Joseph Diaz Jr. loses junior lightweight title on the scale

Joseph Diaz Jr. on Friday lost his junior lightweight title on the scale but will still fight Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov on Saturday.

Joseph Diaz Jr. lost his IBF junior lightweight title on the scale Friday.

Diaz, who will fight Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov on Saturday at Fantasy Springs in Indio, Calif., weighed 133.6 pounds, 3.6 over the division limit of 130. Rakhimov weighed 129.75, which means the belt is at stake only for the Russian.

Diaz (31-1, 15 KOs) won the title in his most-recent fight, a unanimous decision over Tevin Farmer in January of last year. He talked about unifying the 130-pound titles.

This is the second time Diaz has come in over weight in a major fight. He outpointed then-featherweight titleholder Jesus Rojas but lost a chance to win the belt when he came in a half pound over the limit in 2018.

Rakhimov (15-0, 12 KOs) will be fighting for a major title for the first time.

Also on the card, Patrick Teixeira (31-1, 22 KOs) will defend his WBO 154-pound title against Brian Castano (16-0-1, 12 KOs). Teixeira weighed 153.4, Castano 153.8.

Ronny Rios (32-3, 16 KOs) will face Oscar Negrete (19-2-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round junior featherweight fight. Rios weighed 121.4, 1.6 pounds below the limit. Negrete weighed 121.6.

Shane Mosley Jr. (16-3, 9 KOs) and Cristian Olivas (19-7, 16 KOs) both weighed 161.6 for their 10-round super middleweight bout.

And, in the DAZN opener, hot light heavyweight prospect Bektemir Melikuziev (6-0, 5 KOs) and Morgan Fitch (19-4-1, 8 KOs) weighed 170.6 and 170.8, respectively, for a scheduled eight-rounder.