Jospeh “JoJo” Diaz vs William Zepeda Fight Preview
The October 29 fight between Jospeh “JoJo” Diaz and William Zepeda LIVE on DAZN at 6:00 PM ET (main event at 10:00 PM ET) is a true crossroads bout. These types of fights in boxing do not happen as often as they should.
JoJo Diaz (32-2-1, 15KO)
Diaz is a world-level operator and has mixed it up with some of the best in multiple divisions and became the IBF champion at super fetherweight. He hasn’t looked out of his depth in any of these fights and is considered to be one of the top 10 lightweights in the world by most respected boxing journalists and ranking systems. With only two losses on his record, both on points in world championship fights, Diaz is a gatekeeper for fighters who want to enter the top 10 in the world rankings.
The only other blemish on his record was a draw to then IBF mandatory Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov. This was a great showing, as the quality technical fighter from Tajikistan is considered one of the most fearsome super featherweights in the world. Diaz has been matched hard in his career. This is evident just by taking a glance at his record. He has gone into many of his fights as the bookmaker’s underdog but starts this one a favorite in the boxing odds.
Challenging a stacked division!
Since beating Diaz, Devin Haney went on to unify the lightweight division by beating George Kambosos Jr in a world-class display of technical boxing. By doing so, Haney became the first undisputed lightweight world champion in three decades.
The lightweight division is arguably the most stacked in boxing at the minute. Haney, Gervonta Davis,
Vasyl Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez could compete to come out on top. Suppose these fighters match up against each other over the next few years. In that case, we could see a similar resurgence to the legendary Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran era of the 1980s.
If any of these fighters stepped in the ring with each other, the fight would likely be too close to call. A rarity in boxing these days we must admit. This would likely reflect in the pre-fight odds. Unless Lomachenko, the oldest of the bunch at 34, begins to slow down, all these fights would be hard to call. In his prime, Lomachenko could have potentially beaten them all in the same night. He is widely considered the greatest amateur fighter of all time, having only lost once in nearly 400 bouts and avenging that loss on more than one occasion. He was considered the best fighter in any weight division back in 2018.
Moving back to JoJo Diaz, this unsung and underrated operator has been in close fights with the best. If he had been born in another era with less quality, he might have reigned supreme as a world champion for a few years.
William Zepeda (26-0, 23KO)
Zepeda has youth on his side and brings somewhat of an unknown quantity to this fight. Diaz will be, by far, the toughest opponent he has faced as a professional. In his last bout, Zepeda struggled to impress against the incredibly tough Nicaraguan Rene Alvarado. However, don’t be fooled by Alvarado’s record of 12 losses. Despite coming up short on so many occasions, he has only been stopped once, and that was down to a cut.
That being said, he is a mutual opponent of Zepeda and Diaz. Back in 2015, Diaz comprehensively out-boxed Alvarado and had him on the canvas too. If we’re going to base this fight on their performance against this mutual opponent, you would probably have to favor Diaz over 12 rounds.
Zepeda is fresh though. He’s younger, undefeated and hungry to make his way to the big-money fights waiting at the top of the lightweight division. Diaz has come up short at the highest level but still has much to offer. The question is whether he will be up for this stern test from a hungry Mexican southpaw with an aggressive style.
Prediction
Styles make fights, and Zepeda and Alvarado always had the makings of a top fight. He will be more focused and determined against Diaz, knowing that a win could open the door to a potential world title opportunity. If we’re to pick a winner in this one, we’re going to go with Diaz. This is because he has mixed in better company and hasn’t looked out of his depth. His most recent fight against Devin Haney resulted in a defeat. Still, he wasn’t outclassed by any stretch of the imagination. He won a few rounds, which was reflected on the judges’ scorecards.
His experience and sharp counter-punching style should see him accumulate the rounds and claim the victory against the hard-punching Mexican. Still, it has all the makings of a classic fight!
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