By Cliff Rold

It was a crossroads Jr. Welterweight battle between a former titlist and challenger, the difference in those accomplishments showing in the ring.  30-year old former two-time IBF Lightweight beltholder Julio Diaz (37-6, 26 KO) of Coachella, California, halted a losing streak with a unanimous nod in ten rounds over 30-year old Herman Ngoudjo (18-4, 10 KO) at the Buffalo Bill's Star Arena in Primm, Nevada, on Friday night.

Both men came into the ring even on the division limit at 140 lbs.

Ngoudjo and Diaz both opened with single jabs, Diaz looking to counter with Ngoudjo coming forward.  Diaz was quicker to throw combinations but Ngoudjo landed the first notable blow, a right hand catching the cheek of Diaz near the midway mark of the first.  Another right landed in the final minute, Diaz responding with one of his own, only for Ngoudjo to land two more in the waning seconds.

Diaz was bouncing to start the second, his jab probing high and low as he slid left and right.  Ngoudjo missed with leading power attempts while Diaz stuck him with a quick lead left hook, the patience earned through superior experience showing through.  By the final minute or so, Diaz was in a snaking rhythm, getting off with landing strings of blows while Ngoudjo reset and found nothing to return fire at.  Diaz slipped some big right hands in the closing seconds to maintain control of the frame.

The two battlers appeared to trade the third and fourth but both were narrowly contested, Diaz’s boxing making it difficult for Ngoudjo to build offensive momentum particularly in the fourth while often failing to fully commit to his own offense.  In round five, the two traded body shots as Ngoudjo’s cup raised awkwardly on the left side of his body.  Seeing it, Diaz seemed to dig harder to the right side while Ngoudjo remained in the fray with hard right hands, a pair of them catching the eye in the last thirty seconds of the fifth.

Diaz continued to be more fluid in round six but many of his shots looked fleeting, if landing at all, while Ngoudjo’s more deliberate approach added up to visibly connecting rights.  A short right uppercut ripped Diaz as he came forward but the former titlist took it well.  Blocking with his arms high, Ngoudjo leveled two more right hands near the ropes in response to a Diaz flurry and Diaz wisely took the fight back to mid-ring and closed with a buzz of activity to the approval of the crowd.

The schooled boxing of Diaz carried the seventh, Ngoudjo drawing a warning from referee Joe Cortez late for throwing a frustrated shoulder in a clinch.  Ngoudjo showed focus in the eighth but it didn’t mean he landed more and Diaz, with consistency and greater activity, looked to be pulling away with only two rounds to go.

In round nine, an Ngoudjo slip and Diaz left hook had Ngoudjo reeling towards the ropes as Diaz pressed the advantage.  Ngoudjo tied up once, and then again, weathering the storm to finish the round but supplying only token bursts of offense until the final thirty seconds.  

Ngoudjo came into the tenth swinging hard but Diaz, staying close, muffled his offense while leaving himself the room to get off quickly.  It was a brisk end to a briskly contested bout, Diaz staying a step ahead into the final bell.  Ultimately, it added up to a unanimous decision at scores of 99-91 and 97-93 twice.

For Ngoudjo, it’s a bitter loss, the fourth in his last seven outings with all of the defeats coming over the distance to current or former champions.  Diaz gets a needed win after consecutive defeats and losses in three of his last five.

The televised opener featured a pair of Jr. Lightweights in eight rounds of clinical action.  26-year old Dominic Salcido (18-2, 9 KO), 129, of Rialto, California, made the most of his T.V. time in scoring a minor upset over previously undefeated 21-year old Guillermo Sanchez (11-1-1, 5 KO), 128, of Buffalo, New York.  Close early, the aggression of Salcido carried the later rounds en route to a unanimous decision at scores of 77-75 twice and 78-74.  It was a quick turnaround for Salcido who was stopped in his last outing.  The referee was Tony Weeks.

The broadcast was carried in the U.S. on basic cable on ESPN2 as part of its Friday Night Fights series, promoted by Guilty Promotions.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com