{"id":671167,"date":"2026-07-03T06:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/671167\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T06:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:38:12","slug":"former-boxing-world-champion-and-devin-haney-foe-inks-bare-knuckle-boxing-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/671167\/","title":{"rendered":"Former boxing world champion and Devin Haney foe inks bare-knuckle boxing deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz is ditching the gloves. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, it was announced that the former IBF super featherweight champion<\/a> has signed with fast-rising bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKB.<\/p>\n

\"Jojo<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Jojo Diaz becomes the latest former boxing world champion to crossover to bare-knuckle boxingCredit: BKB<\/p>\n

Diaz (34-10-1) will make his bare-knuckle debut atop the upcoming BKB 56 bill on July 18 at The Nova at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

The card also includes the long-awaited BKB debuts of Victor Ortiz and Alfredo Angulo, as well as the return of two-division BKB champion LT ‘Smash’ Nelson. <\/p>\n

Diaz said:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve spent my entire career testing myself against the best fighters in the world, and I\u2019m excited to start this next chapter with BKB.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve always been a fighter who comes forward, throws punches, and gives fans everything I have every time I step into the ring.<\/p>\n

READ MORE ON BOXING <\/p>\n

“That\u2019s exactly what bare knuckle boxing is all about. <\/p>\n

“To make my debut in my home state of California, in front of my hometown fans in Los Angeles, makes this opportunity even more special. <\/p>\n

“I can\u2019t wait to show everyone what \u2018JoJo\u2019 Diaz looks like inside the Mighty Trigon on July 18.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diaz, 33, competed for Team USA at the 2012 Olympics<\/a> before turning over as a professional, and winning the IBF 130lbs belt from Tevin Farmer in 2020. <\/a><\/p>\n

That would prove to be the pinnacle of his otherwise turbulent tenure in boxing. <\/p>\n

A loss to Devin Haney<\/a> in 2021 for the WBC lightweight title sparked a decline in form, with Diaz losing 8 of his last 10 outings over the past five years. <\/p>\n

\"Diaz<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Diaz won the IBF super featherweight title in 2020 by beating Tevin FarmerCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

The transition to bare-knuckle boxing provides Diaz with an opportunity to breathe new life into his combat sports career.<\/p>\n

BKB CEO David Tetreault said:\u00a0\u201cJoJo Diaz is exactly the type of world-class athlete that continues to elevate BKB. <\/p>\n

“He\u2019s an Olympian, a former world champion, and one of the toughest, most respected fighters of his generation. <\/p>\n

“His pressure style, toughness and willingness to engage make him a natural fit for bare-knuckle competition. <\/p>\n

“We\u2019re thrilled to welcome him to BKB and couldn\u2019t ask for a bigger stage than Los Angeles to introduce him to our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diaz’s bare-knuckle debut will be streamed exclusively live and free on BKB’s official TikTok page (@bkbbareknuckle).<\/p>\n

Watch Boxing on DAZN<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue<\/p>\n

Sign up to DAZN<\/a> to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.<\/p>\n

Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate<\/a> from just \u00a324.99\/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, DAZN Standard<\/a> is just \u00a315.99\/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.<\/p>\n

Click here to sign up<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz is ditching the gloves. On Thursday, it was announced that the former IBF super featherweight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[224633,22721,90414,224632,2560,6102,34394,224631,101,56,54,55,74428],"class_list":["post-671167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-alfredo-angulo","tag-bare-knuckle-boxing","tag-bkb","tag-bkb-56","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-news","tag-jojo-diaz","tag-joseph-diaz","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-victor-ortiz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}