Jojo Diaz and Shav Rakhimov Battle to a Draw Plus Undercard Results

It’s been a bad year so far for Jojo Diaz who lost the WBO super featherweight title on the scales and it almost got worse as he fought to a majority draw against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov after 12 rounds on Saturday.

“I’m a little upset. I thought I did enough to win the fight. It wasn’t my best performance. But it was a long layoff. I want to apologize to my fans,” said Diaz.

Though only Rakhimov (15-0-1, 12 KOs) was eligible to win the WBO super featherweight world title, he couldn’t muster enough to convince the judges at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, Calif. that he was the victor against Diaz (31-1-1).

During the middle of the fight Rakhimov had a sliver of a chance but let it slip away.

South El Monte’s Diaz claimed it was the coronavirus conditions that caused his inability to make the 130-pound limit. But Rakhimov was successful making the weight.

Diaz eventually officially weighed nearly four pounds over the limit and decided to forego making the weight. Instead, he paid the vast penalty fee of $100,000 with half going to Rakhimov.

Once the actual fight began Diaz fired sizzling combinations that forced Rakhimov backward for the first few rounds.

“The thing about Rakhimov, I had him throwing a whole different game plan. But he felt my power and he started to box and came in with a whole diff game plan,” said Diaz, adding that he expected a more offensive-minded effort from his foe. “The KO would have come if he came with a lot of pressure.”

Around the third round Rakhimov took control by snapping off quick combinations that kept Diaz in a defensive posture. Though few of the blows seemed severe, Diaz was nearly listless and the judges noticed.

“The guy was throwing a lot of combinations,” said Diaz. “I thought I was dictating the pace and landing more percentage.”

Diaz tried to fire timed power shots but he never could upset Rakhimov’s rhythm completely. Not until the 9^th round did Diaz seem to regain momentum. Instead of waiting the former Olympian began attacking and took charge the last four rounds.

But he never could really hurt Rakhimov.

After 12 rounds one judge scored it 115-113 for Diaz, but two other judges scored it 114-114 to make it a majority draw. The WBO title becomes vacant.

“I just got to learn from this and get back to it,” said Diaz. “My conditioning was good.”

Rakhimov was slightly miffed but not entirely.

“I did everything I was supposed to do. I made a few mistakes and I have to work on them,” Rakhimov said.

When Diaz was pressed on his inability to make weight, he admitted the changes in his life and preparations for the fight did affect him.

“All the outside distractions were just bull s—t. A lot of people want to take a part of my life and exposure. These guys are all greedy,” said Diaz of his business affairs. “Of course, I make mistakes in this world. I’m human.”

As for not attempting to make weight at all costs.

“I’m not going to risk my life and go out there and get hurt,” said Diaz. “The person I have to look out for is myself.”

New World Champ

The WBO super welterweight title changed hands as Argentina’s Brian Castano (17-0-1, 12 KOs) stripped the title away from Brazil’s Patrick Teixeira (31-2, 22 KOs) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds.

Castano kept the pressure on the much taller Teixeira from the opening bell and was much busier throughout the fight. The taller Brazilian tried fighting from the outside but was unable to keep Castano from landing multiple combinations.

Around the seventh round Teixeira changed tactics and marched forward where he found more success. But it was not enough to change the massive momentum gained by Castano. No knockdowns were scored by either fighter. The scores were 120-108, 119-109 and 117-111 for Castano who now holds the WBO world title.

Other Bouts

Featherweight contender Ronny Rios pounded out a unanimous decision over Colombia’s Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete after 10 rounds in a super bantamweight bout. It was a convincing victory against a fighter known for giving everyone a tough time.

Rios worked the body incessantly as Negrete tried to match blows but just couldn’t find his footing. Body shot after body shot was landed by the fighter from Santa Ana but he couldn’t do enough to stop Negrete who normally fights at bantamweight.

“Negrete was a tough fighter,” said Rios who was seeking a fourth consecutive knockout win but couldn’t do it against the iron-chinned Negrete. “I give myself a C+.”

Shane Mosley Jr. (17-3, 10KOs) became the first to claim a knockout victory over Cristian Olivas (20-8, 17 KOs) in a middleweight fight. The son of the great Sugar Shane Mosley closed the right eye of Olivas early and was able to connect often until the fight was stopped at the end of the fifth round.

Light heavyweight contender Bektemir Melikuziev (7-0, 6 KOs) pounded the body of Morgan Fitch (19-5-1) dropping him twice with thudding shots to end the fight at 2:08 of the third round to win by knockout. Melikuziev was slated to fight Sergey Kovalev for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title, but that fight was canceled.

Azat Hovhannisyan (19-3) battered Enrique Bernache (24-13) for eight rounds before ending the featherweight fight by knockout. It was his first fight in more than a year for the fighter known as “Crazy A.”

Victor Morales Jr. (14-0) defeated veteran Rodrigo Guerrero (26-10-2) by unanimous decision in an eight-round featherweight match. Morales had a tough time but was able to figure out the veteran.

Dalis Kaleiopu (1-0) used a single uppercut to win his pro debut by knockout over Eddie Sanchez (2-4) in a lightweight bout. Kaleiopu fights out of Hawaii.

Photo credit: Tom Hogan / Hogan Photos / Golden Boy Promotions

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