ANAHEIM, Calif. – Alexis Rocha ended a 15-month layoff and 20-month winless streak with a 10-round unanimous decision over former titlist Joseph “JoJo” Diaz.
It wasn’t as dominant as Rocha’s team preferred, and Diaz again proved to have a little bit of life left in his career, even if only as a gatekeeper at this stage. Still, Rocha was able to prevail in their welterweight battle between Los Angeles-based southpaws by scores of 97-93, 98-92 and a laughable 100-90 Saturday evening on DAZN from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
“I felt rusty, I’m not gonna lie,” Rocha told DAZN’s Chris Mannix before he was reduced to tears by the support of his regional fans in the house. “It means the world to me [to get back in the ring]. No one knows what fighters go through. You come back and have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
Rocha hadn’t fought since a December 2024 draw with Raul Curiel and hadn’t won a fight since July 2024. He was previously due to run it back with Curiel on January 16 but passed out during fight week and was unable to make it to the final pre-fight weigh-in.
Curiel went on to fight and win, while Rocha’s plans to work his way back into contention hit another roadblock. His performance on Saturday will doubtfully help him find his way into the top 10 of any objective and independent welterweight rankings.
Diaz was open about cleaning up his ways following his ignoble past. Drugs and alcohol have been replaced by his faith in Jesus Christ, and – on the boxing side of his redemption tour – enlisted the services of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
Early on, it didn’t appear as if any of that would take. Rocha dominated the early rounds, working his jab, and was particularly effective with his right uppercut. There was a point late in the third and into the fourth round when the fight was trending towards a stoppage.
Diaz is a boxing-old 32, and with just three wins in his past 11 fights since his January 2020 IBF title-snatching victory over Tevin Farmer. He has been on a horrible run in recent years but showed signs of life in a hard-fought loss to former 140lbs titlist Regis Prograis last August in Chicago.
That fighting spirit came through for Diaz again on Saturday. The South El Monte, California, native rallied hard to enjoy a strong fifth round.
It was a pivotal moment in the fight, at least from the perspective that Rocha would have to be in for the long haul. Having watched Diaz come up in the amateurs and go to the 2012 Olympics while in his youth, Rocha was aware of the fighter in front of him – even this version.
“I knew from the get-go that I wasn’t going to knock him out with one big punch,” admitted Rocha. “That motherfucker’s tough.”
To that point, Diaz stormed back to outfight Rocha in a physical Round 7. Rocha seemed complacent at times, and allowed the faded veteran to outwork him – to the point that he caught an earful from head trainer Hector Lopez.
The latter part became a common theme for much of the second half of the fight, due to Rocha’s inability to put away what was left of Diaz.
Rocha, 26-2-1 (16 KOs), did show signs of the pep talk resonating as he landed power shots with greater conviction in the eighth and ninth rounds. Diaz barely budged but was often forced into defensive mode, making his best effort to pick off the incoming shots. Often, though, he was unable to defend against Rocha’s body shots.
Diaz, 34-9-1 (15 KOs), twice drew the ire of referee Ray Corona, once for hitting on the break and again for hitting behind Rocha’s head. He managed to avoid any significant discipline and – by the end of 10 rounds – also avoided any real punishment.
In fact, his spirited effort throughout the night and especially in the closing seconds of the 10th and final round drew a rise out of the spirited SoCal crowd on hand. Diaz waved his arms in the air to hype up the fans, even with a few seconds on the clock and after Rocha landed a combination.
“My timing was a little off,” admitted Rocha, who is 3-0-1 since a stunning October 2023 knockout defeat against Giovani Santillan. “My legs were not all the way under me.”
His hope now is to move forward with his career – and with aspirations of his first major title fight.
“I want Ryan Garcia,” insisted Rocha, targeting the newly crowned WBC welterweight titlist. “I want the WBC – Ryan Garcia. I also got my eye on the main event, Arnold Barboza and Kenneth Sims. I’d love to get with one of them as well.”
