by Francisco Salazar
Featherweight contender Joseph Diaz, Jr. will return to the ring on Dec. 17, Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Robert Diaz confirmed to BoxingScene.com over the weekend.
Joseph Diaz made the announcement of his return to the ring on his social media accounts on Friday.
"He will fight in a 10 round bout," Robert Diaz told BoxingScene in a recent interview. "We're still looking for an opponent for him."
Diaz's bout will likely air on HBO. Headlining the broadcast will be the 12 round light heavyweight bout between Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2 1 NC, 32 KOs) and Joe Smith (22-1, 18 KOs).
In his last bout on Sept. 17 in Arlington, Texas as part of the Canelo Alvarez-Liam Smith pay-per-view, Joseph Diaz (22-0, 13 KOs) broke down Andrew Cancio over eight-plus rounds before stopping him in round nine.
The Dec. 17 bout will be Diaz's fourth of 2016.
The 2012 U.S. Olympian, who is from the Los Angeles suburb of South El Monte, is ranked amongst the top 10 in three of boxing's major sanctioning bodies.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
