"I am built to break people down. I did that to Carlos Rodriguez. I threw a lot of body shots. I had him hurt several times, but with all of his experience and knowledge, he survived through being hurt and taking a beating. He is a smart fighter. But at the end of the day, I opened up with a few shots and I broke him down. I'm glad that everybody got to see that I stopped a very durable and experienced fighter...I feel like when I want to hurt my opponent, I wanna go in there and finish them off and I get anxious and start smothering my punches and that's when they start holding me and stuff. So I still have things to learn and I can grow from that, but overall, it was a great transition," stated undefeated fast-rising super bantamweight Joseph Diaz Jr., who talked about his latest victory, his future plans, and more. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on a great knockout in your last outing and a great year. How did it feel to go into the 7th round for the first time?
JD: It felt really good to fight 7 fights in 2013. Golden Boy Promotions is moving me really fast and I feel great. Yeah man, I went 7 rounds of an 8-round fight and it felt really good, man. I wasn't tired. I could have kept going and I feel like my pace was good. I was throwing a lot of shots and I felt like I was breaking down my opponent. I knew that eventually I was gonna break him down to the point where he wanted to give up or the referee was going to stop the fight. It came down to the 7th round and I overwhelmed him with some shots and had him hurt and the referee seen that and ended up stopping the fight, man. It feels good. Carlos Rodriguez was a great fighter; he was very tough and very brave and I' m glad that everybody watched a great show.
PC: You told me before the fight that you wanted to show people that you were built to take out guys who were much more experienced than you and guys who are perceived to be durable. How did it feel to go in there and accomplish what you set out to do?
JD: I was telling everybody that Carlos Rodriguez was gonna be a very durable fighter and he was gonna be tough because he had a lot of experience. I knew that as well, but I am built to break people down. I did that to Carlos Rodriguez. I threw a lot of body shots. I had him hurt several times, but with all of his experience and knowledge, he survived through being hurt and taking a beating. He is a smart fighter. But at the end of the day, I opened up with a few shots and I broke him down. I'm glad that everybody got to see that I stopped a very durable and experienced fighter.
PC: That was a real workmanlike effort for you. You had to throw a lot of punches to get that stoppage. Did that add to the sense of pleasure of stopping someone like him in the fact that it didn't come easy for you and you showed power even into the later rounds?
JD: Yeah, I knew I had to work for it. I was throwing a lot of shots and the guy was taking a lot of shots. I knew he had a good chin because I watched some of his other fights where he would get hit and just keep throwing and coming back. So I knew he would be pretty durable, but not that durable. I hit him with a lot of shots and he kept coming and when I seen that, I got a little satisfaction from that like, "This guy really came to fight." He wanted to beat me; he wasn't coming in for a paycheck. He wanted to prove a point and pull an upset. I love that feeling, man, because I want to prove to everybody and always give a great show and show everybody that I want guys with great experience and good fighting backgrounds and are mature as well. Everybody got to see that and I'm glad I gave everybody a great show.
PC: Every time you stepped out this year, I felt I saw some type of improvement in you. It's amazing you are only 21 years old. How do you grade out your 7 fights from last year?
JD: I don't want to really grade myself because I know that I'm still young and I can still improve. I'm still very young and trying to improve every single day and that's what I will do. I have great skill and knowledge right now as a 21 year old, but I know I can get better if I stay focused and listen to my father and my trainer, Ben Lira, as well. I think I did really good last year, so I put myself in a good grade, but I don't want to give myself a grade because I know that I can improve, and in 2014, I'm going to prove it, man. I'm going to show everybody that I can be a better fighter and do better things in that ring.
PC: Coming out of the Olympics and completing your first year as a professional, how do you feel the transition went?
JD: It was a different transition. In the amateurs, you have to throw a lot of shots and try to get points because you are only fighting 3 rounds. You have to throw a lot of shots and just rack up points, but in the pros man, you have to be a little more calm. You can still throw a lot of shots, but you have to sit down on your shots because if you throw pitter-patter shots in the pros, your opponent is just going to walk threw it and try to land his own powerful shot that can knock you out or hurt you. So you still have to be cautious. It was a good transition for me though. I felt like I did really good; I was calm and composed. A couple of times because I'm still young, I felt I got a little over anxious and I feel like when I want to hurt my opponent, I wanna go in there and finish them off and I get anxious and start smothering my punches and that's when they start holding me and stuff. So I still have things to learn and I can grow from that, but overall, it was a great transition.
PC: Is the goal for this year to scale back a little bit on fights so you won't get burned out, or did you feel fresh at the end of your 7 fights and therefore you are looking to duplicate the kind of year you had last year activity-wise?
JD: You know what? Fighting 7 fights in one year, I felt good. I'm so used to the amateur fighting where I was fighting like 20 times a year because I was always going to tournaments, and then you fight like 4 or 5 times in a tournament, so now as a pro, I fought 7 times as a pro. I didn't feel tired at all. I'm always in the gym, whether I'm fighting or not, so I always feel good. I think in 2014, I'm gonna be fighting 7 fights again, but I still get a break because with 7 fights in one year, I'll get a month off or 3 weeks off, so I will still have time to rest my body. I'm not gonna overwork myself or exert myself. I don't get drained out or anything because I know when to take my breaks and when it's time to work.
PC: I look forward to a huge year from you. Best of luck and hope to see you in there soon. Is there anything else you want to say before I let you go?
JD: Thanks a lot; I appreciate it. You always give me tremendous interviews and I appreciate all of the things that you have done for me. I thank you so much and take care, God bless, and hopefully we will get another interview soon.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]