Who won Russell Jr vs Diaz?

Gary Russell Jr beat Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday 19th May 2018 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

The scorecards were announced as 115-113, 117-111, 117-111 in favor of winner Gary Russell Jr.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Featherweight division, which meant the weight limit was 126 pounds (9 stone or 57.1 KG).

This contest was for the WBC featherweight championship of the world.

Russell Jr vs Diaz stats

Gary Russell Jr stepped into the ring with a record of 28 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 17 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 26 wins and 0 draws, with 14 of those by knock out.

The stats suggested Russell Jr had a slight advantage in power over Diaz, with a 61% knock out percentage over Diaz's 54%.

Gary Russell Jr was the older man by 4 years, at 34 years old.

Diaz had a height advantage of 1 inch over Russell Jr. Despite this, both fighters had equal reach.

Both Gary Russell Jr & Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz fought out of a southpaw stance.

Russell Jr was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 3 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 3 years and 10 months earlier than Diaz, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 113 less professional rounds, 172 to Diaz's 285.

Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz was ranked number 1 by the WBC in the 126lb division.

Russell Jr vs Diaz form

Russell Jr had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Oscar Escandon on 20th May 2017 by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBC World Featherweight championship fight at MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, United States.

Previous to that, he had defeated Patrick Hyland on 16th April 2016 by technical knockout in the 2nd round in their WBC World Featherweight championship fight at Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket.

Going into that contest, he had beat Jhonny Gonzalez on 28th March 2015 by technical knockout in the 4th round in their WBC World Featherweight championship fight at Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had won against Christopher Martin on 20th December 2014 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton.

He had been beaten by Vasyl Lomachenko on 21st June 2014 by majority decision in their WBO World Featherweight championship fight at StubHub Center, Carson.

Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to William Zepeda on 29th October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Pechanga Arena, San Diego, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Devin Haney on 4th December 2021 by unanimous decision in their WBC World Lightweight championship fight at MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Nevada.

Going into that contest, he had beat Javier Fortuna on 9th July 2021 by unanimous decision in their WBC Interim World Lightweight championship fight at Banc of California Stadium, California.

Before that, he had drawn with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov on 13th February 2021 by majority draw in their 12 round contest in their IBF World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Fantasy Springs Casino, California.

He had defeated Tevin Farmer on 30th January 2020 by unanimous decision in their IBF World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Meridian at Island Gardens, Florida.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz had been fighting more than Gary Russell Jr.

Going to this contest, Gary Russell Jr had last fought 5 years, 10 months and 3 days ago, while Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz's last outing had been 4 months and 22 days ago.

Russell Jr's last 5 fights had come over a period of 8 years, 9 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 9 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 35 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7 rounds on average.

Diaz's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 1 month and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 17 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 60 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 12 rounds on average.

What time did Russell Jr vs Diaz start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 PM EST / 8:00 PM PST at MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States, which was around 4:00 AM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Russell Jr vs Diaz?

Russell Jr vs Diaz was broadcast on ShowTime in the US.

What were the odds on Russell Jr vs Diaz?

Gary Russell Jr was a 29/100 (-340) favourite going into the contest, while Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz made his way into the ring at 11/4 (+280) with oddsmakers.