For some fighters, winning a world title is the culmination of everything for which they’ve worked. For Joseph Diaz Jr., it’s merely a start.
Oh, to be sure, JoJo’s unanimous-decision victory over the respected Tevin Farmer to win a portion of the 130-pound title in January of last year was gratifying for the Los Angeles fighter. All of the years of sacrifice had paid off.
At the same time, he has much bigger plans. He wants to unify the junior lightweight titles in a deep division and ultimately move up and do the same at 135. You think that’s ambitious? He also has his sights set on the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
And adding to his hunger is the fact that some don’t see the 28-year-old former Olympian as a fighter to be feared in and around his division, as rivals Gervonta Davis and Miguel Berchelt are, in spite of his accomplishments.
Thus, Diaz (31-1, 15 KOs) has more work to do. And that starts this Saturday night at Fantasy Springs in Indio, Calif., where he makes his first title defense against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (15-0, 12 KOs) on DAZN.
“There will always be critics,” Diaz told Boxing Junkie. “I’ve fought top tier guys, I have five world champions on my resume. And I still don’t’ get respect. It is what it is. It’s a tough sport.
“As long as I’m champion, as long as I do what I gotta do, that’s all that matters.”
The lack of respect – if that’s what it is – might have something to do with Diaz’s one and only loss, a one-sided decision against gifted featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. in his first title shot, in 2018.
Diaz has won five consecutive fights and his title since then, which he says stems partly from the lessons learned against Russell.
“That loss was a blessing in disguise,” he said. “… I didn’t open up like I should’ve, I didn’t take as many risks as I should have. That fight made me realize that you can’t leave anything in the ring. You have to give your all every time you step into the ring.
“You never know when an opportunity like that will come again.”
Diaz won’t have to go looking for Rakhimov, a rugged Russian fighter who stalks his opponents and has significant punching power. The native of Tajikistan is ranked No. 1 by the IBF, whose belt Diaz owns.
Indeed, Rakhimov might be a bigger threat than his relative anonymity might suggest.
Diaz says he’s ready. He will have been out of the ring for more than a year but has no concerns about rust. In fact, he said the time off has allowed aches and pains to heal and his mind to clear.
He believes he’ll be at his best on Saturday.
“I’ll win because of my experience, what I’ve been through as a pro,” he said. “I feel like that will be one of the key factors on fight night. I feel like this is his toughest fight but not my toughest fight. I’ve been here before, I’ve fought a lot of tough fights already.
“This is his first step up, his first really tough fight. That right there is one of my keys to victory.”
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If he wins, things could get interesting.
The junior lightweight division is in flux at the moment. WBC titleholder Miguel Berchelt has a significant test against Oscar Valdez on Feb. 20. WBO beltholder Jamel Herring will defend against former champ Carl Frampton on Feb. 27. And the WBA titleholder, Gervonta Davis, is looking for an opponent.
Diaz plans to beat Rakhimov and then pursue his fellow titleholders, however that plays out.
“Winning the title was just the start of my legacy,” he said. “I want to be unified champion at 130 pounds, move up in weight and be a champion in two weight classes. I want to be a Hall of Famer.
“There is still a lot more I want to accomplish. There are still many years to go, many hard, long training camps. And I’m looking forward to it. I love what I do.”
