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JOSEPH DIAZ JR: "WE ARE READY FOR WHATEVER RAUL HIDALGO BRINGS…WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN"

By Percy Crawford | September 26, 2014
JOSEPH DIAZ JR:

"Training camp has been going really good and we are ready for whatever Raul Hidalgo brings. If the guy wants to box and move around, I'm just gonna cut off the ring, but if he wants to bang with us this time, I'm gonna box a little moreÂ… If it takes me to box and move and give him angles, then that's what I'm gonna do. If it takes me to be aggressive and stay in there, I'm going to do it. Whatever it takes to win, I'm gonna do it," stated fast-rising super bantamweight Joseph Diaz Jr., who talked about his upcoming clash with Raul Hildago on Monday's Golden Boy Live! card. Check it out!

PC: Your last fight against Robles was very entertaining. How did you feel afterwards?

JDJ: I felt good, man. The guy was really tough and really durable, man. He was very aggressive. Me and my father knew that this guy was gonna be very tough and he was gonna come throwing a lot of shots and that's what he did, man. I was landing a lot of shots on him. I didn't think he was gonna be that durable, but he was really tough. Overall, it was a great learning experience for me and I felt really good. I felt like I put on a great performance and I proved to everybody that I could last 10 rounds throwing non-stop punches. It was a really exciting fight and it was a good learning experience for me.

PC: I like the fact that you hit him with shots that was getting your previous opponents out of there and when he didn't go anywhere, you never seemed discouraged or frustrated. You just stayed to the task at hand.

JDJ: Yeah man, I knew I landed some devastating shots on him and some big blows on him and he just kept walking forward. That didn't get to me though, man because I knew that I would eventually break him down or I was just gonna outbox him and win the fight like I did. But the guy was very tough and I didn't break him down like I wanted to, but overall, I threw a lot of shots and landed a lot of power shots; but the guy was just very durable and very tough.

PC: You always said you could box or rumble if you had to. You proved that in that fight. I'm sure you and your father don't want to see you fight like that consistently, but was it a confidence builder knowing you can fight 10 tough rounds like that?

JDJ: Yeah, it was definitely a confidence booster knowing that I was able to have the conditioning to throw non-stop punches for 10 rounds straight. I could have made the fight a lot easier like my father and Ben Lira were saying. I was throwing combinations and I was trying to step in at an angle, but instead of turning out and away like my father and Ben Lira wanted me to, I would step in at an angle and then step out and just stay there and bang a little more. That was my fault. I could've made it easier, but the fighter in me and the boxer in me was just to go in there and freaking bang it out with the guy. The guy wanted to bang. I wasn't gonna back down. I wanted to give the fans a great show.

PC: Moving forward to your fight on Monday night against Raul Hildago, are you expecting the same kind of fight or is he a different kind of animal?

JDJ: From the videos my dad seen, it seems like he's a different animal. My dad said he likes to move around and whenever we want to exchange punches, he likes to clinch and stuff like that. Me and my dad have been practicing cutting off angles and cutting off the ring and throwing punches, and right when he wants to clinch, just taking a step back and working our uppercuts and straight left hands. Training camp has been going really good and we are ready for whatever Raul Hidalgo brings. If the guy wants to box and move around, I'm just gonna cut off the ring, but if he wants to bang with us this time, I'm gonna box a little more.

PC: Going by what you just said, it doesn't sound like you actually watch footage of your opponents.

JDJ: Yeah, I don't watch the videos. I let my father and my trainer, Ben Lira, watch the videos because they are the trainers; they are the ones that's gonna be coming up with the game plan and I don't need to watch the video and be telling my father or Ben Lira what to do. They can watch video and whatever game plan they want me to do, I'm gonna listen to 'em because I trust them and I'm behind whatever they say. If they tell me to box the guy, then I'm gonna listen to them this time and do whatever they say.

PC: A lot of fights this year, much like every other year. Are you looking to scale back a little now that you are facing stiffer competition or do you like being this busy?

JDJ: I love fighting, man. I'm constantly in the gym and as long as I'm in the gym working hard, I might as well get a fight in. And I love fighting, so hopefully if I don't get in a tough war or get any injuries or anything, hopefully I will be back in the ring in October, November, and hopefully one more in December.

PC: Being a young fighter under the Golden Boy banner, are you just being told to focus on boxing and not worry about the moving and shaking that's going on within the company?

JDJ: Yeah, you know what? I'm very fortunate I have a good manager in Ralph Heredia and he's the one that deals with all of that other stuff. He always tells me, "Joseph, you don't need to be stressed out over anything, just focus on your boxing career and the gym and your next fight and let me work on all of the other stuff and the hard stuff and we'll get through this." So I'm very fortunate to have a good manager and he takes care of everything and I just listen to whatever he tells me to do.

PC: Whenever you have the type of fight that you had against Robles that brings a certain expectation, how do you not feed into that and, like you said earlier, listen to your corner and stick to the game plan?

JDJ: My last fight was exciting and a lot of people probably think I'm gonna try to one up it, but I'm just focused on my opponent and focused just on winning, man. Whatever it takes to win, I'm gonna do it. If it takes me to box and move and give him angles, then that's what I'm gonna do. If it takes me to be aggressive and stay in there, I'm going to do it. Whatever it takes to win, I'm gonna do it.

PC: I saw you tweet out some support for Floyd Mayweather before his rematch with Marcos Maidana. What did you think of the fight?

JDJ: Floyd Mayweather is one of my role models, man. Growing up and watching him fight, he is just an inspiration and he inspires me. For him to fight Maidana a second time, he did real good. I thought he boxed very smart. The fight could've been a little more exciting if the referee wouldn't have broken them up so much. I'm pretty sure Mayweather would have still did his thing on the inside and stuff like that, but I believe the referee shouldn't have broke them up so much. It could have been a little more exciting if it wasn't for the breaks.

PC: Thanks for your time as always. You are one of my favorite interviews and it's always a pleasure. Best of luck to you on Monday night. Is there anything else you want to add?

JDJ: Thank you again. Like I said before, you always do interviews with me and I appreciate it. You always give me support and I support you guys as well, so thank you guys so much and tune in September 29th, Monday night, it's gonna be a great show and I'm gonna put on a great show for all the fans.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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