Two of the top super featherweights in the world will square off in southern California with the IBF title belt on the line the day before Valentine’s Day. JoJo Diaz defends his strap against IBF mandatory challenger Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov. Diaz is 31-1 with 15 knockouts, and he is coming off the most successful fight of his career. Meanwhile, Rakhimov is 15-0 with 12 KOs, and he is returning to the ring after more than a year off due to some controversy. This will be the headline fight for a DAZN card on February 13, 2021. The main event is scheduled to get underway at about 10 p.m. ET.
When: Saturday, February 13, 2021
Where: Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California
Why: IBF super featherweight belt
JoJo Diaz vs Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov Betting Odds
JoJo Diaz -230
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov +185
Diaz is a moderately priced favorite per the boxing betting odds. If you are new to betting on boxing or gambling in general, these odds mean that you would need to wager $230 on Diaz to win $100. Meanwhile, a $100 bet on Rakhimov would return a $185 profit if he were to emerge the victor.
As the fight nears, there will be decision betting too. You will be able to bet on whether the fight is decided by KO, TKO, or decision, and you can bet on which boxer will win the fight in that fashion as well.
JoJo Diaz vs Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov Preview
Diaz was a decorated amateur boxer with two bantamweight national championships to his name before turning pro in December 2012. He showed that he had some power with some early knockout wins over more experienced opponents, running his record to 18-0 before he received his first title shot after three years of fights.
At the same venue he will be fighting in on Saturday, Diaz claimed his first belt. He beat Hugo Partida by second-round TKO to win the WBC-NABF featherweight belt. Diaz successfully defended that belt four times with two unanimous decisions and two knockouts before facing Manuel Avila with the WBO-NABO featherweight strap up for grabs.
He defeated Avila by unanimous decision to hold both belts, and he defended his titles against Rafael Rivera and Victor Terrazas. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to defeat Gary Russell Jr. for the WBC featherweight belt in May 2018 though, losing by unanimous decision to fall to 26-1.
Diaz shook off the disappointing defeat with four straight wins to set up another title shot. He took on Tevin Farmer for the IBF super featherweight belt last January, and he pulled off a surprising upset. Although he sustained a pretty big cut over his left eye during the fight, he hung in there to win his first belt and this will be his first title defense.
The challenger was a highly regarded amateur in his own right. Rakhimov won multiple medals competing for Tajikistan before turning pro at the age of 21. He had little trouble with his first 10 opponents, setting up an IBO super featherweight bout with Emanuel Lopez in September 2017.
Rakhimov won a unanimous decision victory over Lopez. He went on to showcase his power with three consecutive knockouts inside of eight rounds in his title defenses. However, his last fight didn’t go so well.
Although he secured an eighth round TKO victory over Azinga Fuzile, the match was clouded in controversy. Rakhimov was dominated through the first seven rounds, but he came out with a fury in the eighth round to send Fuzile to the canvas. His opponent’s corner alleged that Rakhimov was given smelling salts, setting off a months-long investigation. Rakhimov and his cornermen were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, but the combination of the investigation and COVID means that he hasn’t entered the ring in almost 17 months. Additionally, he was diagnosed with COVID last month, so that put a halt to his training in the run-up to this title fight.
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