Joseph Diaz Jr. lost weight on Friday and could not retain his IBF junior lightweight title, but Shavkat Rakhimov also did not let the judges take it upon himself to take it for himself, leaving the 130-pound belt vacant after a majority move on DAZN.
Judges battled 114-114, 114-114 and 115-113, the last card for Diaz. Bad Left Hook recorded the game 116-112 and 116-112 on separate cards, both of which gave the fight to Diaz for what it’s worth. DAZN’s Chris Mannix had it 114-114.
Diaz (31-1-1, 15 KO) was almost four kilograms overweight on Friday, but apparently did not really affect his performance in the ring, although this is often the case, especially if fighters do not try to gain weight. ‘ a second time with further drainage over a few hours. (In this case, since Diaz was more than two pounds over the limit, the commission does not allow a later attempt to be weighed.)
Diaz made the IBF’s second-day weight check as normal, which is worth it, just like Rakhimov (15-0-1, 12 KO), the 26-year-old Russian who got his first bang on a world title.
The struggle was waged at a steady pace, though perhaps with less sustained action than would have been hoped. A good fight, but never quite started, and it was even on the stats, for what it’s worth. No one did much damage, the fight did not have much great drama, but it was well fought and both proved their quality, although Diaz will leave here with the asterisk, no matter what.
Diaz landed 233 of 740 (32%) of its total beats compared to CompuBox and 193 of 468 (41%) of its power shots. Rakhimov landed 213 of the 951 (22%) overall and 169 of the 536 (32%) power bump, so Diaz increased more, while Rakhimov threw more. Diaz also seems to have landed most of the more difficult shots of the fight, the more eloquent.
Diaz, challenging in the ring and looking for the best foot he could put forward, was also challenging in his post-Betan Duran interview with DAZN. He said, of course, that he felt he had done enough to win, but also discussed his report on issues – he calls the “nonsense” of “greedy Don King breeders” – and also does not say that he is disappointed to not gaining weight, complains about the setup at the Fantasy Springs.
“I’m not disappointed at all. I know who I am. I work hard, man, I’m a hard worker. I’m a disciplined fighter, ‘Diaz said.
“It just wasn’t my night. I could not make the weight as before. They do not have a sauna here, they let me walk in my room with the fucking heater on. It was completely different from a professional world battle. I had to try to adjust it, but my body just felt weak and I could not do it. My health is more important. I still came out here and fought, and I’m not going to risk my life to gain weight, really exhaust myself and get hurt in the ring. It’s not necessary to fuck someone. I do it for myself and my family. This is the person I need to take care of, me and no one else. ”
It must be said that in the last days Rakhimov had the same conditions as Diaz had, and gained weight without reaching it, just like the other fighters on the map. What you take from Diaz’s statements will be passed on to you, but I think he will not keep himself among the fans – I would also think he does not care.
Brian Castano UD-12 Patrick Teixeira
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Tom Hogan-Hogan Photos / Golden Boy Promotions
Castano (17-0-1, 12 KO) was the challenger here, but a big favorite, and the reasons why it played in the ring. With the utmost respect for Teixeira (31-2, 22 KO), who is tough as hell and did have the WBO belt, he was one of the weakest title holders in the sport and won an interim title against ‘ an also unproven bystander in 2019, when he was elevated when Jaime Munguia gained weight.
Castano simply outscored Teixeira here, with 117-111, 119-109 and 120-108, and Bad Left Hook had it 119-109 on two separate cards, and Wil and I give Teixeira the first round and then nothing.
Castano can now perform at 154 against an undisputed title fight against WBC, WBA and IBF title Jermell Charlo, as both are PBC fighters, with Castano fighting here on the Golden Boy card because he was a mandatory challenger and Golden Boy the wallet. He’s probably underdog against Charlo, but it’s about as good a fight as you can now at 154, and not just because of the belts. Castano is a very good fighter, was probably a bit unlucky to only get a draw with Erislandy Lara in 2019 and also has a strong win over Michel Soro from 2017, where he was on his way to France and a ruling against a good fighter, not at all easy to do.
Teixeira gave this fight an absolute game effort and tried all the way, but he just wasn’t in the overall league of Castano. Both guys were busy, but Castano was busier and more accurate and delivered a lot more power shots. CompuBox landed Castano 373 of 1,136 (33%) of its total hits, and 344 of 927 (37%) of its power shots, with Teixeira at 197 of 972 (20%) in total, and 149 of 588 (25%) on his power beats.
Ronny Rios UD-10 Oscar Negrete
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Tom Hogan-Hogan Photos / Golden Boy Promotions
Such a disappointing battle for me as a fan, I thought there might be more fire, more exchanges in this one. But it was a good, steady, well-executed fight from Rios (33-3, 16 KO), who came back really strong in his career and is now very relevant in the 122-pound division, a man who could easily fight for a title again.
Negrete (19-3-2, 7 KO) gained weight here, and the 33-year-old Colombian American was himself in a good way and had a controversial 0-1-2 in three fights with Joshua Franco and then Alberto Melian beat about a year ago.
But Rios controlled this fight from front to back and won 99-91, 100-90 and 100-90. Bad Left Hook also had it 100-90 for Rios, who outscored Negrete almost 2-to-1 (290-150) overall, and more than 2-to-1 (268-118) in power shots. Rios did an excellent job on the body and landed 125 total body shots, compared to 29 from Negrete.
However, Rios does not smile after the fight and feels that he could have performed better.
“I want to improve myself,” Rios said. ‘Today I give myself a C, I’m hard on myself and I could have done much better. Negrete is so tough, but I have to go review the band. No one is louder than them! ”
When asked where he wants to go, Rios points to United WBA and IBF title holder Murodjon Akhmadaliev, who is with Matchroom and DAZN, and it could be relatively easy to fight.
“It’s a fight I want,” Rios said. ‘If we can make it happen, let’s go ahead, but if not, someone with a belt. Whoever is considered the toughest. ”
Undercard results
- Shane Mosley Jr TKO-5 Cristian Olivas: One was stopped after the fifth round, as referee Thomas Taylor rightly saw enough, and Olivas’ corner was also ready, as Olivas clearly could no longer see from his battered left eye. Olivas (20-8, 17 KO) made the best effort on short notice to replace Jason Quigley, but he could not really get much going. He got OK in the first few rounds, but once Mosley (17-3, 10 KO) warmed up and inflicted some damage, he zeroed in and finished strong. Olivas, 29, is a tough guy, had never been stopped before, and he did not want to stop or go easy, but the 30-year-old Mosley just pulled him apart. Good performance of the second generation fighter, who – if we are honest – will never be confused with his father, but is a playful, tough, hardworking man who fought through adversity and became a better fighter to learn further working as a pro.
- Bektemir Melikuziev TKO-3 Morgan Fitch: Easy night work for Melikuziev (7-0, 6 KO), who was meant to fight Sergey Kovalev in Russia in late January, before Kovalev failed a PED test. Thus, Melikzuiev, the 24-year-old southern leg super middleweight / light heavyweight from Uzbekistan, took a fairly drastic step in his debut fight of 2021, with respect to Fitch (19-5-1, 8 KO) it on short notice. This is Fitch’s fifth loss in his last six fights, and once he began to feel Melikuziev’s power, it was over. Fitch, 37, had already taken a knee in the third one and taken one again after a body shot that may have strayed low, but he also did not argue with referee Jack Reiss over the stop. It was an eruption that was expected.