The complaints from Devin Haney that top lightweights were avoiding him have been loud and plentiful. But the WBC lightweight champion will now defend his title against Jo Jo Diaz in early December.
Haney and Diaz still need to sign the final contracts. But reports state that both sides have already agreed to the major terms involving the fight negotiations.
A fight between Devin Haney and Jo Jo Diaz provides hope the talent-heavy lightweight division may finally start delivering fights fans want to see. The long-awaited Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos Jr. will also take place a week before Haney defends his title.
Gervonta Davis, another top player in the lightweight division, will fight the same weekend as Haney-Diaz. Davis will face off against hard-hitting prospect Rolly Romero on December 5. The Haney-Diaz clash will happen on either the third or fourth of the month.
Devin Haney and Jo Jo Diaz agree to fight after months of bickering amongst themselves and other boxers in the division. Diaz signed to fight Ryan Garcia on November 27, prompting Haney to accuse Diaz and Garcia of ducking a chance at the title.
Ryan Garcia suffered a training injury and pulled out of the matchup with Diaz. Both Diaz and Haney wanted to fight once more before the end of 2021, so making the fight after Garcia became unavailable was not very difficult.
Devin Haney will enter the fight against Diaz with an undefeated record in 26 boxing matches. Haney has stopped 15 of his opponents inside the allotted time. The WBC lightweight champion successfully defended his title in May with a unanimous decision victory against Jorge Linares.
Jo Jo Diaz is 32-1-1 with 15 knockouts. Diaz earned a unanimous decision against Javier Fortuna in July. The fight with Fortuna was the first time Diaz competed at the 135 pound weight limit.