Come April 27, on the Jose Ramirez vs. Rances Barthelemy main card, another important fight roots itself. At the Save Center in Fresno, California, Oscar Duarte undertakes his redemption bout against Joseph Diaz, who also enters the ring with a similar expectation.

The fight comes at a crucial point for both fighters. This will be Oscar Duarte’s first fight since his loss to Ryan Garcia in December. The super lightweight clash will see JoJo Diaz trying to make his comeback since his Jesus Campos loss only two months ago. Who holds the major advantage over the other in this interesting matchup organized by Golden Boy Promotions? Their records and stats provide insight into the study of the same.

Oscar Duarte vs. Joseph Diaz: A comparison of their strengths

28-year-old Oscar Duarte fights against a slightly older, Diaz who at 31 needs this fight to salvage his record, which has seen a dip for a while now. Duarte holds a minor advantage on the height front. He comes at 5’8”, while his opponent, ‘JoJo’, slightly shorter, comes in at 5’6”. However, their reach provides a bigger advantage to the Mexican fighter.

Duarte, an orthodox fighter, has an impressive reach of 71 inches in comparison to JoJo’s 64 inches. This advantage in reach can allow Duarte to use his jabs while keeping his Mexican-American opponent at a distance and at a disadvantage. Furthermore, Duarte has a splendid knockout ratio of about 80.77%, winning a major chunk of professional fights through knockouts. Against such a knockout machine of sorts, Diaz, a southpaw, is left with an underwhelming knockout ratio of 45.45%.

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The knockout ratio is an interesting area of comparison especially when their records are discussed. After all, Duarte has fewer fights under his nascent record when compared to Diaz, who has fought 39 fights to date. With 29 fights, 10 less than Diaz, Duarte, however, has a major disadvantage in terms of experience. Diaz knows the sport in a much more nuanced fashion given the fighters he’s fought.

What does their record look like?

Prediction: Similar start, different paths

Diaz turned pro in the year 2012. Despite starting strong with a 26-win streak, Gary Russell Jr. inflicted on Diaz his first career defeat in 2018, winning by points. However, post that loss, he recuperated in the sport, going on to win against the likes of Charles Huerta (2019) and Tevin Farmer (2020). At this point, he had gone from 125 lbs to 130 lbs. A draw in his fight against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (2021) was followed by a unanimous decision win over Javier Fortuna (2021).

But then came his fall. As he landed fights against big names like Devin Haney (2021), William Zepeda Segura (2022), Mercito Gesta (2023), and Jesus Antonio Perez Campos (2024), he was dealt back-to-back losses, except in his fight against Jerry Perez, last year, in which he won on points. Today his record stands at 33-5-1.

His age, streak of losses, and KO ratio give Duarte a major margin of advantage. He turned pro in 2013, a year after Diaz did. Despite a draw in his career’s third fight against Roberto Zermeno Garcia (2014), he remained undefeated until 2019. He managed to defeat the likes of Juan Jose Montes (2017), Rey Perez (2018), and Roger Guiterrez (2018). However, Adrien Estrella gave him his first loss in a split decision.

Post that loss, he began yet another winning streak. Nestor Admas Hernandez (2019), Andrez Garcia (2020), Guillermo Avila Godinez (2020), Javier Franco (2022), and D’Angelo Keyes (2023); were all defeated either through knockouts or retirement. However, last year, Ryan Garcia managed to defeat Duarte in an 8th-round knockout.

JoJo Diaz’s recent string of losses raises concerns about his ability to overcome the powerful Oscar Duarte. At 28, Duarte is still in his prime and looking to showcase his skills against the Mexican-American veteran on April 27th. While Duarte’s punching power is a clear advantage, Diaz’s superior experience could be the key to figuring out a strategy and weathering the storm.

In the end, it will all boil down to how well the two of them sustain in the ring on fight night. Will Oscar Duarte be able to hold his calm, and traverse through the rounds while his opponent, a southpaw tries to bring his experienced jab into the mix?

Who do you think would win this bout? Make your prediction in the comments section below.