On Saturday, December 17, 2016, Joseph Diaz Jr. (22-0, 14 KOs) scored a 10-round unanimous decision victory against Horacio Garcia (30-2-1, 21 KOs) to successfully defend his NABF Featherweight title at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
The scheduled fight was the co-main event of a three-fight HBO telecast in the U.S. Bernard Hopkins headlined the event against Joe Smith Jr.
Diaz, 24, was the quicker and more intelligent of the two fighters, though the resident of South El Monte, California left himself open for right hands and left hooks throughout the fight.
In the early rounds, Diaz boxed well from the outside, but as the rounds progressed, Garcia, a 26-year-old native of Guadalajara, Mexico got better and better at closing off the distance.
Indeed, there were many points throughout the fight when Garcia would have Diaz pushed up against the ropes, forcing Diaz to fight from his high guard.
However, Diaz was able to land cleaner and harder shots to the body and head of Garcia, which began to take an effect by Rounds 5 and 6.
In the later rounds, Diaz remained in control of the fight, but he was tagged and pushed against the ropes several times before the end of the final round.
Despite how tough the fight was for Diaz, all judges scored the fight 100-90 for the NABF champion.
“I knew I was facing a tough, experienced opponent, so my plan was to go in there and get him using my jabs, angles and everything I worked on in my training camp,” said Diaz.
“I came in and got what I wanted and I’m very happy with the outcome,” said Diaz, who finished a prolific year of boxing in 2016.
“It was a power versus speed fight,” said Garcia.
“For every power punch I would throw, he would throw two. I agree with the judge’s decision, and we’ll hit the gym to make the adjustments,” said Garcia, who will surely return in 2017.
Photos by Ed Mulholland/HBO
