Diaz And Rakhimov Draw, Mosley Jr Gets KO

INDIO, CALIF. (Feb. 13, 2021): Joseph Diaz Jr. (31-1-1, 15 KOs) and Shavkat Rakhimov (15-0-1, 12 KOs) fought to a 12-round majority draw at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. As Diaz Jr. lost the belt on the scales on Friday, the IBF Junior Lightweight Championship will remain vacant. Two judges scored the fight 115-113 for Diaz Jr., which was overruled by two scores of 114-114.

The fight headlined a stacked card of action that was streamed live exclusively on DAZN in more than 200 countries and territories, including the U.S., Mexico, Russia, Tajikistan, Brazil and Argentina..

“I’m a little upset. I felt I had done enough to win the fight,” said Joseph Diaz Jr. “It was a close fight. It wasn’t my best performance. I didn’t make weight. I lost the belt on the scales. I want to apologize to everyone. I want to apologize to all my fans. It was a mistake on my behalf. No excuses, but I’ll be back. Rakhimov threw a lot of combinations. But a lot of them landed on the gloves. I felt I threw more shots and landed more body punches. I thought I should have won the fight.”

“I did everything I was supposed to do,” said Shavkat Rakhimov. “Victory was on my side. I feel I won the fight. There were a few mistakes, and we need to work on it. I did everything that was possible. There were a few mistakes, but I will work on that. There is no perfect boxer, and I hope to gain more American fans.”

Brian Castaño (17-0-1, 12 KOs) of Buenos Aires, Argentina captured the WBO Junior Middleweight World Championship by scoring a 12-round unanimous decision win against Patrick Teixeira (31-2, 22 KOs) of Sao Paulo, Brasil. Castaño won with scores of 120-108, 119-109, and 117-111l.

“I am very happy. We did a great job with my team,” said Brian Castaño. “It was a good fight. We all mistakes, and I have to fix things here and there, but a fight is a fight. Each fight is different, and I understand that. I knew Teixeira very well going into this fight. He is very strong, and he has a lot of heart. He is a great. This was one of the greatest victories of my career.”

Super bantamweight contender Ronny Rios (33-3, 16 KOs) of Santa Ana, California beat Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete (19-3-2, 7 KOs) of Tierralta, Colombia via 10-round unanimous decision. Rios won with scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 100-90.

“I should have sat down more on my punches,” said Ronny Rios. “I went in a little bit too much with my head, and I kind of waited too long. But I’m happy with the win. I really want a world title shot for my next fight, and I think this fight was a necessary step in that direction.”

Shane Mosley Jr. (17-3, 10 KOs) of Pomona, Calif. defeated Cristian Olivas (19-8, 16 KOs) of Mexicali, Mexico via stoppage at the end of the fifth round of a scheduled 10-round super middleweight clash.

“I had a really tough opponent in there," said Shane Mosley Jr. "But I went in there, looked sharp and got the job done. These are the kinds of fights that I need in order to show people that I am ready for a world title.”

Uzbek phenom Bektemir “Bully” Melikuziev (7-0, 6 KOs) scored a third-round knockout victory against Morgan Fitch(19-4-1, 8 KOs) of New Orleans, Louisiana in a scheduled eight-round light heavyweight battle.

“Despite everything that happened, I think it was a good performance,” said Bektemir Melikuziev. “I wish I could have lasted longer and gotten a few more rounds in, but I think it was a good performance. I’m ready for any of the big names in my division.”