs) would be the first to admit that he was not a big puncher, not particularly fast and never had the tightest defense. But he got the most out of what he had, riding it to an unexpected spot on the 1996 U.S. Olympic team when he upset heavily favored Zab Judah in the finals of the Olympic trials.

Diaz, a married father of three boys ages 6, 4 and 2, began boxing when he was 8 and said it was just time to go. He said he will continue with a weekly Internet radio show he hosts and also will try to put to use the license he said he recently received in the financial services industry.

"I didn't want to think, 'Am I fighting just for the money?' Nah. I love the sport a lot but I wasn't performing to my standards and giving great exciting fights," he said. "I wasn't doing that anymore. So I'm getting out while I still have my senses with me. I'm able to have a conversation with people. I'm hosting a radio show and having fun with that. So this is a good time to say goodbye. I love the sport, I love my fans and it was a great run. I've been blessed. I feel humbled by the people that helped me and supported me and always were there for me.

"Now it's time to get a real job, because what I did (as a fighter) was fun -- work out, travel and fight. It was beautiful."

http://tinyurl.com/73d9hsl

Good for him

Guest Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:19 am

Good luck to Diaz, I'll always respect warriors who know when it's time to hang them up.

David Diaz Retires

David Diaz Retires

Re: David Diaz Retires