Upcoming Fights:
Junior Lightweight: (1) Miguel Berchelt vs (5) Oscar Valdez, Feb. 20
Minimumweight: (9) Vic Saludar vs Robert Paradero, Feb. 20
Notes: Neither are ranked, but Otto Wallin might make his case if he impresses this coming Saturday against Dominic Breazeale. Breazeale is no top contender, but he’s got power and can be dangerous. If Wallin handles that fight nicely, he’s going to have a solid case, given his only loss is to Tyson Fury, and I still say correctly that fight would have been stopped on the cut if it had been almost anyone else, or even just the other way around. Things could shake around soon given we have that, Parker-Fa, and Povetkin-Whyte 2 coming over the next three weekends.
Tom Hogan-HoganPhotos/Golden Boy Promotions
Joseph Diaz Jr missed weight on Friday and couldn’t retain his IBF junior lightweight title, but Shavkat Rakhimov didn’t get the judges going his way to take it for himself either, leaving the 130-pound belt vacant after a majority draw on DAZN.
Judges had the fight 114-114, 114-114, and 115-113, the last card for Diaz. Bad Left Hook scored the bout 116-112 and 116-112 on separate cards, both giving the fight to Diaz, for what that’s worth. DAZN’s Chris Mannix had it 114-114.
Diaz (31-1-1, 15 KO) was nearly four pounds overweight on Friday, but it didn’t seem to really affect his performance in the ring, though that’s often the case, especially when fighters don’t try to make weight a second time with any further draining over a couple of hours. (In this case, since Diaz was over two pounds past the limit, the commission doesn’t allow a later attempt to weigh in.)
Brian Castano: When I Win Fight With Patrick Teixeira, I Want Jermell Charlo Next
Brian Castano made it perfectly clear that he isn’t looking past Patrick Teixeira.
Castano is a 6-1 favorite entering their fight Saturday night, but Teixeira is the defending WBO junior middleweight champion. The Brazilian southpaw also is undefeated (5-0) since his second-round, technical-knockout loss to Curtis Stevens in May 2016 encouraged Teixeira to move back down to the 154-pound division from the middleweight ranks.
Argentina’s Castano cannot help, however, thinking about the higher-profile fight he can secure by beating Teixeira in their 12-round, 154-pound championship match at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
Rakhimov (15-0, 12 KO), who came in comfortably under the limit at 129.8, can still claim the vacant title with a victory.
This marks Diaz’s second scale fail since an unsuccessful bid for Gary Russell Jr’s featherweight title in 2018. Immediately after that defeat, he challenged Jesus Rojas for the WBA “world” title, only to hit the scale half a pound heavy and leave empty-handed despite a unanimous decision win. He had no apparent issues making weight in his subsequent four super featherweight appearances, including his upset of Tevin Farmer for the belt, but he’s now choked when it mattered
Boxe : How to See Live the fight of JoJo Diaz vs Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov explica.co - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from explica.co Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.