Frankie Gomez, Joseph Diaz Jr. highlight separate bouts Friday in Indio

Frankie Gomez has strayed from the commitments of boxing and he’s paid the price.

Joseph Diaz Jr. has followed the straight and narrow path, and basked in the rewards.

The Southland boxers will headline separate bouts Friday at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio.

The 23-year-old Gomez (18-0, 13 knockouts), who trains at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, will fight for the first time since July 2014, when he meets Jorge Silva (21-9-2, 17 KOs) in the co-main event.

Diaz (17-0, 10 KOs), a 2012 U.S. Olympic boxer from South El Monte, will meet Ruben Tamayo (25-6-4, 17 KOs) in the super-bantamweight main event.

“Tamayo … has all the experience in the world to bring out the best in me,” Diaz, 22, said. “My [trainer] father and I have a game plan to cut off the ring and break him down.”

Many in the audience will also be curious to see how East Los Angeles’ Gomez will fare in a super-welterweight bout; he weighed in at 150 pounds.

Gomez has endured a turbulent year-plus, which included his no-contest plea to a petty theft case that left him with one year of probation, 18 days of community service and a small fine. He served jail time in 2012 for a more serious theft case.

“He’s had issues with wrong place, wrong crowd, but we believe he’s separating himself from the negativity,” Gomez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, said.

Gomez also missed a chance at significant exposure last May when he came in overweight and saw his co-main event versus former lightweight world champion Humberto Soto canceled on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-James Kirkland card on HBO.

“It was my fault,” Gomez said. “I went up in weight so high before that, so it was hard to come down. … I just have to stay at the gym and not go up in weight.”

Gomez, a relentless puncher, has real potential, and his work at Wild Card has given him valuable sparring sessions with Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, 140-pound world champion Viktor Postol and super-lightweight contenders Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov.

“It’s about that time to stay focused on the sport 100%,” Gomez said.

He said the strong-chinned, forward-charging Silva provides the ideal test for the comeback.

Meanwhile, Diaz’s bout Friday against Tamayo will measure his progress as a pro with an eye toward a title shot by late 2016.

“I really want to make a statement, put on a great show and get me to the next level,” Diaz said. “I’m gaining more strength, sitting down on my shots, landing more effective shots and I think this fight will show that.”

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimespugmire