In this video interview with Fight Hub TV, Joseph Diaz Jr. reflects on his win over Jesus Rojas this past weekend, and his inability to capture the title after missing weight. Check it out...
Diaz on if he expected the fight against Rojas to be as tough as it was:
“I knew it was gonna be a tough fight. I knew Rojas, he’s a champion, and it was his first title defense so I knew he was gonna come 110% ready. He’s fought two undefeated fighters before, stopped them and looked impressive and he was trying to look impressive again tonight, and he did, man, he put on a great performance. He was very aggressive, very strong in there, it’s just that I was able to adapt, throw my combinations, land better shots and win the rounds one-by-one and I came out victorious tonight.”
On if he broke his nose in the fight:
“I don’t know. It looks broken a little bit. The doctor said it was broken but whenever I touch it, it don’t hurt or anything like that. So he said to take three weeks off, put some ice on it and stuff so, we’ll see but he got me with some pretty good uppercuts...”
On if he feels like the nose affect his ability to throw more punches:
“No, I don’t think the broken nose affected me. Probably affected me a little with the breathing but I think mostly it was kind of just making the weight. I wasn’t able to make the weight this time around. It was very, very hard for me due to the fact I messed up the day of the weigh-ins. I messed up on how to lose the weight, I did something completely different than I usually do which I shouldn’t have and it was my fault, my mistake.
“I wasn’t able to make the weight, my body started feeling weak and health is more important than anything so I wanted to make sure I was still gonna be able to fight and put on a good performance for the fight fans and another world title shot will come. I already know God is watching over me, he has my back so I’m not worried about that. I’m just worried about my health right now...”
On if he believes he can still fight at 126lbs:
“Yeah, I think it’s my body telling me — I’ve been fighting at 126 for about 3 1⁄2 years now man, so my body’s growing, I’m developing still. If there’s another big fight at 126lbs, maybe with Abner Mares, Leo Santa Cruz, or Oscar Valdez then I’d love to take that challenge but if none of these opportunities come then I think it’s gonna be time to move up because there’s no need to put that stress on my body because health is more important and I gotta make sure that I’m boxing for a long, long time and I’m okay.”