How would Devin Haney fare in his toughest test to date against Jo Jo Diaz?? Would he be looking ahead to a possible undisputed title fight versus George Kambosos Jr.? Would he make the same mistakes Teofimo Lopez did last weekend when he fought Kambosos?
The answer to the latter two questions was a definitive no, and Haney passed the test with flying colors and put on the best performance of his career in beating the former junior lightweight champion and 2012 Olympian via unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 116-112) to successfully retain the WBC title. DAZN News scored the fight 117-111 for Haney.
With the win, “The Dream” is ready for Kambosos.
“Let’s do it for all the belts. The real undisputed,” Haney said in his post-fight interview.
Haney punishing Diaz during the fight
Notoriously known as a slow starter, Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) came right out and made Diaz realize he wasn’t coming in to coast to a win and wanted to finish him. The 23-year-old showed everything in the arsenal. The jab was exceptional; his footwork was superb, and he was throwing power shots at will, and Diaz wasn’t doing much about it. It seemed that Diaz was stuck in neutral and couldn’t get going.
Diaz (32-2-1, 15 KOs) finally started to get it going in the middle rounds and made it a fight. He said he was going to bring the dog out of Haney. He went on the inside, pounded the body, and made things difficult for Haney.
Haney didn’t circle and ride the bicycle. The 23-year-old stayed in the pocket, fought fire with fire, and didn’t back it up. It almost caught up to him in the 12th and final round as Diaz stunned Haney with a left hand. But, Haney stayed composed, landed a short uppercut, and they fought to the final bell.
In terms of what’s next, Haney made it clear that he would go to Kambosos’ native Australia for the chance to make history.
“I’ll go to Jupiter if I have to,” Haney said.
Credit: DAZN
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