Joseph Diaz Jr. of South El Monte looks to fight best of the featherweights

Joseph Diaz Jr./Photo courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions

 

Joseph Diaz Jr. of South El Monte has compiled a professional record of 20-0 and 11 knockouts since representing the U.S. in the 2012 London Games. He is ranked as high as No. 3 at featherweight by one governing body.

Diaz, just 23, is getting closer to a world-title shot in one of boxing’s talent-rich divisions, which has champions like Leo Santa Cruz, Gary Russell Jr. and Jesus Cuellar and contenders like Carl Frampton and Oscar Valdez. Diaz may not take a back seat to any of them, but that remains to be seen.

Diaz wants to make believers out of boxing fans, though, and he takes that responsibility seriously. Diaz was part of a news conference Wednesday at the Golden Boy Promotions offices in downtown Los Angeles. He’ll next fight July 30 at Fantasy Springs Casino on Indio (on HBO Latino) and although his opponent is still to be determined, he vowed to continue to show fans what he’s about.

“I’m excited to give everyone a great performance,” said Diaz, who trains out of the Teamster’s Youth Boxing Club in South El Monte. “I’ve been training very hard, and I want to showcase that I am at the same level as all the champions in the featherweight division. Hopefully, I can go for a world title soon.”

Diaz fights for Golden Boy. Its senior vice-president, Eric Gomez, touched on the 126-pound division moving forward.

“We are in an Olympic year, and our co-headliner will be ex-Olympian, Joseph Diaz, Jr. who also has a great record as a featherweight fighter,” Gomez said. “I believe the featherweight division will be the hottest division in the next few years because of all the talent we have following in the footsteps of Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.”

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