Devin Haney vs. Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. – Official DAZN weights & photos

By Boxing News - 12/03/2021 - Comments

By Matt Lieberman: Devin Haney and challenger Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. both weighed in successfully on Friday for Saturday’s fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 5’8″

Haney, 23, literally towered over the shorter 5’6″ Jojo Diaz Jr. during the face-off, even though only two inches separated the two. Devin looked much bigger in height and with his frame.

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Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) weighed in at the lightweight limit at 135 lbs and looked good. It will be interesting to see how Diaz makes up for the height, reach, speed, and boxing ability that Haney possesses.

His opponent Jojo Diaz (32-1-1, 15 KOs) came in a little lighter at 134.4 lbs, and both fighters looked in great shape for their headliner match on DAZN.

Devin wants to fight for undisputed

For Haney, a victory could open the door to him facing undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. at the beginning of 2022.

As for former IBF super featherweight champion Jojo Diaz Jr, he says he would like to face WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis next

Haney vs. Diaz Jr. undercard weights:

Jessica McCaskill 146.4 vs. Kandi Wyatt 146.2
Filip Hrgovic 246.8 vs. Emir Ahmatovic 228.4
Montana Love 143.8 vs. Carlos Diaz 139.8
Marc Castro 136.4 vs. Ronaldo Solis 130.8
Austin Williams 160 vs. Quatavious Cash 160
Alexis Espino 167.4 vs. Rodolfo Gomez Jr 168
Amari Jones 160 vs. Timothy Lee 159.4
Ricardo Sandoval 111.8 vs. Carlos Buitrago 113

I just feel I’m more prepared, better skills, and I’m just a better overall fighter, and I will show that,” said Haney to Fighthype after the weigh-in. “There might have been a little pushing, but he wouldn’t have wanted to take it too far.

“Just rest,” said Haney on what he plans on doing not until Saturday night. “The hard work is done. We’ve got the game plan together. Now we just rest up, get some more food, and rehydrate all the way and be ready for tomorrow.

“I feel good right now. And I feel like I could fight right now. I wouldn’t even have to eat no more or drink no more. I’m going to put a lot on him,” Haney said.

Jojo Diaz says he wants to beat Haney with volume punching and pressure. He’s going to attempt to overwhelm Haney with punches in hopes of outworking him on Saturday night.

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Diaz says that if he hurts Haney in the way that his last opponent Jorge Linares did last May, he won’t allow him to clinch his way out of the round.

Linares, 36, has more speed, size, and power than Jojo Diaz Jr.’s, so it’s going to be more difficult for him to replicate what he did against Haney.

Jojo Diaz doesn’t have much choice but to try and break Haneyw ith pressure and volume punching because if he tries to outbox him, it’s not going to work.

Haney wants to pound Jojo

“I’m going to put a lot of s*** on him. It’s going to be a fun night. This is something I’ve always dreamed of fighting here at the MGM. I’ve been at a ton of fights here.

“I live here in Las Vegas, and this is the big stage for me.  It’s time for me to perform, shine and do what I love. Go in there, put it on the line and look good in doing it.

“Of course, I’m enjoying this. This isn’t a job for me; this is what I do. It was different fighting with no fans, but now that my team is here. My whole team will be here, my family, my fans. It’s time.

“Now it’s time to go in there and perform, and that’s what I will do. The Franchise belt brings a lot of confusion to the lightweight division and other divisions, but mostly the lightweight division.

“So for us to get to the bottom of it, we might as well make the [Haney vs. George Kambosos] fight happen. When I fight for the undisputed belts, I’m not looking past Jojo. It’s just a dream of mine.

“Whether it’s the lightweight division or if I fight at middleweight, whatever the case may be, I don’t want to fight for the Franchise title, and I don’t want to be Franchise champion.

“I want to be WBC champion. They can keep that. Me and my team call it the ‘Duck belt,’ that’s what we call it. I’m always relaxed because I know the hard work is done. I trusted my team. We put together a great game plan. We’re going to execute it, and you guys will see,” said Haney.

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Vacating the WBC title NOT an option for Devin

“Before last weekend, the world was saying that Teofimo Lopez was the best fighter in the world,” said Haney to Fight Hub TV. “He was on the pound-for-pound list, and he was this, and he was the best fighter in the lightweight division and was going to knock everybody out and look.

“I understand that, and it’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to be world champion,” said Haney in reacting to being told that the World Boxing Council is calling George Kambosos the ‘undisputed lightweight world champion,’ even though he doesn’t hold the WBC belt.

“I want to be undisputed, and that’s something I’m going to fight for,” Haney continued. “It’s been a long journey for me to get here, and I’m not going to give it up that easy, even though people want me to [vacate the WBC]. But this is something that is just bigger. It means more to me.

“Styles make fights. You never know until you get in there,” said Haney.

We’ll see if Haney can get the fight with Kambosos next should he defeat Jojo Diaz on Saturday night. Kambosos feels he’s in the driver’s seat on who he faces next, so he’s going to be the one that makes the decision.

Besides the winner of the Haney vs. Diaz Jr. fight in the Kambosos lottery, there are also these fighters:

Gervonta Davis
Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz
Vasily Lomachenko
Ryan Garcia