On Saturday, May 19, 2018 live on Showtime from MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, WBC Featherweight world champion Gary Russell Jr. (29-1, 17 KOs) took on unbeaten No. 1 contender Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. (26-1, 14 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round championship showdown.
The fight was part of a championship split-site telecast on Showtime Championship Boxing.
Russell Jr. entered the ring for the first time in a year, with his last bout coming at the same venue when he stopped Oscar Escandon with relative ease in May of 2017.
In Diaz Jr., Russell Jr. was facing a young-and-hungry contender who many people felt wasn’t ready for this type of step-up in class.
Although Diaz came up short via unanimous decision, those people who doubted his ability to compete at this level were proved emphatically wrong as Diaz Jr. proved he belongs in the ring with the best in the division.
Russell Jr. got off to a quick start, firing the jab repeatedly to Diaz Jr.’s head and body. The two-and-three punch combinations came in rapid succession as Diaz Jr. remained in a tight defensive shell.
As early as midway through Round 1, Diaz Jr.’s face was visibly red and began showing the effects of the thudding shots that Russell Jr. was cleanly landing.
In Round 2, Russell Jr. stepped on the gas pedal even harder and seemed on the brink of dropping and or stopping Diaz.
The pro-Russell Jr. crowd roared with excitement as the hometown fighter unleashed a series of punches, but Diaz Jr. showed tremendous grit in holding on and even turning the tide towards the end of the round.
After that offensive barrage, the pace of the fight changed. In speaking with Russell Jr. after the bout, he acknowledged that he felt he had Diaz Jr. hurt and that the second stanza is when he injured his hand.
“I hurt my right hand in the second or third round, so we had to make the adjustments,” said Russell Jr. “He couldn’t get past my jab. When he got close, we made sure to smother him. Then we reset and got back on the stick.
Regardless of the injury, Diaz Jr. was able to come storming back in Round 4 behind some solid body work.
Although Russell Jr. stated that Diaz Jr.’s body punching did not hurt him at any point, the South El Monte native’s body punching definitely forced Russell Jr. to make adjustments.
The middle rounds saw Diaz Jr. come on in spurts towards the end of rounds, but overall he struggeld with letting his hands go.
“He wasn’t hurting me with any shots. He was just very fast,” said Diaz Jr. after the bout. “It was keeping me guessing. When he threw combinations, I wasn’t able to set my shots. I was a little bit hesitant. ”
As the fighters entered the championship rounds, the two fighters put on a show in the middle of the ring, unleashing heavy shots on one another for long stretches.
In Round 12, Diaz Jr. seemed to connect with a body shot that dropped Russell Jr., but referee Kenny Chevalier called it a slip.
In the end the knockdown would not swung the fight in Diaz Jr.’s favor, but it’s still one of a few bad calls Chevalier made on the fight.
The judges scored the bout 117-111, 117-111 and 115-113 for Russell Jr. Sitting ringside, Round By Round Boxing had it 115-113 for Russell Jr. as well.
As far as referee’s are concerned, Maryland really needs to give Dave Braslow a shot at the big stage. He’s a solid referee and is the one official judge who had it a reasonable seven rounds to five in favor of Russell Jr.
Nine rounds to three is not indicative of how close and competitive Russell Jr. vs. Diaz Jr. really was.
After the bout, Russell Jr. also discussed his plans for the future which will hopefully include more activity than one fight per year.
“We want a unification,” said Russell Jr.” “We want to unify this division, or we’re moving up in weight for another title. I want another belt.”
For Diaz Jr., the loss to Russell Jr. is nothing to hang his head about. He can certainly compete at the world class level and he will be a tough outing for any of the other top 126-pound fighters.
“This will just make me a hungrier fighter. I hope I got the respect of a lot of fight fans,” said Diaz Jr. “I wanted to become champion against the best Featherweight fighter in the world. Tonight wasn’t my night but I’m going to bounce back harder and I’ll be champion soon.”
Photos by Amanda Westcott/Showtime
