ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque’s Diego Sanchez will fight again on July 2 in Manchester, England; however, this time he is lacing up the gloves for a boxing match.
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“I’m inspired and motivated to do something that I have always loved and that is boxing,” said Sanchez. “We would always watch the fights, me and my dad, with my little boxing gloves from the flea market, saying ‘I’m Johnny Tapia, I’m Johnny Tapia.'”
Sanchez will step in the ring against Dan Hardy for an exhibition card with a co-main event of Ricky Hatton and Marco Antonio Barrera. While Sanchez doesn’t have much professional boxing experience, “Nightmare” has the upper hand as Hardy has never boxed before.
“It’s a big fight, it’s a boxing exhibition, and so no winner will be declared unless I knock him out. So, the intention is to go out there and knock Dan Hardy out… I think he is in for a real true rude awakening when he gets in there with me because I haven’t been training with any MMA fighters, I am training with only boxers.”
Local fighter and decorated boxer Hector Muñoz has been training Sanchez, and Muñoz believes that Sanchez has been adapting well to the different form of fighting, and will bring the “Nightmare” mentality on July 2.
“I am coming with the nightmare, I am coming with Albuquerque, New Mexico, right behind me. I am going out there to take off Dan Hardy’s head because that’s the only way that I can get the victory, is to leave him on the floor.”