Joseph Diaz Shines, Pounds Raul Hidalgo Into Submission

Joseph Diaz showed poise for much of the night against Raul Hidalgo, and then power when necessary in pounding out a 7th round stoppage Monday evening at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. 

Four knockdowns came of the night, including three in the deciding round to force referee Tony Weeks to halt the contest. The official time was 2:13 of round seven in the headlining act of a boxing tripleheader which aired live on Fox Sports 1.

The tease of an early evening came when Diaz floored Hidalgo midway through the opening round. A right hook put the underdog on the canvas, an extension of the punishment Hidalgo already felt after having struggled mightily to squeeze down into the 123 lb. catchweight limit during Sunday's weigh-in. 

Not only did the fight not end early, but Diaz spent the next several rounds content with working behind his jab and fighting like a man who wanted to add rounds to his ring ledger. The rising prospect was extended the 10-round distance in his last start, a unanimous decision win over Ramiro Robles this past July. 

In serving as the makeshift headliner, it was hoped that Diaz would fight more purposeful. As it turned out, fans, media and critics alike needed merely to take cue from the 21-year old super bantamweight and exude patience.

After rounds of putting on a boxing clinic, Diaz dialed up the pressure in the middle rounds. Hidalgo attempted tor resort to his bag of veteran tricks, including briefly turning southpaw in the belief that it would confuse his young challenger. The opposite proved true, as Diaz laid a beating on his foe towards the end of round six.

To his credit, Diaz recognized wounded prey in front of him and wasted no time in moving in for the kill. Three knockdowns came in round seven, all courtesy of vicious body shots to ultimately beat the fight out of Hidalgo and force the stoppage.

Diaz, an unbeaten California-based super bantamweight, served on the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team in London, a squad infamous for coming home empty-handed in the worst showing of a U.S. male boxing team in Olympic history. 

The members of the team continue to rise in the infantile stages of their respective pro careers, though Diaz is quickly becoming the leader of the pack. With Monday's win, he improves to 12-0 (8KOs). Hidalgo falls to 22-12 (16KOs).

Diaz headined on TV for the first time in his young career. The bout was elevated to main event status earlier in the month, replacing the original headliner when aged former light heavyweight king Antonio Tarver was forced to withdraw from a planned heavyweight showdown with Johnathon Banks. 

UNDERCARD

Fidel Maldonando Jr. survived several scary moments to drop and eventually stop Nicaragua's Nelson Lara midway through the eighth and final round of their welterweight co-feature battle. 

There's rarely a dull moment whenever Maldonando appears on television, and Monday's affair was no exception. On paper, Lara was made to order for the Albuquerque brawler, but refused to go away quietly. Maldonando learned this lesson the hard way, taking a pounding in a wild fourth round that could rival for one of the year's best three-minute frames. 

The rally by Lara served as a wake-up call for the heavily favored Maldonando, who came back strong in round five. Action remained in one direction until Lara once again took the lead in a free-swinging round seven. 

It turned out to be his last hurrah; Maldonando pounded Lara into a corner in round eight, forcing a knockdown when it was ruled that the ropes were the only thing holding him up. The visiting underdog beat the count, but a flurry by Maldonando promoted the referee to intervene. 

Maldonando has now won six straight as he improves to 19-2 (16KOs). Lara falls to 15-6-4 (8KOs).

In a fight that garnered airtime for no other reason than his familiar bloodlines, fringe lightweight contender Ricardo Alvarez - the older brother of former 154 lb. titlist Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez - struggled to an eight-round decision over faded former bantamweight titlist John Michael Johnson in the televised opener.

Scores were 77-75, 78-74 and a "We Love Canelo" tribute of 79-73 in favor of Alvarez, who even at age 32 still had 14 years and eight pounds on the 46-year old Johnson, who returned to the ring last November following an 11-year retirement.

The decision was widely booed by the capacity crowd on hand, though most likely due to Johnson's Texas roots, hailing from San Antonio.  

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of krikya360.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the  and a member of . Twitter: