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Joseph Diaz Jr stayed unbeaten tonight at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, forcing Roberto Castaneda to quit after four rounds of a scheduled 10 in their featherweight main event.
Diaz (13-0, 9 KO) looked good once again, though the stoppage was a bit questionable. Castaneda (21-8-1, 15 KO) didn't seem like he really needed to quit, and the timing lined up pretty nicely with the end of the show's allotted block, going about two minutes past Midnight, but at any rate, Diaz was in firm control and didn't appear to be having any problems whatsoever.
It's quite possible that we'll see Diaz in a meaningful fight sooner than later, and the 21-year-old looks ready for that step up. Certainly not to world title level right away, but against some potentially hazardous veterans or the like. Diaz has the goods, it appears, like many of his 2012 London teammates. That team may be remembered as a failure at the Olympics -- and certainly, they were -- but it has also produced a good amount of legitimate pro prospects.
Featherweight prospect Julian Ramirez scored a stoppage after four rounds against Pedro Melo, improving to 13-0 (8 KO). Melo's corner stopped the fight on a cut after the fourth round, as their fighter was cut from accidental head contact. Melo is now 9-7-2 (2 KO).
Diego De La Hoya improved to 8-0 (6 KO) with a sixth round stoppage of Ali Gonzalez (6-4, 1 KO). Gonzalez did try to win, which was nice to see, but De La Hoya was just too sharp and too strong. Gonzalez was victim of a flash knockdown in the second round, and De La Hoya's combination punching was really just too much for the game opponent.
7-foot heavyweight prospect Taishan Dong went to 2-0 (2 KO) with a second nothing win over Tommy Washington Jr (3-7, 2 KO), a fight that lasted all of 2:35 before Washington folded. The crowd didn't buy the knockout at all, booing as Washington stayed on the canvas.