Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. is heading to BKB Newcastle with a first on the line. The former IBF super featherweight champion will make his United Kingdom debut against Brian Hyslop at BKB 60 on October 10, stepping into the bare-knuckle ring for only the second time in his career.
“I’ve fought all over the States and in Mexico, but I’ve never stepped into a ring in the UK, not once in my whole career,” Diaz said. “Newcastle is going to be the first, and I’m doing it bare knuckle.”
For Diaz, the timing gives the fight a different place in his career. The 33-year-old from South El Monte, California, spent 14 years fighting professionally in North America before choosing bare-knuckle boxing as his next move. He previously competed for the United States at the 2012 Olympics and built a 34-10-1 boxing record, with 15 knockouts. His boxing run included major title fights and opponents from several weight classes.
BKB 60
Diaz beat Tevin Farmer by unanimous decision in Miami in January 2020 to win the IBF super featherweight title. He also fought Gary Russell Jr., Devin Haney and Regis Prograis during a career that moved from featherweight through lightweight. Diaz’s BKB debut came July 18 at BKB 56 in Los Angeles, where he stopped Nate Williams in the first round. The win gave him a 1-0 bare-knuckle record with one knockout and offered a quick answer to how he would handle competition without gloves. BKB 60 now puts him in with Brian Hyslop, who owns a 2-1 record with one knockout and has more experience under BKB rules.
“This is a new chapter for me and I want the fans here to see exactly what a world champion looks like up close,” Diaz said of his Newcastle assignment. The Diaz-Hyslop bout is part of BKB‘s first show in Newcastle, England.
The event takes place at Utilita Arena Newcastle and is led by Rolando “Dy Incredible” Dy’s defense of the BKB Super Welterweight World Championship against Scott “The Mute” McHugh. Dy enters at 6-1 with five knockouts. The Filipino champion will be defending against a fighter with home-country support, as McHugh is a five-time BKB champion from the United Kingdom with a 17-5 record and seven knockouts. It is a title fight with two men who have spent much of their BKB time ending contests before the scorecards are needed. Heavyweights Mark O’Neil and Kamil Sokolowski fill the co-main event slot.
O’Neil is 4-4 with four knockouts, while Sokolowski is 3-1 with three knockouts. Every BKB victory between them has ended by knockout, so the judges may have a quiet night for that one. Elsewhere on the main card, unbeaten Adel “Kyokushin” Altamimi meets Liam “Swanny” Howell at super welterweight. Altamimi is 3-0 with three knockouts, while Howell enters 5-4 with four stoppages.
The card also features David Winiarski vs. Geraint Goodridge, Jon Telfer vs. Mick Kelly, Dec Spelman vs. Andrea Bicchi and Liam Teruel vs. Tom Pratt. Four bouts open the event: Kieron Harland vs. Nathan Conroy, John Hamilton vs. Florian De La Motte, Rob Barry vs. James McCorrie and Logan Morgan vs. Nick Bass. The preliminary card begins at 5:30 p.m. BST, or 12:30 p.m. ET, on BKB’s TikTok channel.