Tevin Farmer vs. Joseph Diaz - January 30, 2020

[Ruthless-RKO]

According to promoter Lou DiBella, who handles IBF junior lightweight champion Tevin Farmer, he has started talks with Golden Boy about staging a fight with Joseph Diaz Jr., and is hopeful the bout will come off this fall.



“We talked about it. Tevin wants the fight, Diaz wants the fight, (Farmer co-promoter) Eddie (Hearn) wants the fight. So do Golden Boy and DAZN,” DiBella said. “It’s a great match of styles. If we can’t make a unification fight, which doesn’t look good, Diaz is our No. 1 choice.”

Both fighters have frequently taken shots at one another on Twitter with Farmer explicitly stating that he wants to face Diaz in his next outing. DiBella says that if that fight gets finalized, it’ll likely be held in November.

Farmer (30-4-1, 6 KOs) is most recently coming off a dominant performance over Guillaume Frenois this past weekend to retain his world title, while Diaz (29-1, 15 KOs) most recently stopped Freddy Fonseca in May. Diaz has won three straight fights since dropping a unanimous decision to Gary Russell Jr. last year.

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Junior lightweight world titlist Tevin Farmer, who turned 29 on Tuesday, and Joseph Diaz Jr., who have been calling each other out, could meet next. Farmer promoter Lou DiBella told ESPN that he and Diaz promoter Golden Boy opened discussions for the fight on Tuesday. “We talked about it. Tevin wants the fight, Diaz wants the fight, (Farmer co-promoter) Eddie (Hearn) wants the fight. So do Golden Boy and DAZN,” DiBella said. “It’s a great match of styles. If we can’t make a unification fight, which doesn’t look good, Diaz is our No. 1 choice.” DiBella said if the deal gets made the fight would likely be in November. Farmer retained his belt for the fourth time via lopsided decision over Guillaume Frenois in the co-feature of Saturday’s Jose Ramirez-Maurice Hooker junior welterweight unification fight.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer
16h ago

[jujigatame]

Thank god for Farmer facing a tough opponent already. This is a real 50/50 fight.

[margaret thatcher]

Good news, this is the type of fight Ive been waiting to see Farmer in. I get the sense that at absolute best he's not much better if at all than Diaz though.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[margaret thatcher]

LOL

More like Tev knows he'd get battered

[Ruthless-RKO]

LOL

More like Tev knows he'd get battered

He may as well take it. The fights gonna flop on PPV anyway. $2m is decent if he thinks he can win. Even if he thinks he’ll lose. God knows how much DAZN are currently paying him.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Joseph Diaz Jr. accepts offer for January 30th Tevin Farmer bout, but fight not official

It’s official! I accepted the offer to fight Tevin Farmer for the 130-pound title on January 30 in Miami, three days before Super Bowl in South Beach @GoldenBoyBoxing @DAZN_USA @TevinFarmer22, take care of my belt for the remaining time you have it
— Joseph Diaz (@JosephDiazJr) November 13, 2019

Tevin Farmer vs JoJo Diaz is not a done deal.
— TEVIN FARMER (@TevinFarmer22) November 13, 2019

As of now, there’s still no word on Daniel Roman-Murodjon Akhmadaliev or Juan Francisco Estrada-Kal Yafai, which were rumored to take place on the same card. We’ll keep you all appraised of any developments in the coming weeks.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Oscar Rivas to fight on Jan.30/31 in Miami

Oscar Rivas will be fighting on a Matchroom card on January 30 or 31 in Miami, Florida, according to @MBoulayJDM. This will be a fight that will be shown on DAZN. The headliner is expected to be IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer vs. Joseph ‘Jo Jo Diaz.

The January fight for Rivas would set-up a potential bigger fight against a top 5 heavyweight in the division. There are a lot of interesting options for Rivas to fight in Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stable. These are some of the appealing names:

Michael Hunter
Filip Hrgovic
Dereck Chisora
Dillian Whyte – rematch
Oleksandr Usyk
Joseph Parker

Hopefully for Rivas’ sake, Hearn doesn’t put him in with someone like Dave Allen or David Price. That wouldn’t be good for him.

Negotiations still underway between Rivas & Matchroom
2008 Olympian Rivas (26-1, 18 KOs) last fought on July 20 in losing a 12 round unanimous decision to Matchroom fighter Dillian Whyte in London, England. It was learned afterwards that Whyte had tested positive for a banned substance, but the fight was allowed to go ahead.

Rivas’ promoter Yvon Michel is negotiating with Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn to place him on the card in January. As of now, the fight contract isn’t signed.

“We are still discussing with them and we have nothing signed,” said Yvon Michel to journaldemontreal.com. “For the moment, there is a stumbling block. However, I do not want to negotiate in the public square. ”

Rivas’ management are looking to get a long-term deal with Hearn, which could make him a lot of money. It’s unclear how many fights they’re looking for. It’s unknown what Rivas would need to do for him to sign with Hearn. Rivas is obviously not happy with transpired in the Whyte fight in learning about the positive test.

By Tim Royner

[Ruthless-RKO]

Farmer-Diaz Clash Unlikely For Pre-Super Bowl Show In Miami

The war of words between Tevin Farmer and Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz continues to remain limited to just talk.

BS.com has learned that plans for a pre-Super Bowl title fight grudge match between the pair of bitter junior lightweight rivals are no longer in place, although the bout still remains on course to happen at some point in the 1st quarter of 2020.

The bout was due to serve as part of a Jan. 30 DAZN-streamed show at a makeshift stadium in Miami, Florida, taking place during the week of Super Bowl XLIV also in Miami. However, undisclosed issues have created yet another delay for a fight that has been in discussion for months yet remains without a firm date.

Philadelphia’s Farmer (30-4-1, 6KOs) looks to make the fifth defense of the 130-pound title he claimed in a 12-round win over Billy Dib on the road last August on the road in Australia. His four title defenses all took place in the span of just over nine months, knocking out James Tennyson in three rounds and then racking up a trip of points wins over Francisco Fonseca last December in New York City, Ireland’s Jono Carroll in his Philadelphia hometown and, most recently, Guillaume Frenois this past July in Arlington, Texas.

Wedged in between his wins over previously unbeaten Carroll and France’s Frenois came a hostile run-in with California’s Diaz (30-1, 15KOs) this past May in Las Vegas. Diaz was preparing for a fight on the undercard of World middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, eventually scoring a knockout win over Freddy Fonseca—Francisco’s older brother—but not before getting into a well-publicized verbal altercation with Farmer, who was merely in town as an interested observer of the card as a whole.

Diaz took on a stay-busy fight while waiting on a second career title fight, though perhaps providing more harm than good as the 2012 U.S. Olympian suffered an injury en route to a 12-round majority decision win over Jesus Cuadro this past September in his first career fight in Mexico.

A deal for a fight with Farmer was hoped to be reached, with fight dates eyed for November and December before finally gaining legs in potentially landing on the Jan. 30 pre-Super Bowl card.

The show will go in South Beach, just without the grudge match in tow.

The bill will feature a junior bantamweight title unification clash between World champion Juan Francisco Estrada (40-3, 27KOs) of Mexico and England’s unbeaten titlist Kal Yafai (26-0, 15KOs). Also being discussed for the show is unbeaten middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade (28-0, 17KOs) in a voluntary title defense versus Ireland’s Luke Keeler (17-2-1, 5KOs).

[Best Coast]

Nice to see Farmer even considering a legit challenger like Diaz, even if it isnt included in the January card. Hope it happens eventually!!

[jujigatame]

I don't understand how Farmer's career s being handled. First he was fighting no-hopers every 2-3 months for a year. Now he finally has a solid opponent lined up but it keeps getting pushed back for totally unclear reasons and it looks like he's gonna go at least 7-8 months without a fight.

[margaret thatcher]

I don't understand how Farmer's career s being handled. First he was fighting no-hopers every 2-3 months for a year. Now he finally has a solid opponent lined up but it keeps getting pushed back for totally unclear reasons and it looks like he's gonna go at least 7-8 months without a fight.

Maybe it keeps getting pushed back because it's too tough for Tev's liking.

[margaret thatcher]

Nice to see Farmer even considering a legit challenger like Diaz, even if it isnt included in the January card. Hope it happens eventually!!

Ya, great on Tev for maybe , just possibly, considering a non-crappy opponent for once, he deserves an award

[gilgamesh]

Decent fight between contenders. One of whom happens to have a trinket.

[KiwiRider]

I don't understand how Farmer's career s being handled. First he was fighting no-hopers every 2-3 months for a year. Now he finally has a solid opponent lined up but it keeps getting pushed back for totally unclear reasons and it looks like he's gonna go at least 7-8 months without a fight.

Part of it is that Diaz picked up an injury. Hopefully he is fully fit by Jan and can give Farmer a good challenge.

[margaret thatcher]

Diaz already signed I thought, Tev said that Tev hadn't yet

[Ruthless-RKO]

Looks like it MAY be on?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release

Undefeated Middleweight star Demetrius Andrade (28-0, 17 KOs) will defend his WBO World Middleweight Championship against contender Luke Keeler (17-2-1, 5 KOs) at Meridian at Island Gardens in Miami on Thursday January 30, live on DAZN in the US and Sky Sports in the UK.

Also featured on the packed evening of boxing is Tevin Farmer (30-4-1, 6 KOs) defending his IBF world super featherweight title against JoJo Diaz (30-1, 15 KOs) and unified world super bantamweight champion Daniel Roman (27-2-1, 10 KOs) defending his titles against Murodjon Akhmadaliev (7-0, 6 KOs).

Andrade, 31, looks to successfully defend his piece of the middleweight title for the third time as massive unification fights loom in 2020. Following his homecoming debut in front of a packed crowd in Providence, Rhode Island, Andrade continues to stay active and take on all challengers following an impressive 2019. Standing in his way is Keeler, 32, of Dublin, Ireland. The former WBO European Middleweight Champion bested top contender Luis Arias in August, and will aim to make a statement in his U.S. debut against Andrade.

In the chief support bout of the evening, a highly-anticipated grudge match will take center stage when Tevin Farmer puts his IBF world super featherweight title on the line against JoJo Diaz. The fight between Farmer and Diaz has been brewing for more than a year following multiple run-ins and trash talking between the two fighters. Farmer, 29, won his super featherweight strap in August 2018 against Billy Dib and successfully defended it four times in a nine-month span. Now, the slick southpaw will face Diaz, 27, also a southpaw, who will get his second chance at claiming a world championship after a decision loss to Gary Russell, Jr. in his first title opportunity in 2018.

On the undercard, 29-year-old unified World Super-Bantamweight champion Daniel Roman will meet undefeated Uzbekistan-native Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Roman, a Los Angeles native, unified titles when he captured the IBF World Super-Bantamweight title from TJ Doheny in front of his hometown crowd this past April in one of the most memorable fights of 2019. This fight will mark Roman’s fifth defense of the WBA title that he won in 2017. Akhmadaliev, 29, is Roman’s mandatory challenger and one of the most lauded prospects in the Super-Bantamweight division. Entering just his third year in the professional ranks and eyeing his first World Championship, the southpaw’s tremendous knockout power is expected to thoroughly test Roman’s slick boxing ability.

“We are excited to provide the perfect spot for a night of world-class boxing,” said Jack Murphy of Meridian. “We built Meridian to deliver a unique, one-of-a-kind venue to host events that stand out above the rest and are deserving of first-class hospitality and VIP experience for corporations and the general public alike. We look forward to hosting DAZN, Matchroom Boxing USA, and boxing fans worldwide.”

“I’m delighted to announce our first show of 2020 and our first ever in Miami,” said Eddie Hearn. “This triple-header is the biggest card in Miami for many years and will be held in a purpose built arena on Super Bowl weekend. All these World championship fights are great match ups and there is plenty more to come for this electric show live on DAZN.”

“We are thrilled to continue to break into new markets as we enter our second year in boxing,” said Joseph Markowski, DAZN EVP, North America. “There is nothing quite like the big game in America and we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase boxing to all of the fans and media who will also descend upon Miami that week.”

[Best Coast]

Nice to see Farmer facing a legit challenger for a change!!

[margaret thatcher]

Finally Tev vs a respectable challenger

[Onetimeonly]

Diaz will throw twice as many punches at a low percentage, win a Dec and tevin and his bizarre following will scream robbery.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Finally Tev vs a respectable challenger

Nice to see Farmer facing a legit challenger for a change!!

Would rather see Tev fight 2 higher ranked opponents in a year than 4 C-level Brits lol

[JxhDel.]

Farmer's best test yet, but he has grown so much since, that could no more being considered the underdog in this one.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Farmer's best test yet, but he has grown so much since, that could no more being considered the underdog in this one.

Good thing is that he’s been a very active boxer since signing with Matchroom.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Diaz will throw twice as many punches at a low percentage, win a Dec and tevin and his bizarre following will scream robbery.

Didn’t he throw more than GRJr aswell?