Joseph Diaz Jr.’s title quest lands on Bernard Hopkins’ Dec. 17 goodbye card
Joseph Diaz Jr.’s pursuit of a featherweight title shot will be showcased as the co-main event to Bernard Hopkins’ farewell bout at the Forum on Dec. 17, Golden Boy Promotions announced Monday.
Diaz (22-0, 13 knockouts), a 2012 U.S. Olympian from South El Monte, will meet Mexico’s Horacio Garcia (30-1-1, 22 KOs) on the HBO-televised card.
Hopkins, 51, the former long-reigning middleweight champion, will meet light-heavyweight Joe Smith Jr. of New York in the main event.
Diaz, 23, has looked increasingly skilled, and he dominated a Sept. 17 pay-per-view undercard bout at AT&T Stadium outside Dallas, beating Blythe’s Andrew Cancio by ninth-round technical knockout.
Garcia, 26, is moving up four pounds to 126 from super-bantamweight for the bout. He’s suffered the only blemishes on his record in his last three bouts, fighting Erik Ruiz to a draw in June in Las Vegas.
The World Boxing Council has Diaz rated as its No. 3 title contender behind champion Gary Russell Jr., top-rated Southland product Leo Santa Cruz and England’s Josh Warrington.
Golden Boy is working to finalize a third fight that will be shown on the HBO broadcast.
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