Joseph 'JoJo' Diaz: 'I gotta go out there and risk it all'

IBF super featherweight champion Joseph Diaz opens up on why he thinks he's underrated as a fighter, what he learned in his bout versus Tevin Farmer and previews his Feb. 13 title defense against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov.

Video Transcript

KEVIN IOLE: Hey folks, I am Kevin Iole. Welcome to Yahoo Sports. And my next guest, if you follow the Olympics, you will know this face-- Joseph Pedroza Diaz Jr., better known to you as JoJo Diaz, the world champion, who is going to fight-- now, let me try to get this right, JoJo-- Shavkat Rakhimov. How did I do?

JOSEPH DIAZ: That's it. That-- that is correct. That is correct.

KEVIN IOLE: All right. So he is actually a very good fighter. That is going to be on DAZN on February 13th. You're going to be defending the IBF 130 pound championship.

And you know, before we get into him a lot, I-- I just want to say, you know, you went through this crazy year where it looked like you were going to fight a rematch with Tevin Farmer. Then, you weren't going to do it. Then all of a sudden, there was talk that when Rakhimov had COVID, that you might do it again. I saw even you got into it with Lou DiBella. So this has been-- it's been a rough couple of months for you, huh?

JOSEPH DIAZ: Oh, absolutely, man. I mean, 2020 has been a crazy, crazy year. I'm just happy that 2020 is already over.

And now, we're dealing with 2021, where I finally got the fight date, finally got everything finalized. It was getting a little kind of crazy, when people started announcing that my opponent, Rakhimov, got-- tested positive for COVID. But luckily, I already had my advisors already telling me that he already tested clear, to not worry about what anybody is posting, and the fight is still on. So that just made me, you know, peace inside my mind and inside my brain to just keep on training hard for this fight.

It's going to be a very, very tough fight. I know that Rakhimov is a very dangerous fighter, that he's going to be applying a lot of pressure. But we've been training very, very hard, man. And we got to this point.

And it was a long, long journey to become champions. So there's definitely not going to be any chance that he's going to come and dethrone me come February 13th.

KEVIN IOLE: Well, you know, let's talk about that, because you know, I think one of the things that maybe people don't give you credit for is the tough opposition, really. A lot of times, when guys like you come out of the Olympics, and they have-- kind of have some notoriety, they're fed a lot of soft touches. And you know, as you were coming up, you fought Andrew Cancio before he had a world title, Rene Alvarado. You know, you had a lot of guys that were-- were pretty good.

Do you think that that kind of got you acclimated to the pro game, and made you the fighter that you ultimately became?

JOSEPH DIAZ: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I feel like my career has been a very, very tough career. I feel like people don't give me the credit that I deserve, as far as the recognition. But like I said, man, I always just let my work do the talking.

And it finally paid off in 2020, when I fought Tevin Farmer. I always wanted to become champion by fighting the best in the division. I challenged myself when I fought Gary Russell Jr. at 126 pounds. I ended up falling-- falling short due to many things.

But I mean, that was the past-- that experience right there made me learn a lot from the outside looking in, and also both physically and mentally, to prepare me for where I'm at now. And luckily, I was able to get another challenge against Tevin Farmer, the best at the division at that time, I feel like. And I ended up dethroning him.

And it was just-- it's just been a great transition, man. I feel like just my whole professional career, even my amateur background just made me the fighter that I am today. But mostly my professional career, because I fought five world champion-- current world champions already. And I fought guys that were undefeated, just like I was at the time, where they had that same ambition.

So I feel like I've learned a lot inside that ring. And I got a lot of ring intelligence, and a ring IQ that my experience, I feel like, is going to be very, very beneficial for me February 13th, when I fight Rakhimov.

KEVIN IOLE: Let's talk about the Gary Russell fight, because you're not going to run into a lot of guys like Gary Russell-- you know, a guy, maybe with the fastest hands, and a long time in boxing. I mean, this guy is kind of a special fighter. But you say you learned things from it. When you know that there's nobody else out there like him, what is it that you take from it that made you better in subsequent fights?

JOSEPH DIAZ: Gary Russell Junior is one hell of a fighter. I mean, he was very, very quick, very defensive. And he had a great game plan. I mean, going into the fight, he knew that I was going to be the stronger fighter in there.

So I tried to-- I tried to, as much as I can during the fight, get in as close as I could to break him down to the body, land some uppercuts. Unfortunately, the referee wasn't giving me enough time to fight on the inside during the clinches and stuff, where he was able to let Gary Russell separate, and find his pace, and jab to the body, jab to the head, move combinations.

But I think I've learned a lot from that fight, just knowing that I've got to take more risks in there. And I got to take more-- I've got to just go out there, especially during that opportunity, and that given time, I've got to go out there and risk it all. I mean, in boxing, you're only-- limited amount of opportunities where you got to take advantage of every single one that is put in sight.

And I feel like at that time, I wasn't ready for that. During that moment, I wasn't opening up as much as I should have, where I should have taken more chances, and I should have just left it all out on the table. And I've learned a lot from that now.

I also learned that I just can't just be blocking with my guard up. Moving side to side more, creating more angles, and giving my opponents different angles for them to look at. So that way, they don't know what punches to throw.

And also, just my diet-- moving up in weight, it was hard for me to fight at 126 pounds. I was fighting at that weight for my whole entire career, mostly. And it was very difficult.

So now that I was able to move up in weight, and tell my team that I wanted to move up in weight, and trained a little better, focused more on my power and my delivery, I feel like everything just is falling in naturally now, man. My speed is there, my timing is there, my quickness, but also my power and my delivery is there as well, where I'm able to hurt my opponents now.

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah. I wanted to talk to you because when you fought Farmer, I thought the one thing-- you know, you were hurting him early in the fight. It was kind of a really good, competitive fight. And then you started to pull away as it went on. But I thought you were kind of beating him up a little bit in those early rounds, and you made him wilt.

And you're not a guy that was known for being a big puncher, a guy who hurt somebody. But I wonder if maybe-- do you feel like you've been underrated as a puncher, given what you've done throughout your career? What are you, I think 30-1 with 15 knockouts, if I'm not mistaken?

JOSEPH DIAZ: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I feel like my record doesn't show how strong I physically am. I mean, I feel like I'm a very, very strong fighter. I'm a very strong fighter to the body, and also to the head.

But my record wasn't, you know, padded. I fought very, very tough fighters. I fought undefeated fighters. I fought world-- ex-world champions that-- these guys are very well experienced as well. And these guys have chins, where you're not going to be able to knock everybody out.

So I feel like my power is very, very underrated. But it's-- it's beneficial for me, because when I do get into the fight with somebody, and they feel my power, they're like, oh, [BLEEP], man, maybe I shouldn't be-- you know, I got to second guess myself. I can't be jumping in as much and stuff.

So it actually is beneficial for me because I'm able to set up my shots, land some shots, and make-- surprise my opponents with the power that I do have.

KEVIN IOLE: Rakhimov is 15-0 with 12 knockouts. And you know, the couple of fights I've seen of his, he looks like he punches pretty good. So does knowing that he has a reputation as a puncher-- do you use the first couple of rounds to sort of feel him out and see what he has, or do you just fight the fight that you're planning to fight all along?

JOSEPH DIAZ: I'm just going to fight the fight that I'm planning all along. Because with a guy like Rakhimov, I feel like if you let him dictate the pace, and if you let him start getting that controlled movement and that type of tempo, he's going to feed off of that. And he's going to build off of that, where he's going to feel more confident.

So what I'm willing to do, man, I don't want to discuss my whole game plan. But I'm just going to go out there and just showcase everything, what I have on the table-- my power, my speed, my elusiveness, my defensiveness, my-- my cutting off the ring, my [INAUDIBLE] and just standing in the pocket and landing some deadly shots as well. I'm to go out there and just give a great, great performance for the fight fans, and for everybody tuning in.

It's my first main event, it's my first title defense. So it's-- I'm going out there to not only make a statement, but I'm going out there to really entertain the fans with a great, great, high-action-packed fight.

KEVIN IOLE: Well, you know, you've made-- in some of your past fights, you've made statements not just with your fists, but with your hair. So I'm wondering-- I see you've got that dark hair on top of your head. What can we expect on-- on the 13th? Are you going to come in with some colorful hair, or are we going to just see the normal JoJo?

JOSEPH DIAZ: No, I'm-- I'm going in with some colorful hair again. I'm definitely going to-- you know, this is my first main event, man. So I want to go out there and-- and make the best of it, and really entertain the fans, both with my fighting, but also entertainment as well, with my-- just outfit, my whole wardrobe, and everything.

So I'm still coming up with the idea of my hair, because I got my colors that I know that I'mma wear. So there's three colors that I have in mind, but I think I'll finally decide probably on Tuesday. Before I get quarantined on Wednesday, I'll have my hair dyed.

KEVIN IOLE: All right, well, we'll look forward to that. How did that start, out of curiosity? I know you didn't always do that. So how did it just get to that you started doing your hair before the fights?

JOSEPH DIAZ: I actually started dyeing my hair-- the main fight I think in 2017 when Canelo fought--

KEVIN IOLE: [INAUDIBLE]

JOSEPH DIAZ: --Daniel Jacobs. Yeah, I just started watching a lot of reggaeton artists. And I seen like, Bad Bunny doing it, Balvin doing it. And these guys, I mean, they have great, great fans, and it looked good. And I was like, man, I want to be-- and I seen like Paulie Malignaggi and Hector Camacho and all these old-time fighters used to dye their hair like that, and used to be entertaining-- entertaining the fight fans, not only with their-- with their hands, but with their outfits, and their wardrobes, and everything.

I was like, man, I think with myself, I'm gonna dye my hair. I want to stand out. And I really don't care what people say, I think it looks good on me. So I ended up doing that.

KEVIN IOLE: Well, I'm jealous, dude. You know, I wish I could do it. Not that I would do it, but I'm jealous that I can't do it. So we've got it there.

Well, let me wrap it up with this, JoJo-- if you are successful on the 13th on DAZN against Rakhimov, two things-- who would you want to see next? And then, how many times this year do you want to fight? I mean, you've been a fairly active guy fighting, so it was kind of uncommon for you to have that long time off. Do you want to take advantage of the fact that you're getting a fight in early this year to maybe get an extra fight in in 2021?

JOSEPH DIAZ: Oh, absolutely. I mean, this is-- I took a whole year off in 2020. Man, it's been a year that you know, I wasn't planning on taking off. But it was definitely needed.

I had a newborn son that was born during that time. And I was able to, you know, just take the time off of the gym and just relax my muscles, because my body has been going, you know, through it my whole entire career, man. I haven't took no breaks. So that year was needed.

But now that I'm a champion, and now that I got a fight early in February-- February 13th, 2021, I definitely want to stay active. I want to fight again in May. Hopefully, if I don't get any cuts or any injuries, I definitely want to be active.

And I want to fight-- I want unified titles. I want a unified title with either Gervonta Davis at 130 pounds, or the winner of Carl Frampton, Jamel Herring, or even the winner of Oscar Valdez or Miguel Berchelt. Those are the names that I definitely want to fight, and that I'm definitely going to be calling out after this fight.

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah, those-- that Berchelt-Valdez fight, I can't wait. Now, you beat Valdez what, in the Olympic qualifier, right? Is that not right?

JOSEPH DIAZ: Yes, it was actually in Baku, Azerbaijan, man. That fight was-- whoever won that fight qualified to go to the Olympics. And at that time, Oscar Valdez was ranked number like, two or three in the world, and nobody knew who I was. And I was just like, freaking anxious.

And man, everything just turned out good. It was a very action-packed fight. We were beating the [BLEEP] out of each other. He was punching me, I was punching him.

But at the end of the day, I ended up winning. I think I won by one or two points. It was a close, close fight. And I ended up getting [AUDIO OUT]

So I'm rooting for Oscar Valdez to win Miguel Berchelt. Just seeing the success that he's achieved and accomplished throughout the years as well, it's just been amazing. It's an amazing journey, and seeing him succeed and be successful in his career and his path is awesome, man. So I'm really rooting for him to win at 130 pounds. And maybe we could get that rematch going at 130 pounds, and unified titles after this.

KEVIN IOLE: I'm sure he would want to do that, no doubt. Hey, listen, last thing real quick-- you mentioned your son. The relationship with you and your father, a lot of people know the story. I mean, a great relationship-- you know, almost like a movie, right, that you could write about the two of you.

So your son coming up, like, knowing what your father did for you, and the relationship you had, are you going to kind of put your son into boxing, and are you going to have the-- sort of try to follow the path that your dad did with you?

JOSEPH DIAZ: You know what? I'm going to let my son do whatever he wants to do in life. If he wants to-- I mean, he's already at the gym. Whenever I'm working out, he's at the gym watching me. He looks like he's all amazed and stuff.

So if he wants to be a fighter, and if he wants to learn how to fight and defend himself, of course, I would want him to learn how to defend himself, and protect himself. But if he wants to be a fighter, then that's a whole different story. Then I'll be all for it.

But I'm going to let my son just decide whatever he wants to be in life. If he wants to go to school, if he wants to be a doctor, or be a lawyer, I'm going to be all for it. I'm going to be behind him.

But I'm definitely-- he's definitely going to be a sports guy. He's definitely-- when he's growing up, he's going to be a baseball player, a football player. He's going to be doing everything. So I'm excited for this journey.

KEVIN IOLE: Let me give you a tip-- when he's like, two or three years old, give him a golf club. Because look at how much money Tiger Woods made, and nobody hits him in the head, believe me. So that's the-- that's the way to do it, JoJo. That's my man--

JOSEPH DIAZ: That's a good [INAUDIBLE]

KEVIN IOLE: --JoJo Diaz. On February 13th, he is going to be fighting Rakhimov on DAZN. JoJo, thank you so much. All the best to you, my man.

JOSEPH DIAZ: Thank you, Kevin. Have a good one.