Few things are more motivating for a fighter than the pursuit of a world title.
Joseph "JoJo" Diaz's bid for a second world title has more than likely come and gone after losing six of his last eight fights. Now, he’s fighting for something more every time he steps into the ring.
“My two beautiful kids,” Diaz said of what’s keeping him motivated at the final press conference Thursday. “I want to provide for them, and I want to get a better future, and also just being a better role model to all the youth."
Diaz (34-7-1, 15 KOs) will be back in the limelight Saturday
when he faces former two-time junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis in a 10-round junior welterweight bout at University of Illinois-Chicago’s Credit Union 1 Arena (8 p.m. ET; 1 a.m. BST) on DAZN.
Prograis vs. Diaz will serve as the co-feature to
Oscar Duarte (29-2-1, 23 KOs) vs. Chicago’s Kenneth Sims (22-2-1, 8 KOs) in a 12-round junior welterweight bout for a WBA regional belt.
Diaz, a former IBF lightweight champion, was on a three-fight losing streak but got back into the win column with a unanimous decision over Jorge Luis Valencia Diaz on June 21 in an eight-round bout in Tijuana, Mexico.
Prograis enters on a two-fight losing streak, having back-to-back unanimous decision defeats to former two-division champion
Devin Haney and
Jack Catterall.
The fight with Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) came together just more than a week before their scheduled bout on Saturday, a rarity for a fight pitting two former champions. Having been in the gym already in preparation for a fight, facing Prograis only added more fuel to the fire for Diaz as he looks to make another push in the tail-end of his career.
“I was really excited, because we've been training every single day,” Diaz said. “We've been locked in and I know that this opportunity is being created for me to go out there and showcase to everybody that I’m back.”