Joseph "JoJo" Pedroza Diaz Jr. (born November 23, 1992) is a Mexican-American professional boxer who held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super featherweight title from 2020 to 2021.
Early life and education Joseph is of Mexican descent. He attended Kranz Intermediate at the age of 12–14. He is left-handed and fights southpaw. As a child he played baseball but took up boxing to learn self-defense. He is coached by his father. He attended South El Monte High School.
Amateur career Prior to the Olympic Trials, he was the two-time reigning national champion at bantamweight that included a win over Antonio Nieves. Diaz became the first American boxer to qualify for the 2012 Olympics by becoming a quarter-finalist at the 2011 World Championships, where he defeated both 2004 Olympic silver medalist Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand and former world championship bronze medalist Óscar Valdez of Mexico but lost to Lázaro Álvarez. Díaz was the 2011 U.S. National Champion at featherweight at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He fought in the 2010-11 World Series of Boxing
At the 2012 Summer Olympics he beat Pavlo Ishchenko, but ran into Alvarez in his second fight and lost again.
World Series of Boxing record 1 Win, 1 Loss Result Record Team Opponent (Team) Score Date Location Notes Loss 1–1 Los Angeles Matadors Braulio Ávila (Mexico Guerreros) Los Angeles, U.S. Win 1–0 Los Angeles Matadors Ronny Beblik (Memphis Force) Memphis, U.S.
Professional career Featherweight Diaz made his professional debut in 2012 against Vincent Alfaro, winning by unanimous decision over four rounds and also scored a knockdown in the fourth. On May 9, 2015, Diaz defeated Giovanni Delgado via unanimous decision on the undercard of the Canelo Álvarez vs James Kirkland fight. He stepped up competition against veteran Rene Alvarado in a fight televised on HBO Latino in July 2015 and on December 18, Diaz Jr. defeated Hugo Partida and earned the WBC-NABF featherweight title. He went on to defend the title multiple times, before challenging Gary Russell Jr. for the WBC featherweight title on May 19, 2018, at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Diaz was unsuccessful, losing a unanimous decision to scores of 117–111, 117–111, 115–113.
Super featherweight On January 30, 2020, Diaz defeated IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer by unanimous decision with scores of 115–113, 115–113, and 116–112 to claim his first world title. After the fight, Diaz praised his opponent, saying "Tevin Farmer is a hell of a fighter, guys. I thank him for giving me this opportunity."
Diaz's first defense of his IBF super featherweight title was scheduled for February 13, 2021 against Shavkat Rakhimov. However, he was stripped of the title when he missed weight, weighing 3.6 lbs over the 130 lb limit. As a result, the fight still went ahead, but Diaz was fined $100,000 for missing weight, which represented 20% of his purse. The money was split evenly between Rakhimov and the California State Athletic Commission. They fought to a majority draw, with scores of 115–113 Diaz, 114–114, 114–114.
Lightweight Diaz vs. Fortuna Following his draw with Shavkat Rakhimov, Diaz moved up to the lightweight division which he promised would be his best weight, where he fought Javier Fortuna for the vacant WBC interim lightweight title on July 9, 2021. Diaz was docked a point in the fourth round for hitting behind the head, but nonetheless emerged as the victor via unanimous decision, with scores of 117–110, 116–111 and 115–112.
Diaz vs. Haney On October 8, 2021, it was announced that Diaz would be defending his WBC interim lightweight title against its previous owner, undefeated Ryan García, in Los Angeles on November 27. However, on October 15, Mike Coppinger of ESPN revealed that García had suffered a hand injury and that the fight would be postponed. This led to back and forth on social media between Diaz and Devin Haney, the full WBC lightweight champion, culminating in an official announcement on November 3 that Diaz would now be challenging for Haney's full world title on December 4, instead of defending his interim title against García.
Super Lightweight February 15, 2024 in Commerce, California, Diaz was scheduled to face Jesus Antonio Perez Campos at super lightweight. He lost the fight by split decision.
On April 27, 2024 in Fresno, California, Diaz faced Oscar Duarte in a 10-round bout. He lost by knockout in the ninth round, suffering the first stoppage defeat of his professional career.
Diaz sustained a third straight loss when he was defeated via split decision by Abraham Montoya at Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida, on November 9, 2024.
He lost again in his next fight, suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Regis Prograis at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago on August 2, 2025.
Diaz fought Alexis Rocha at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on March 14, 2026. He lost via unanimous decision.
On June 19, 2026, he faced Ashton Sylve at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, losing by unanimous decision.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponent TypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes45 Loss 34–10–1Ashton Sylve UD 10 Jun 19, 202644Loss34–9–1Alexis RochaUD10Mar 14, 202643Loss34–8–1Regis PrograisUD10Aug 2, 202542Win34–7–1Jorge Luis Valencia DiazUD8Jun 21, 202541LossAbraham MontoyaSD10Nov 9, 202440Loss33–6–1Oscar DuarteKO9 (10), Apr 27, 202439Loss33–5–1Jesus Antonio Perez CamposSD10Feb 15, 202438Win33–4–1Jerry PerezUD10Jul 8, 202337Loss32–4–1Mercito GestaSD10Mar 18, 202336Loss32–3–1William ZepedaUD12Oct 29, 202235Loss32–2–1Devin HaneyUD12Dec 4, 202134Win32–1–1Javier FortunaUD12Jul 9, 202133Draw31–1–1Shavkat RakhimovMD12Feb 13, 202132Win31–1Tevin FarmerUD12Jan 30, 202031Win30–1Jesus Cuadro12Sep 21, 201930Win29–1Freddy FonsecaTKO7 (12), May 4, 201929Win28–1Charles HuertaUD10Feb 9, 201928Win27–1Jesús RojasUD12Aug 11, 201827Loss26–1Gary Russell Jr.UD12May 19, 201826Win26–0Victor TerrazasKO3 (10), Feb 22, 201825Win25–0Rafael RiveraUD12Sep 16, 201724Win24–0Manuel ÁvilaUD10May 6, 201723Win23–0Horacio GarcíaUD10Dec 17, 201622Win22–0Andrew CancioTKO9 (10), Sep 17, 2016 21Win21–0Victor ProaKO2 (10), Jul 30, 2016 20Win20–0Jayson VélezUD10Apr 23, 2016 19Win19–0Hugo PartidaTKO2 (10), Dec 18, 2015 18Win18–0Ruben TamayoUD10Oct 23, 2015 17Win17–0Rene AlvaradoUD10Jul 11, 201516Win16–0Giovanni DelgadoUD10May 9, 201515Win15–0Juan Luis Hernandez TKO3 (10), Mar 6, 201514Win14–0Jose Angel BeranzaUD10Dec 8, 201413Win13–0Roberto Castaneda4 (10), Nov 13, 2014 12Win12–0Raul HidalgoTKO7 (10), Sep 29, 201411Win11–0Ramiro RoblesUD10Jul 9, 201410Win10–0Luis Maldonado UD6Apr 26, 20149Win9–0Joivany FuentesTKO5 (8), Mar 8, 20148Win8–0Carlos RodriguezTKO7 (8), Dec 13, 20137Win7–0Noel Mendoza KO3 (6), Aug 24, 20136Win6–0Luis Cosme1 (6), Jul 20, 20135Win5–0Rigoberto Casillas3 (6), Jun 8, 20134Win4–0Eric Gotay TKO3 (6), May 3, 20133Win3–0Alberto CupidoUD6Mar 16, 20132Win2–0Jose Ruiz2 (4), Feb 2, 20131Win1–0Vicente Afaro Martinez4Dec 15, 2012
See also List of world super-featherweight boxing champions List of Mexican boxing world champions
References
External links