Shavkat Rakhimov: record, next fight and profile →
Joseph Diaz Jr. knows he won’t have any difficulty finding another left-handed opponent in this 130-pound title fight. Diaz managed to defeat Tevin Farmer and won the IBF junior lightweight championship from him in his last bout. But Philadelphia’s Farmer was elusive and didn’t bring their fight to Diaz, who is also a southpaw.
Diaz, Rakhimov Final Press Conference Photos Gallery - INDIO, CALIF. - Joseph Diaz Jr. (31-1, 15 KOs) and Shavkat Rakhimov (15-0, 12 KOs) hosted their final press conference today at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino ahead of their 12-round fight for Diaz Jr.’s IBF Junior Lightweight Championship. (photos by Tom Hogan/Hoganphotos)
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov knows everything that he has been forced to overcome just from his last fight alone, in order to arrive on this stage. There isn’t anything that Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz can bring to the table, he believes, that will prevent him from not only winning his first major title but doing so in spectacular fashion.
Joseph Diaz Jr. isn’t opposed to giving Tevin Farmer the rematch Farmer believes he is owed. The IBF junior lightweight champion just wants to be treated fairly. Diaz informed BoxingScene.com that one of the primary reasons he wasn’t willing to go forward with their immediate rematch was because he would’ve been paid less than Farmer for it, despite that he defeated Farmer in their 130-pound title fight a year ago.
Joseph Diaz Jr. has had to wait more than a year to make his first defense of the IBF junior lightweight title. The southpaw from Southern California cannot wait to remind fans and fighters Saturday night of why Diaz believes he is the best boxer in the 130-pound division. Diaz, 28, will make a mandated defense of his IBF belt against another left-handed fighter, Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov, in the main event of a card DAZN will stream from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California (8 p.m. EST; 5 p.m. PST).
The fight between junior lightweight world titlist Joseph Diaz Jr. and mandatory challenger Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov is back on. About a week ago, Rakhimov tested positive for Covid-19 and the fight was called off. However, Rakhimov has since had additional Covid-19 tests that have come back negative, allowing the fight on Feb. 13 to move forward as originally planned, Robert Diaz of Golden Boy Promotions, Diaz’s promoter, told BoxingScene.com on Tuesday.
By Keith Idec - Tevin Farmer wants what the former IBF junior lightweight champion contends he is owed. Now that Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov has contracted COVID-19 and cannot challenge Joseph Diaz Jr. on February 13, Farmer feels Diaz should give him the rematch Diaz agreed to grant him in the contracts they signed before their 12-round, 130-pound title fi..
Joseph Diaz Jr.’s mandated title defense versus Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov won’t take place February 13. BoxingScene.com has learned that Rakhimov, the mandatory challenger for Diaz’s IBF junior lightweight title, has tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from their upcoming title fight. Diaz (31-1, 15 KOs), of Downey, California, and Tajikistan’s Rakhimov (15-0, 12 KOs), were supposed to headline DAZN’s doubleheader February 13 from The Avalon in Hollywood, California.
Joseph Diaz can barely remember the last year-end holiday season spent outside of a training camp. Preparation for a Feb. 13 junior lightweight title defense versus Shavkat Rakhimov will mark the fourth straight year where the South El Monte, California product was left to ring in the new year with a fight on the schedule. It proved well worth the sacrifice this time one year ago, when Diaz (31-1, 15KOs) went on to claim his first major title following a rousing 12-round decision win over exiting 130-pound beltholder Tevin Farmer last Super Bowl weekend in Miami.
A previously announced title fight doubleheader now has an official home. The Avalon in Hollywood, California has been selected as the host to a February 13 show to air live on DAZN, two sources with knowledge of the situation have informed BoxingScene.com. Topping the card, Joseph Diaz (will make the first defense of his IBF junior lightweight title versus mandatory challenger Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (15-0, 12KOs). In supporting capacity, Brazil’s Patrick Teixeira also faces a mandated contender for his first title defense of the WBO junior middleweight title as he faces Argentina’s Brian Castano (16-0-1, 12KOs).