By Ryan Burton

Hot featherweight prospect Joseph "Jo Jo" Diaz (17-0) is excited to be returning to the ring on Friday at the Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, Calif.  His fight against rugged veteran Ruben Tamayo (25-6-4) will be the main event with Frankie Gomez-Jorge Silva serving as the chief support.  Both bouts will air live on Estrella TV as part of the Boxeo Estelar series.

Diaz has been working with renown strength and conditioning trainer Darryl Hudson who he says has helped build up his lower body strength.  He said one of the advantages of working with Hudson is that you know you will be in tip top shape from the beginning of the fight till the final bell.

"Training camp has gone very well. I had a two month training camp.  The first month I was just working with Darryl Hudson, working on my strength and conditioning, getting my legs better so that I can cut the ring off. I know Ruben is tall and rangy and moves a lot. I was getting my legs stronger. Then the next month I was with my father and we were practicing my fundamentals and how to slip on the outside and work my way in with solid fighters.  Training camp was good and I feel I am at 110% and I can't wait for October 23rd,"

"Darryl Hudson is a really great strength and conditioning coach. Not only does he get you stronger but he actually gets you both physically and mentally ready for the fight. He pushes you to your limits and gets you ready for however many rounds you are going to be competing.  If you are fighting 6 rounds he will make sure you are ready to fight at the beginning the same was as the last round no matter how many rounds you are fighting," Diaz explained.

The 22-year-old Diaz beat Nicaraguan veteran Rene Alvarado in last outing and is keeping his level of opposition on the upswing with Tamayo being his next opponent. Diaz believes that these are the types of rivals needed to prepare him for the bigger fights down the road.

Assuming everything goes well and he leaves the ring without any injuries, Diaz hopes to squeeze in one more fight before the end of the year.

"The keys to beating Ruben Tamayo I feel is starting at the body and breaking him down and eventually landing the bigger shots up top.  My main focus is on cutting off the range and making sure I have my distance on him and get inside and then get back out so that I avoid his shots because I know he is pretty strong in there and I don't want to get hit with unnecessary shots. I am practicing on getting in and then getting out,"

"If I get the win with Tamayo and I don't have any cuts or injuries to my hands then I am probably going to fight once more this year in November or December. I want to get one more fight in then hopefully next year I can work my way up and get the bigger names and get closer to a world title," Diaz told BoxingScene.com.

The Southern California native finished our conversation by saying that he is happy with how his career has progressed since competing in the 2012 Olympics and is looking for a big 2016.

"Oscar De La Hoya and my manager Ralph Heredia have done a good job keeping me busy and getting me ready to fight for a world title. Hopefully next year is the year," said Diaz.

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