JoJo Diaz insists he will be back stronger following his majority decision draw with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov on Saturday night.
Diaz (31-1-1, 15 KOs) was facing Rakhimov (15-0-1, 12 KOs) on a Golden Boy Promotions event at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, live on DAZN.
It was a hard-fought battle over 12 rounds between the two fighters, with the judges scoring the bout 115-113 Diaz, and 114-114, 114-114, meaning Diaz and Rakhimov couldn’t be separated.
Diaz lost his IBF super-featherweight title on the scale after he was unable to make weight, but the highly-rated fighter says he will learn from his mistakes and return in style.
Diaz said: “I’m a little upset. I thought I did enough to win the fight. It was a close fight and not my best performance. I had a long lay off and I want to apologise to my fans that have rooted for my from day one that I didn’t make the weight. It was a mistake on my behalf and there are no excuses.
“This was a close fight. I thought I was dictating the pace and landed more. I’ve got to learn from this. I know who I am and know that I work hard. I’m a disciplined type of fighter but it wasn’t my night.
“I couldn’t make the weight like I used to, I had to adapt to the situation but my health is more important. I’m not going to risk my life trying to make weight. I will be back.”
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