By: Sean Crose
Junior welterweight Joseph Diaz took on Jesus Perez Thursday night in a scheduled ten round affair that DAZN covered live from the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California. Having lost three of his last four fights, the 33-4-1 Diaz was, at thirty one years of age, in need of a definitive win. The 24-5 Perez, on the other hand, had lost his two previous fights and was subsequently in need of a standout performance of his own.
Both fighters were cautious early on, though they were unafraid to throw when the opportunity presented itself. Perez, in particular, focused on the body. By the end of the opening champion, he was tossing off punches in combinations. Although Diaz looked in good shape (something that hadn’t always been the case with the fighter), he was clearly slower than Perez, who continued to throw punches in bunches. Not that the southpaw Diaz wasn’t able to be competitive and land well himself.
By the third, Diaz was employing a good defense, thanks to a high guard and illusive foot movement. By the midpoint of the round, things had gotten intense, as both fighters were throwing leather freely. Things slowed down a bit in the fourth, as each fighter threw with more caution. A series of uppercuts in the last minute of the round, however, punctuated things for Perez. The fifth saw a butt of heads and a bit of rough stuff from Diaz, for which he warned by the referee. Seconds later, Diaz pushed Perez through the ropes. For this deed, Diaz was deducted a point.
Perez continued to push the action early on in the sixth. Although he didn’t possess much power Perez was unafraid to push the action. Indeed, he remained active throughout the round. The action had once again slowed down near the middle of the seventh. Perez was able to control the tempo when things picked up, however, even though Diaz may have been landing the cleaner punches. Suffice to say, the round ended as a slugfest.
Diaz was able to employ range effectively in the eighth, effectively nullifying Perez’ opportunities to throw in combinations. The ninth round saw Perez once again on the attack early on. For a close fight, Diaz remained strangely patient. As the round continued, however, Diaz began to throw and land. A shoulder shot, however, drew another warning from the referee. With that being said, Perez gave it everything he had in the penultimate chapter. The tenth and final round was, like much of the fight, a grinding, gritty affair. Both fighters let it all go in order to earn the win.
It was ultimately Perez who got the nod from the judges via split decision.
