Joseph Diaz
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Mexican-American |
| Born | November 23, 1992 South El Monte, California, U.S. |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Weight | 125 lb (57 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Boxing |
| Event | Featherweight |
| Turned pro | 2012 |
| Coached by | Joseph Diaz Sr. |
| Updated on 29 July 2012 | |
Joseph Pedroza Diaz Jr. (born November 23, 1992) from South El Monte, California is an American boxer who competed in the 2012 Olympics as a bantamweight[1] and is the current NABF Featherweight Champion.[2]
Career
Prior to the Olympic Trials, Joseph was the two-time reigning national champion at bantamweight.[3] Diaz became the first American boxer to qualify for the 2012 Olympics by becoming a quarter-finalist at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing 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.[4] He is left-handed and fights southpaw. As child he played baseball but took up boxing to learn self-defense. He is coached by his father.[5] Díaz was the 2011 U.S. National Champion at Featherweight at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[6] He attended South El Monte High School.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics (results) he beat Pavlo Ishchenko but ran into Alvarez in his second fight and lost again. Diaz made his professional debut in 2012 against Vincent Alfaro winning by Unanimous Decision in four rounds and also scored a knockdown in the fourth,then on February 2, 2013 Diaz would go on to fight Jose Ruiz of Puerto Rico and win by TKO on the undercard of Frankie Gomez vs Lanard Lane.
On May 9, 2015, Diaz defeated Giovanni Delgado via unanimous decision on the undercard of the Saul Alvarez vs James Kirkland fight. He stepped up competition against veteran Rene Alvarado in a fight televised on HBO Latino in July 2015 and on Dec. 18, Diaz Jr. defeated Hugo Partida and earned the NABF Featherweight Title.[2] He has since successfully defended his title twice against Jayson Velez and Victor Proa.
Professional boxing record
References
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20120515233338/http://www.nbcolympics.com/team-usa/meet-the-team/news=boxing-u-s-men.html. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Joseph Diaz Jr. Faces Hugo Partida For NABF Title - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ^ "Joseph Diaz Jr. - Top Amateur Focuses on London - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2011-07-30. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ^ "Diaz Becomes First American to Qualify for London - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ^ Kevin Baxter (2012-05-07). "Boxer Joseph Diaz Jr.'s biggest motivation is helping his family - latimes". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ^ "California Leaves Its Mark on The Olympic Trials - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ^ "Joseph Diaz Jr - Boxer". Boxrec.com. 1994-08-13. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
| Men's athletes |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Women's athletes | ||
| Coaches | — | |
- 1993 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California
- Bantamweight boxers
- Southpaw boxers
- Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers
- Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Olympic boxers of the United States
- Boxers from California
- American male boxers
- People from Downey, California