Joseph “JoJo” Diaz will headline a Golden Boy Fight Night card on Thursday, Feb. 15, facing Jesus “Ricky” Perez in a 10-round fight in Commerce, Calif.
The fight is advertised for 140 lbs, but being non-title it could allow some wiggle room a bit north of that number on the scales.
Diaz, 31, has gone 2-3-1 in his last six fights, which also saw him lose his IBF 130 lb title on the scales in early 2021 before going to a draw with Shavkat Rakhimov. He then beat Javier Fortuna for an interim lightweight title, which was followed by three straight losses to Devin Haney, William Zepeda, and Mercito Gesta between Dec. 2021 and Mar. 2023.
He returned to action last July, beating Jerry Perez by decision in a 10-round fight.
The 26-year-old Jesus Perez (24-5, 18 KO) is a 140/147 lb fighter who loses when he faces credible opposition and has otherwise run up his win-loss record against scrubs, mostly in Tijuana. His last two fights have been losses to Alexis Rocha and Brian Norman Jr at welterweight, and he’s also lost to Danielito Zorrilla, Carlos Diaz, and Ruslan Madiyev.
But he’s gone the distance against all of them, too, and isn’t someone who just comes in to fall over and go home.
“I am excited to let the boxing world know I’m back on track,” said Diaz. “My comeback continues. After this, I want all the top guys.”
Also on the card: Flyweight contender Ricardo Sandoval (23-2, 16 KO) will be in a 10-round fight, with Eric Tudor (9-1, 6 KO) and Jorge Chavez (9-0, 7 KO) will compete in six-round bouts against opponents to be named.