Jojo Diaz Wins Non-title Fight; East L.A.’s Navarro KOs Philly Fighter

HOLLYWOOD, CA.-A rough and tough battle between WBA featherweight titlist Jesus Rojas and Jojo Diaz may have lacked the suspense of a title challenge, but the two fired away with impunity for 12 nonstop rounds on Saturday.

Diaz won the fight, but was ineligible to win the world title for failing to make the 126-pound limit.

Still, the extremely loud crowd at the Avalon saw South El Monte’s Diaz (27-1, 14 KOs) win by unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Rojas (26-2-2, 19 KOs) in the first ever streamed boxing card by Facebook in collaboration with Golden Boy Promotions.

It wasn’t pretty, but never boring.

Diaz showed off his dazzling combinations in front of an excited crowd that also had Sugar Ray Leonard and former Dodger Adrian Gonzalez in the audience. Machine gun-like combinations rattled off the head and body of Rojas throughout the 12 round non-title fight.

“We knew he was a tough aggressive fighter,” said Diaz. “I also he knew he could take a shot.”

Rojas kept moving forward like a human tank and whenever Diaz was against the ropes, the Puerto Rican slugger unleashed sidewinder rights and left uppercuts that occasionally found the mark.

“It was a great fight. Diaz came to fight,” said Rojas. “We gave a fight that the people deserved.”

Both fighters tired around the eighth round, but after a lull in the action, each rebooted the combinations and fired away once again. Diaz was bloodied early in the fight but was able to win the debilitating battle by unanimous decision after 12 brutal rounds. The scores were 117-110, 116-111, 115-113.

It was just two months ago Diaz was defeated in his first world title attempt against Gary Russell Jr. for the WBC featherweight title. This fight tonight was supposed to be for the WBA title, but when Diaz was unable to make the 126-pound weight limit, the title was not at stake.

“We anticipated the weight wrong,” said Diaz. “I suffered a loss in my last fight and I wanted to show I could come back stronger.”

It was a victory but not a complete victory as Rojas returns to Puerto Rico with his world title belt wrapped around his waist.

“He wasn’t the great Joseph Diaz that you saw against other fighters when he was in the ring with me,” said Rojas who made his first defense of the title he won last September against Claudio Marrero. “I still feel I’m one of the top 126-pounders in the world.”

West vs. East

East L.A.’s Jonathan Navarro (15-0, 8 KOs) remained undefeated with a vicious knockout of Philadelphia’s Damon Allen (15-1-1, 5 KOs) that went one round too many. A four punch Navarro combination ended the fight at 1:33 of the seventh round.

Allen opened the fight boxing on his toes while Navarro was looking for openings to land power shots. In the second round Navarro landed some solid shots but was hit with a low blow. The fight stopped and also stopped Navarro’s momentum.

“That hurt. That really hurt,” said Navarro about the low blow.

In the third round Allen landed a double left hook and the two unloaded blows on each other. The real fight began. But once again Allen connected very low and the fight was stopped. This time a point was deducted from Allen for a second low blow.

Both exchanged more freely for the next two rounds and Navarro seemed to have the advantage in power. In the fifth, after some more exchanges Navarro connected with a well-placed one-two combination that wobbled Allen.

Navarro noticed.

The sixth round saw Allen resort to the jab, keeping Navarro at bay with multiple left jabs. Navarro was calm and was in stalking mode until the 10-second warning, then unloaded a combination at the bell that saw Allen turn and collapse to the floor. The referee did not signal a knockdown and the Philadelphia fighter’s corner helped him to his corner.

“Once I seen him wobble that was it for him,” said Navarro.

The fight could have been stopped by Allen’s corner but he came out for the seventh round.

Navarro patiently stalked Allen and fired a right here and a right there and a few body punches. A right cross staggered Allen again and Navarro moved in for the finish and unloaded a four-punch combination that dropped Allen in a neutral corner as referee Zach Young waved the fight over. It was a knockout win for Navarro.

“He was prepared, I’m prepared, I came into give everything,” said Navarro, who lives in East L.A. but trains in Riverside. “I thought I had him early too but he was hungry. It was a great experience.”

Other Bouts

Ferdinand Kerobyan (10-0, 5 KOs) over-powered Jose Rivera (6-4, 4 KOs) in all six rounds of their middleweight fight. The North Hollywood boxer was relentless with his combinations but Rivera had his moments early in the fight with some pot shots against the aggressive Kerobyan. After the third round Kerobyan figured out Rivera’s tactics and was able to strafe the Connecticut fighter’s defense. All three judges scored it 60-54 for Kerobyan.

“I wanted to get the knockout, but I am pleased with the result we got tonight,” said Kerobyan.

Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (5-0, 3 KOs) met Mexico’s Rolando Mendivil (10-5, 3 KOs) and the two welterweights had a test of chins and angry exchanges in their four round clash. Mendivil was equal height as McKenna but he couldn’t match the precise punching and boxing technique of the Irish fighter. Each fighter connected plenty, but McKenna was busier and more effective, especially in the last two rounds as he flaunted a beautiful jab that completely neutralized the rugged Mexican fighter. All three judges scored it 40-36 for McKenna who was the opening bout on the very first Facebook boxing show.

“Being a part of the Golden Boy Fight Night on Facebook was amazing,” said McKenna. “It was a great opportunity and a great platform for me. A lot of people can watch it.”

Jose Vargas (5-0, 4 KOs) floored Tijuana’s Leonardo Reyes (7-18, 3 KOs) three times with body and head shots in the featherweight bout. A right to the body and left hook to the head ended the fight at 38 seconds of the third round. Vargas fights out of Pasadena.

“I’m barely starting out so everything I do still needs work,” said Vargas.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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