Photo: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions
WBA gold super featherweight champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. (30-1, 15 KOs) overcame the awkward style of Jesus “Escopeta” Cuadro (18-5, 14 KOs) to win a twelve round majority decision on Saturday night at the Auditorio del Estado in Mexicali, Mexico. Diaz’ activity pushed him over the top in a slow-paced tactical affair that never heated up. Scores were 116-112, 115-113, 114-114.
“This was my first time fighting in Mexicali, and I want to thank everyone for the support,” said Diaz afterward. “This was a good test and a warmup for the next one. I hurt my left hand early in the fight by hitting Cuadro in the elbow. That’s why I didn’t want to take too many risks and make things worse. Either way, I still showed that I’m a fighter who can box, attack and defend.
“Now, I want Tevin Farmer. Let’s get the show on the road. Whether in November or December, let’s do it!”
Cuadro commented, “I think a draw would have been valid. Diaz Jr. is strong, hits hard and fights really well at half distance. But I landed a lot of punches as well and he decreased his output for a bit in the fight. It was a very close fight.”
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Cuadro win and Golden Boy robs him
Diaz won fair and square cuadro just too unorthodox
Cuadro should have won the decision. I’ve observed since Diaz’s fight with Gary Russell, Jr. that when he goes into his earmuff defense, he just won’t let his hands go. That was a flaw that Diaz has not corrected. Lomachenko beat Russell by punching with him. Diaz played defense but kept his hands at home and only let them go after Russell had moved away.
In this fight, Cuadro was first most of the time and kept up the punch output. Diaz just wouldn’t let his hands go and as long as Cuadro threw punches his way, Diaz was handcuffed. I was not surprised by the decision. Diaz is the name fighter with big fights and huge purses ahead of him. He was given a gift in this fight.
Jojo also looked fleshy to me and did not appear to be in top shape. He did nothing in the 11th and almost nothing in the 12th. I don’t think he did enough to win the fight and his stalking without throwing punches should not have won him rounds.
It was a hugely disappointing fight for Diaz. He should have blown Cuadro away but he didn’t and saying Cuadro was awkward doesn’t excuse that. This tells us more about Diaz’s shortcomings than it does about Cuadro. Cuadro was the one doing most of the punching and Diaz’s posing and advancing without throwing any punches was frustrating to watch. I just don’t like his chances against the top fighters with the possible exception of Cancio.
At 5’6″, Diaz should be carefully about his weight. I believe Russell Jr. gave us a big clue how far Diaz can go, evidently a short distance, and Cuadro just confirmed that
The gimmicky haircuts and villain persona JoJo Diaz is putting on are lame. Go back to clean cut kid and take boxing seriously.