Devin Haney called for a showdown with George Kambosos Jr after putting on a dominant display to retain his WBC lightweight title with a unanimous decision win over Joseph Diaz Jr in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) faced brief moments of adversity, particularly as Diaz Jr (32-2-1, 15 KOs) went for broke in the final round, but secured a largely comprehensive victory at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and set his sights on a battle with newly crowned lightweight champion, Kambosos Jr to settle any doubt over the undisputed champion at 135lbs.
“Come on Kambosos,” Haney said during his interview with DAZN post-fight.
“Let’s do it for all the belts. The real undisputed. Let’s do it next.”
Haney aimed to put on a statement and was on the front foot from the opening bell, firing in combinations towards Diaz Jr, who defended with a high guard and targeted the champion’s body.
The challenger remained competitive throughout the early stages, but the accurate work was coming from ‘The Dream’, who appeared to have banked the first three rounds, with Diaz Jr struggling to find an answer for the speed and skill.
‘JoJo’ had his best round of the fight to date in the fourth landing at least three powerful left hands, mixing between head and body.
The 29-year-old, former super featherweight world champion continued the momentum into the fifth round, targeting the home favourite’s body, although Haney remained mobile and seemed to be in full flow by the halfway mark, using his seven inch reach advantage to great effect and keeping a good distance to tee off his combinations effectively.
Haney’s eagerness to trade and stay in the pocket in the seventh enabled his rival to land more and a hard left hook connected after he registered a solid uppercut of his own earlier in the round.
The pattern continued into the eighth, with Haney continuing to outbox his foe, who was limited to moments of success, although round nine was the most entertaining to date, with both men trading vicious blows.
After a comprehensive tenth, Haney, 23, displayed his repertoire of punches in the eleventh landing with uppercuts, however Diaz Jr remained in the argument with some hurtful work to the body.
Trading shots to end the round 🔥#HaneyDiazJr pic.twitter.com/4LxsDxWV6i
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 5, 2021
Diaz Jr needed a huge finish to the twelfth and the Californian sensed it, flying out of the blocks and pouring on the pressure.
‘JoJo’ hurled in a left hook which seemed to have Haney hurt, although the champion rode the brief storm and finished the round strongly, throwing right hands of his own.
Haney prevailed a deserved winner with judges Dave Moretti and Max DeLuca both scoring the bout 117-111, whilst Tim Cheatham returned a score of 116-112 to confirm a fourth successful WBC lightweight title defence for ‘The Dream’ and preserving his undefeated record.
“He’s a true champion, a two-time world champion, so he went in there and gave me a good fight,” Haney said to DAZN post-fight.
“Like JoJo said he said he was going to bring the dog out of me and that’s exactly what he did. I had to bring the dog out and I had to dog it out and get the win.”
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Both boxers embraced after their 12 round battle and Oscar De La Hoya joined ‘JoJo’ in the ring afterwards to support his fighter.
“I thought it was a closer fight than what it was,” Diaz Jr told DAZN post-fight.
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“I thought I was dictating the pace and landed some good body shots. It is what it is. I’m just going to go back to the drawing board and get stronger.
“This is what I do, man I want to challenge the best and if I end up coming short I’m just going to progress and get better.”
Love shines on Matchroom debut
Super lightweight, Montana Love made a statement on his Matchroom debut, stopping Carlos Diaz in three rounds.
Love (17-0-1, 9 KOs) dropped the Mexican three times in the second round, however the 26-year-old rose to his feet each time.
After a follow-up assault in the third round, referee Raul Caiz Jr saw enough, with Love handing Diaz (29-2, 14 KOs) only his second defeat with the other coming to Jose Zepeda.
McCaskill sees off Wyatt
Jessica McCaskill successfully defended her undisputed welterweight championship with a seventh round win against Kandi Wyatt.
McCaskill (11-2, 4 KOs) proved a class above late-replacement Wyatt (10-4, 3 KOs) and her stoppage proved reflective of her dominance.
Hrgovic halts Ahmatovic
Filip Hrgovic continued his ruthless streak with a third round victory over Emir Ahmatovic (10-1, 7 KOs)
Hrgovic (14-0, 12 KOs) is closing in on a heavyweight world title shot and picked up his second win of the year dropping the German twice in the second round and once in the third, before referee Allen Huggins waved the contest off.
Castro stops Solis
Super featherweight prospect, Marc Castro (5-0, 5 KOs) made it five straight knockout victories with a one-punch, second round stoppage over Ronaldo Solis.
Remaining Undercard
Undefeated middleweight, Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (9-0, 7 KOs) landed a brutal left hand which stunned Quatavious Cash in the second round, before referee Raul Caiz Jr intervened.
Super middleweight, Alexis Espino (9-0-1, 6 KOs) suffered a first blemish on his professional record, held to a majority draw against Rodolfo Gomez Jr (14-5-2, 10 KOs).
A vicious left-hand shot from Ammo Williams leads to a 2nd round TKO 🔥#HaneyDiazJr pic.twitter.com/0hsOfavVA5
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 5, 2021
Middleweight prospect, Amari Jones (5-0, 5 KOs) secured his fifth successive victory by knockout, halting Timothy Lee (5-2, 4 KOs) in the sixth and final round.
5 fights, 5 wins, 5 KOs for Amari Jones who stops Lee in round 6! 💥#SandovalBuitrago #HaneyDiazJr pic.twitter.com/2ZPrvDW9yh
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) December 4, 2021
Ricardo Rafael Sandoval (20-1, 15 KOs) closed in on a world title shot at flyweight with a seventh round stoppage over Carlos Buitrago (32-7-1, 18 KOs).
