Joseph Diaz is convinced he has all the tools needed to topple Devin Haney
Come Saturday December 4, former super featherweight champion Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz (32-1-1, 15 KO’s) has a tall order in front of him. On that date, he is slated to go head-to-head with WBC lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (26-0, 15 KO’s). Despite it only being his second bout in the division, Diaz is bristling with confidence. To begin, he is coming off an impressive win over Javier Fortuna which stood as his introduction to the 135-pound landscape.
While Fortuna was a tough opponent in the higher weight class, Jo Jo is more than used to tangling with talented boxers in the squared-circle. In fact, the bedrock of his self-belief is based upon those prior dustups as he shared with Fight Hype.
“… But, I mean I faced all these guys already before man. I faced Tevin Farmer who is a defensive fighter. I faced a guy that had tremendous speed with Gary Russell Jr, I faced a guy that had tremendous power in Javier Fortuna, Andrew Cancio, Rene Alvarado. All these guys already built me to the point where I am ready for whatever Devin Haney brings to the table come Saturday night.”
WE’VE DONE OUR HOMEWORK
During the build-up to his prizefight with Haney, Diaz has come to believe that he is somewhat being taken for granted. This is due to the grand amount of attention being put on a potential bout between Haney and newly crowned WBA super, WBO and IBF lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. Assuming that the Dream does beat Diaz, there will be an overwhelming amount of pressure to get Haney versus Kambosos signed. This is where Jo Jo plans on playing the role of spoiler.
Yet, Diaz has no intentions of self-sabotaging himself when he does test his might with Haney. Just as the Dream loves to bring up, if Jo Jo chooses to come at him overly aggressive, he very well could suffer the same fate as the recently defeated Teofimo Lopez. So the same way that Diaz has had to make himself temper his emotions, he is also capable of giving Haney a fair assessment in regards to skills and abilities.
“I think that his best attribute is his jab because he is tall and rangy and he knows how to utilize his jab and keep you at bay and tries to follow up with some combinations. But I think that his downfalls are his defense, I don’t think he’s good on the inside with his defense. And also I don’t think he has good combinations on the inside and I am planning on exposing that…I got speed too, a lot of people don’t think that I got speed, but I got speed and Devin Haney is going to respect that come Saturday night!”
WHAT THINGS MAY COME?
Should Joseph Diaz win on December 4, it would be a fantastic feather in his cap! In just his second fight at 135-pounds, he would have toppled a champion believed to be a supreme talent and claimed a world title in the process. Not only that, he would be perfectly set up to then fight for undisputed status in just his third bout in the division. Obviously if he could pull it off, that’s the stuff that Hollywood movies are made of.
Yet, for him and Haney, there is still a tall mountain and wide ocean separating them from assuming to be the victor and actually becoming the winner. Therefore, with so much in the air and riding on the line, this is a very significant bout. It will be interesting to see if Diaz can utilize all his prior experience and encounters to upset Haney. It certainly would stand as another huge shift in the power structure within the lightweight division. Yet, no matter who wins, or who they face after, 3kingsboxing will be here to report the tale!
Reading time: 3 minutes
By: Bakari Simpson
