Joseph "JoJo" Diaz Jr. was scheduled to defend his IBF junior lightweight world title against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov on Saturday in Indio, California, and while the fight will still go on, Diaz lost his belt on the scales on Friday. Only Rakhimov will be in line to win the belt, if he scores a win against Diaz, who won the belt by defeating Tevin Farmer in January 2020.
Rakhimov (15-0, 12 KOs) is a heavy-punching southpaw making his U.S. debut. He has great footwork and can close the distance quickly to land his combinations and powerful left hand.
Diaz (31-1, 15 KOs), a southpaw from South El Monte, California, has won five fights in a row since suffering the only defeat of his career, a unanimous decision against Gary Russell Jr. in 2018.
Russell believes Diaz's experience and ability to adapt could be the advantage he needs to defeat Rakhimov.
"I honestly like Diaz, he's a hell of a fighter," Russell said. "Diaz is one of those guys that physically he's always going to be in shape and mentally he's gonna give you everything that he has.
"Diaz has a lot of amateur experience, and as a professional he's now a world champion and competed against a bunch of good guys and that experience matters. I think he'd be able to hold his own against anybody in the division."
ESPN asked a number of boxing experts for their takes on the fight. Here's what they had to say.
