IBF number one contender Shavkat Rakhimov 15-0-1 (12) had to settle for a draw against former IBF super featherweight champion Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz 31-1-1 (15) at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California on Saturday night.
The 28-year-old Diaz lost his title on the scales when he came in three-and-a-half pounds overweight, meaning the belt was on the line for Rakhimov only.
Diaz started the fight fast against southpaw Rakhimov but faded in the middle rounds before finding his second wind late to finish strong. Judge Robert Hall thought Diaz had done enough to win, awarding him the fight by a score of 115-113, while judges Fernando Villarreal and Zachary Young both saw the fight a draw at 114-114.
The punch stats reflected the closeness of the fight. Compubox recorded 233 punches for Diaz and 213 for Rakhmov with the former champion having the edge in power punches 193 to 169.
“I did everything I was supposed to do,” the 26-year-old Rakhimov. “Victory was on my side. I feel I won the fight. There were a few mistakes and we need to work on it. I did everything that was possible. There were a few mistakes, but I will work on that. There is no perfect boxer, and I hope to gain more American fans.”
Diaz admitted it was a close fight but insisted he did enough to win.
“I’m a little upset. I felt I had done enough to win the fight,” said Diaz. “It was a close fight. It wasn’t my best performance. I didn’t make weight. I lost the belt on the scales. I want to apologise to everyone. I want to apologise to all my fans. It was a mistake on my behalf. No excuses, but I’ll be back.
“Rakhimov threw a lot of combinations. But a lot of them landed on the gloves. I felt I threw more shots and landed more body punches. I thought I should have won the fight.”
Unbeaten junior middleweight Brian Castaño 17-0-1 (12) claimed the WBO title with a near shutout victory over Patrick Teixeira 31-2 (22).
The 31-year-old Argentinean started fast and never let up the pressure, raking the Brazilian southpaw with straight right hands and backing him up for much of the fight. CompuBox had Castaño throwing 1,136 punches including 927 power shots. He landed 373 of his punches.
Teixeira, 30, showed huge heart to finish the fight on his feet as he was repeatedly hurt in the later rounds. The scores were 120-108, 119-109 and 117-111, all for the new champion.
“I am very happy. We did a great job with my team,” said Castaño. “It was a good fight. We all make mistakes and I have to fix things here and there, but a fight is a fight. Each fight is different and I understand that.
“I knew Teixeira very well going into this fight. He is very strong and he has a lot of heart. He is a great person. This was one of the greatest wins of my career. Not anyone can be a world champion and I was able to do it twice, so I am very happy.”
Super bantamweight Ronny Rios 33-3 (16) proved to be too big and too strong for Oscar ‘El Jaguar’ Negrete 19-3-2 (7) scoring a unanimous decision victory by scores of 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91.
“I should have sat down more on my punches,” said Rios. “I went in a little bit too much with my head and I kind of waited too long. But I’m happy with the win. I really want a world title shot for my next fight and I think this fight was a necessary step in that direction.”
