Joseph Diaz

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Joseph Diaz
Born
Joseph Pedroza Diaz Jr.

(1992-11-23) November 23, 1992 (age 31)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesJoJo
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Reach64 in (163 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights39
Wins33
Wins by KO15
Losses5
Draws1

Joseph "JoJo" Pedroza Diaz Jr. (born November 23, 1992) is an Mexican-American

2012 Olympics as a bantamweight.[1]

Early life and education

Joseph is of Mexican descent.[2] He attended Kranz Intermediate at the age of 12–14. He is left-handed and fights southpaw. As a child he played baseball but took up boxing to learn self-defense. He is coached by his father.[3] He attended South El Monte High School.

Amateur career

Prior to the Olympic Trials, he was the two-time reigning national champion at bantamweight that included a win over

2010-11 World Series of Boxing

At the 2012 Summer Olympics he beat Pavlo Ishchenko, but ran into Alvarez in his second fight and lost again.

World Series of Boxing record

1 Win, 1 Loss
Result Record Team Opponent (Team) Score Date Location Notes
Loss 1–1 Los Angeles Matadors Mexico Braulio Ávila (Mexico Guerreros) 0-3 2011-04-13 United States Los Angeles, U.S.
Win 1–0 Los Angeles Matadors Germany Ronny Beblik (Memphis Force) 3-0 2011-02-28 United States Memphis, U.S.

Professional career

Featherweight

Diaz made his professional debut in 2012 against Vincent Alfaro, winning by

HBO Latino in July 2015 and on December 18, Diaz Jr. defeated Hugo Partida and earned the WBC-NABF featherweight title.[7] He went on to defend the title multiple times, before challenging Gary Russell Jr. for the WBC featherweight title on May 19, 2018, at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Diaz was unsuccessful, losing a unanimous decision to scores of 117–111, 117–111, 115–113.[8]

Super featherweight

On January 30, 2020, Diaz defeated IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer by unanimous decision with scores of 115–113, 115–113, and 116–112 to claim his first world title. After the fight, Diaz praised his opponent, saying "Tevin Farmer is a hell of a fighter, guys. I thank him for giving me this opportunity."[9]

Diaz's first defense of his IBF super featherweight title was scheduled for February 13, 2021 against Shavkat Rakhimov. However, he was stripped of the title when he missed weight, weighing 3.6 lbs over the 130 lb limit. As a result, the fight still went ahead, but Diaz was fined $100,000 for missing weight, which represented 20% of his purse. The money was split evenly between Rakhimov and the California State Athletic Commission.[10] They fought to a majority draw, with scores of 115–113 Diaz, 114–114, 114–114.[11]

Lightweight

Diaz vs. Fortuna

Following his draw with Shavkat Rakhimov, Diaz moved up to the lightweight division which he promised would be his best weight, where he fought Javier Fortuna for the vacant WBC interim lightweight title on July 9, 2021. Diaz was docked a point in the fourth round for hitting behind the head, but nonetheless emerged as the victor via unanimous decision, with scores of 117–110, 116–111 and 115–112.[12]

Diaz vs. Haney

On October 8, 2021, it was announced that Diaz would be defending his WBC interim lightweight title against its previous owner, undefeated

Ryan García, in Los Angeles on November 27.[13] However, on October 15, Mike Coppinger of ESPN revealed that García had suffered a hand injury and that the fight would be postponed.[14] This led to back and forth on social media between Diaz and Devin Haney, the full WBC lightweight champion, culminating in an official announcement on November 3 that Diaz would now be challenging for Haney's full world title on December 4, instead of defending his interim title against García.[15]

Super Lightweight

February 15, 2024 in Commerce, CA, Diaz was scheduled to face Jesus Antonio Perez Campos at super lightweight.[16] He lost the fight by split decision.[17]

Professional boxing record

39 fights 33 wins 5 losses
By knockout 15 0
By decision 18 5
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
39 Loss 33–5–1 Jesus Antonio Perez Campos SD 10 Feb 15, 2024 Commerce Casino, Commerce, California, U.S.
38 Win 33–4–1 Jerry Perez UD 10 Jul 8, 2023
AT&T Center
, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
37 Loss 32–4–1 Mercito Gesta SD 12 Mar 18, 2023 Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, U.S.
36 Loss 32–3–1 William Zepeda UD 12 Oct 29, 2022 Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
35 Loss 32–2–1 Devin Haney UD 12 Dec 4, 2021 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. For WBC lightweight title
34 Win 32–1–1 Javier Fortuna UD 12 Jul 9, 2021
Banc of California Stadium
, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Won vacant WBC interim lightweight title
33 Draw 31–1–1 Shavkat Rakhimov MD 12 Feb 13, 2021 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
32 Win 31–1 Tevin Farmer UD 12 Jan 30, 2020 Meridian at Island Gardens, Miami, Florida, U.S. Won IBF super featherweight title
31 Win 30–1 Jesus Cuadro MD 12 Sep 21, 2019 Auditorio del Estado, Mexicali, Mexico
30 Win 29–1 Freddy Fonseca TKO 7 (12), 2:07
May 4, 2019
T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Won vacant WBA Gold super featherweight title
29 Win 28–1 Charles Huerta UD 10 Feb 9, 2019 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
28 Win 27–1 Jesús Rojas UD 12 Aug 11, 2018
Hollywood, California
, U.S.
27 Loss 26–1 Gary Russell Jr. UD 12 May 19, 2018 MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S. For WBC featherweight title
26 Win 26–0 Victor Terrazas KO 3 (10), 3:00 Feb 22, 2018 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. Retained WBC-NABF, and WBO-NABO featherweight titles
25 Win 25–0 Rafael Rivera UD 12 Sep 16, 2017 T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBO-NABO featherweight title
24 Win 24–0 Manuel Ávila UD 10 May 6, 2017
T-Mobile Arena
, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Retained WBC-NABF featherweight title;
Won
WBO-NABO
featherweight title
23 Win 23–0 Horacio García UD 10 Dec 17, 2016 , U.S. Retained WBC-NABF featherweight title
22 Win 22–0 Andrew Cancio TKO 9 (10), 2:27
Sep 17, 2016
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, U.S. Retained WBC-NABF featherweight title
21 Win 21–0 Victor Proa KO 2 (10), 1:07 Jul 30, 2016 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. Retained WBC-NABF featherweight title
20 Win 20–0 Jayson Vélez UD 10 Apr 23, 2016
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
, U.S.
Retained WBC-NABF featherweight title
19 Win 19–0 Hugo Partida TKO 2 (10), 1:32 Dec 18, 2015 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. Won vacant WBC-NABF featherweight title
18 Win 18–0 Ruben Tamayo UD 10 Oct 23, 2015 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
17 Win 17–0
Rene Alvarado
UD 10 Jul 11, 2015 Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
16 Win 16–0 Giovanni Delgado UD 10
May 9, 2015
Houston, Texas
, U.S.
15 Win 15–0 Juan Luis Hernandez TKO 3 (10), 3:00 Mar 6, 2015 Belasco Theater, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
14 Win 14–0 Jose Angel Beranza UD 10 Dec 8, 2014 Cowboys Dance Hall,
San Antonio, Texas
, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Roberto Castaneda RTD 4 (10), 3:00 Nov 13, 2014 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 Raul Hidalgo TKO 7 (10), 2:13 Sep 29, 2014
State Farm Arena, Hidalgo, Texas
, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 Ramiro Robles UD 10 Jul 9, 2014 Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Luis Maldonado UD 6 Apr 26, 2014 StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Joivany Fuentes TKO 5 (8), 2:59 Mar 8, 2014 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Carlos Rodriguez TKO 7 (8), 1:13 Dec 13, 2013 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S
7 Win 7–0 Noel Mendoza KO 3 (6), 1:54 Aug 24, 2013
StubHub Center
, Carson, California, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Luis Cosme KO 1 (6), 2:09 Jul 20, 2013 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Rigoberto Casillas RTD 3 (6), 3:00 Jun 8, 2013
Home Depot Center, Carson, California
, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Eric Gotay TKO 3 (6), 2:13 May 3, 2013 Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Alberto Cupido UD 6 Mar 16, 2013 Grand Oasis, Cancún, Mexico
2 Win 2–0 Jose Ruiz TKO 2 (4), 2:03 Feb 2, 2013 Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Vicente Afaro Martinez UD 4 Dec 15, 2012
Los Angeles, California
, U.S.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Boxing: U.S. Men - Boxing News | NBC Olympics". Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  2. ^ Corrales, Danny (2016-03-24). "No Hablo Espanol with Boxer Joseph 'Jo Jo' Diaz". Espn.com. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  3. ^ Kevin Baxter (2012-05-07). "Boxer Joseph Diaz Jr.'s biggest motivation is helping his family - latimes". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  4. ^ "Joseph Diaz Jr. - Top Amateur Focuses on London - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2011-07-30. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  5. ^ "Diaz Becomes First American to Qualify for London - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  6. ^ "California Leaves Its Mark on The Olympic Trials - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  7. ^ "Joseph Diaz Jr. Faces Hugo Partida For NABF Title - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  8. ^ "Russell Jr. tops Diaz Jr. via unanimous decision". ESPN.com. 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  9. ^ Christ, Scott (2020-01-30). "Joseph Diaz Jr takes IBF title from Tevin Farmer by decision". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  10. ^ "Diaz misses weight, loses belt before title fight". ESPN.com. 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  11. ^ "Diaz Jr. vs. Rakhimov results: JoJo Diaz and Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov battle to a majority draw | DAZN News UK". DAZN. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  12. ^ "Diaz beats Fortuna in impressive lightweight debut". ESPN.com. 2021-07-10. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  13. ^ Esco, Wil (2021-10-08). "Ryan Garcia reaches terms with Joseph Diaz Jr for November 27 fight". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  14. ^ "Hand injury forces postponement of Garcia-Diaz". ESPN.com. 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  15. ^ Stumberg, Patrick L. (2021-11-03). "Devin Haney vs Joseph Diaz Jr official, December 4th in Las Vegas". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  16. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (25 January 2024). "Joseph Diaz faces Jesus 'Ricky' Perez in February in Commerce, CA". FIGHTMAG.
  17. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (16 February 2024). "Jesus Perez takes decision against Joseph Diaz in Commerce, CA - Photos". FIGHTMAG.

External links

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Marvin Sonsona
WBC-NABF featherweight champion
December 18, 2015 – April 2018
Vacant
Title next held by
Manny Robles III
Vacant
Title last held by
Miguel Marriaga
WBO-NABO
featherweight champion

May 6, 2017 – April 2018
Vacant
Title next held by
Joet Gonzalez
Minor world boxing titles
Inaugural champion WBA Gold super featherweight champion
May 4, 2019 – December 2019
Vacant
Title next held by
Mark Urbanov
Major world boxing titles
Preceded by IBF super featherweight champion
January 30, 2020 – February 12, 2021
Stripped
Vacant
Title next held by
Kenichi Ogawa
Vacant
Title last held by
Ryan García
WBC lightweight interim champion
July 9, 2021 – December 4, 2021
Lost bid for full title
Vacant