Diaz Takes Care of Business
El Cajon, CA - Julio "the Kidd" Diaz stopped Courtney Burton in the 11th round of a scheduled 12-round IBF lightweight championship elimination bout Friday night.
Diaz controlled from the outset by outboxing Burton with stiff left jabs and effective lateral movement.
Burton came roaring back in the later rounds looking to end the evening with one huge bomb.
However, Diaz continued to pick his shots and late in the 11th round he nailed Burton with a crushing right hand to the chin followed by a stunning left hook and one more right cross to the face.
Out on his feet from the first demolishing right hand to the jaw, Burton dropped to his knees following the brutal three-shot combination.
Referee Pat Russell immediately waved off the contest and awarded the KO win to Diaz at the 2:38 mark.
With the victory, Diaz improved to 29-2 (22 KOs) and is now assured a match against IBF lightweight champion Javier Jauregui. Burton drops to 20-2 (11 KOs).
"He was a way bigger man. So I was just waiting for the opportunity to unload," Diaz said after the bout. "I had to recover because he was real dangerous, he was just looking for the knockout."
The undercard saw light heavyweight Rocky Smith, 9-2 (8 KO's) stun previously undefeated Nick Cook, 13-1 (7 KO's), by dropping him in the third and battering him in the ninth round to score an impressive TKO.
With less than a minute remaining in the 9th, Smith trapped Cook on the ropes and unloaded a blistering volley of hammering shots to the face.
With blood pouring from his nose and mouth and most importantly not returning fire, referee Jose Cobia quickly stopped the one-sided action.
In a heavyweight encounter, former Armed Forces champion Carlos Ibarra, 2-0 (1 KO) scored a four round unanimous decision over John Ricker, 1-1 (1 KO).
