Featherweight Joseph Diaz believes he would stop WBC champion Devin Haney, if they ever fought.
Haney fought two weekends ago with a successful defence of his title against Jorge Linares. However, a brief stumble at the tail end of the 10th round convinced Diaz that he could exploit some of Haney’s weaknesses to earn a victory.
Speaking to SnowQueenLA, Diaz explained that Linares missed his chance.
"I feel like Jorge Linares didn't take grasp of the opportunity," Diaz said. "He has all the opportunity in the world, but when he had Devin Haney hurt, man, he should have went in for the kill. "I feel like he wasn't in that attack mode. He didn't have that hunger. He didn't have that beast in him anymore like all these young fighters do. When you see someone hurt, you go in for the attack.
"It seemed like he wanted to lay off the pedal and control his pace and his composure. He should have went for the kill. He should have went for broke. Devin Haney didn't have that experience. He's never been hurt before. It was all just new to him, fighting a tough guy like Jorge Linares."
Diaz has struggled to make weight of late and lost his IBF featherweight belt in a face-off with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in February after missing the cut.
He is now due to take on Javier Fortuna in a lightweight clash, but Diaz was looking beyond him to a fight with the 22-year-old champion.
"If me and Devin Haney end up fighting, it's going to be a lot tougher fight than what he fought against Jorge Linares, that's for sure. I'm still young, I'm 28 years old, I'm still hungry, and I got a lot of skill level as well."
When asked if he had the skill to stop Haney, Diaz said: "I think I will, I think I will. My pressure and my body shots, and my experience in that ring is a big factor with these young and upcoming fighters.
"These upcoming fighters are very, very talented, but they haven't experienced the pro level yet, the elite level yet. "With Jorge Linares, that was a very good test for Devin Haney. Linares is old and going out of his career, but he's an experienced and smart and strong fighter [from whom] Haney was going to learn a lot.
"And he did. [Haney] was able to box and control his distance, he got hurt, but he was able to survive and get the 'W.' But with a guy like me, I have more grit, I have more hunger, I have more balls when I see someone hurt, I'mma go for the kill."