devin haney will take on joseph diaz jr. in a battle of top lightweight contenders friday on dazn.
Devin Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) vs. Joseph Diaz Jr. (32-1-1, 15 KOs)
- Date: Friday, Dec. 4
- Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Cost: DAZN is $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually
- Division: Lightweight (135-pound limit)
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Haney 5-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Jessica McCaskill vs. Victoria Bustos, welterweights (for McCaskill’s undisputed championship); Filip Hrgovic vs. Scott Alexander, heavyweights; Montana Love vs. Carlos Diaz, junior welterweights
- Prediction: Haney UD
- Background: The WBC has designated Haney as its 135-pound titleholder but Boxing Junkie recognizes “franchise champion” George Kambosos as the sanctioning body’s true beltholder. Haney has been angling for a showdown with one of the big-name lightweights but has so far come up empty. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t faced quality opponents, though. He’s coming off the biggest victory of his career, a convincing decision over veteran Jorge Linares in May that enhanced his reputation as a budding star. And Diaz might be a step up from Linares. The 2012 U.S. Olympian recorded his break-through victory in January of last year, when he outpointed Tevin Farmer to win a major 130-pound title. He lost his title on the scale before his first defense and drew with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov this past February. However, he rebounded by outpointing Javier Fortuna in his first fight as a full-fledged lightweight in July, which gave his reputation a significant boost. The winner on Friday will be a strong position to challenge Kambosos for the undisputed championship.