In the first installment of the Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN show of 2024, Jesus “Ricky” Perez (25-5, 18 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico, performed stunningly in a career-defining victory over former World Champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. (33-5-1, 15 KOs) of South El Monte.
The 10-round super lightweight main event was a war from start to finish, with Diaz Jr. suffering a point deduction in the fifth round when he pushed Perez out of the ring. The judges scored the close fight 95-45, 94-96, and 90-99, awarding the split decision victory to Perez. The event took place at The Commerce Casino & Hotel and was broadcast worldwide on DAZN.
“The work was shown tonight,” said Jesus Perez. “I – like all fighters – had to push through difficult times, but we were able to push through to be able to get the victory tonight. My ultimate respect to JoJo Diaz, he is a warrior. I thought because he was the favorite, that he was going to win this close fight, but we didn’t stop and we fought for our dreams to come true.”
“I won the fight. This is getting unfair now!” said Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, Jr. “I train so hard for my fans. Thank you all!”
In the co-main event, Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Eric Tudor (10-1, 6 KOs) made a redemptive return in a six-round super welterweight fight against Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico’s Luis Ramos (6-3-1, 6 KOs). The fight went the distance, with judges scoring the fight unanimously in favor of Tudor with all three scores 80-72.
Also on the DAZN broadcast, San Diego’s Jorge “El Niño Dorado” Chavez (10-0, 7 KOs) participated in a six-round, featherweight slugfest against tough fighter Diuhl “Elegante” Olguin (16-35-7, 10 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico. Chavez overcame adversity, taking a knockdown in the first round. The back-and-forth action went the distance, the judges awarding Chavez the unanimous decision victory with scores of 58-55, 60-54, and 58-55.
In a four-round lightweight fight, Moreno Valley, Calif.’s Joshua Garcia (7-0, 4 KOs) measured up against local Los Angeles native Eric Lozada (1-1-1). The fight was cut short, with Garcia throwing a right hand at 1:45, stopping the fight in the first round. Opening fight night and the DAZN broadcast with a four-round middleweight fight, Sasha Tudor (0-0-1) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida went up against Josias Gonzalez (2-2) of Jalisco, Mexico.
The fight went to the judges’ scorecards, who saw it as a split draw with scores of 38-38, 37-39 in favor of Gonzalez, and 39-37 in favor of Sasha Tudor.
