Rocha (26-2-1, 16 KOs) outlanded the smaller Diaz (34-9-1, 15 KOs) in each of the 10 rounds of their welterweight contest and was awarded scores of 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93.

Rocha, a career-long welterweight since turning pro in 2016, controlled the action throughout the bout but never appeared to hurt the smaller, yet valiant Diaz, who was making his division debut.

But welterweight proved to be one too many weight classes for Diaz, who started his career at 122 pounds, won a title at 130, and was coming off a competitive decision loss in a 142-pound catchweight clash against Regis Prograis in August.

Rocha leaned on his power, six-inch reach advantage and three-inch height advantage to walk down and outmuscle Diaz. The heavy-handed Rocha boxed around Diaz’s ear-muff defense with head-rattling shots and delivered a dedicated attack to the body. The durable Diaz never faded, however, and delivered his fair share of thudding shots as well.

Rocha ultimately outlanded Diaz 250 to 142, with 119 of the shots being to the body, according to CompuBox. The fun fight between Southern California southpaws left fans on their feet at the final bell, as Rocha returned to the win column for the first time in 20 months.

“I felt rusty, I'm not going to lie,” an emotional Rocha said after the fight. “It means the world to be back.”

Rocha, a 28-year-old from nearby Santa Ana, was fighting for the first time since December 2024, when a firefight with Rual Curiel ended in a draw. A rematch was scheduled for January, but Rocha was forced to pull out of the fight on the day of the weigh-in as a result of weight-management issues.

Rocha was The Ring's No. 7-rated welterweight contender earlier this year before getting dropped from the rankings.

Diaz, a 33-year-old 2012 United States Olympian from nearby El Monte, now has a record of 3-8-1 since 2021.