Devin Haney knew to expect the stiffest competition of his career leading up to his fight last Saturday night with Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz. Diaz brought everything Haney expected into the boxing match and then some. But in the end, Haney was able to muster the best performance of his career to earn a unanimous decision victory.
Haney dictated the pace throughout the first two-thirds of the WBC lightweight title defense. He used a sharp jab and clean punches to open a sizeable lead. All three judges agree that Haney won six of the first eight rounds. Only rounds four and seven went to the challenger.
Jo Jo Diaz stayed the course despite the adversity faced and began to come on late in the fight. When able to do so, he landed strong body shots on the champion. Diaz won fiery exchanges in the 4th and 7th rounds. He also landed a series of overhand lefts in the final round.
“He said he was going to bring out the dog in me,” Haney remarked following the contest. “That’s exactly what he did.”
Once the boxing match ended, two of the three judges scored the fight 117-111 in Haney’s favor. The third judge scored the fight 116-112 for Haney.
Jo Jo Diaz falls to 32-2-1 after the defeat. But the veteran fighter made a great showing for himself.
Devin Haney Next Fight
Devin Haney remains undefeated in 27 professional fights. The WBC champion now eyes an undisputed showdown with unified lightweight champion George Kambosos.
Kambosos has not revealed who will challenge him for the three world championships he holds. But Haney is mentioned as a potential opponent. Kambosos does make it clear that he wants his first title defense to take place in his home country of Australia.
“I’ll fight him on Jupiter,” Haney wants the boxing world to know he has no problem fighting away from American soil. “Let’s do it next, for all the belts.