Joseph Diaz Jr. vs. Jayson Velez Media Workout

Photo Credit: Tom Hogan – HoganPhotos/Roc Nation Sports

OAKLAND, CALF. (March 22, 2016) – Joseph “Jojo” Diaz Jr. (19-0, 11 KOs) and Jayson “La Maravilla” Velez (23-1-1, 16 KOs) participated today in a media workout ahead of their scheduled 10-round bout for the NABF Featherweight Title on March 26, 2016 in the opening televised bout for Andre Ward vs. Sullivan Barrera on HBO World Championship Boxing ®

JOSEPH DIAZ JR., NABF Featherweight Champion:

“I can’t expect what Jayson did to Ronny Rios during this fight. I’ve got to go in there, test him out and adjust when I am in the ring.

“If the opportunity presents itself where he’s hurt and I see that my punches are overwhelming him, then of course I’m going to get in there, be aggressive and make sure I take him out as early as possible.

“I know getting on the inside, cutting off the ring and taking it to the body right away will break him down. That’s going to make him not move as much and later on in rounds I can land vicious blows to the head. I’m going to take it to the body right away.

“Mentally I am 100% ready. This is a big stage in my career, so I’m mentally focused. I’m well prepared. I feel like this is the moment I have been waiting for my whole entire life. I feel like I’m ready for this and I can’t wait for March 26. I trained very hard for this fight and I’m well prepared for it.

“I really want to make a statement this fight. I want to show the world that Joseph Diaz could be the next big thing in boxing, so I trained very hard to put on a great fight for the fight fans, be very aggressive and make it a war in there. I hope that Jayson Velez is 110% ready because I want him to be at his best.

“If I win this fight and make a statement, I think I can move to contender status and hopefully get a world title shot by the end of this year. I want to fight tough opponents this year because I want to show the world who I am.

“I feel like a beast when I step into the ring and I can see it in sparring. Whenever I’m landing effective blows, I can tell that I am hurting my opponent.”

JAYSON VELEZ, Top-rated featherweight contender:

PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Hogan- Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports

“At my level, every guy is a top contender. I have to train harder and improve my defense. I’ve been working on that.

“If you see my last three or four fights, you will see that I have been dominating in the first couple of rounds and then I run out of gas, I have been working on my stamina so that won’t happen on March 26.

“I have seen Diaz’s fights. We’ve sparred a couple of times. He’s got speed. He’s got a hunger. It’s his HBO debut, so he’s definitely motivated, but so am I. It’s going to be a great fight.

“I want to be champion of the word. I know he wants it too. On Saturday, we will know who wants it more. We both want to win and we are both training for a win. A fight between power and speed is a great match-up. Not to mention he’s Mexican and I’m Puerto Rican. You can expect a great fight and it’s not one you want to miss.”

Joseph “Jojo” Diaz Jr. also visited ESPN Studios in Los Angeles, on Monday, March 22 to discuss his upcoming bout on “Making The Rounds” the ESPN Podcast “No Hablo”

Ward vs. Barrera, a 12-round IBF number one position and mandatory position eliminator which is presented by Roc Nation Sports in association with Main Events, takes place Saturday, March 26, 2016 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The event is sponsored by Corona Extra, Ticketmaster, Corporate Travel Management Solutions (ctms), Glad, Lyft, Zappos, BodyArmor, SAN Nutrition, Shoe Palace, The Waterfront Hotel and Visit Oakland. The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT. Opening the HBO telecast will be Joseph Diaz Jr. vs. Jayson Velez in a 10-round fight for the NABF Featherweight title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions.

Tickets priced at $300, $150, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes are available at all Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com (bit.ly/WardBarreraTix) and charge by phone at (800) 745-3000.