Christopher & # 39; Pitufo & # 39; Daz hopes Puerto Rico will have a new world champion on July 28

Christopher & # 39; Pitufo & # 39; Daz hopes Puerto Rico will have a new world champion on July 28

PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 21 Jul 2018

Puerto Rican star will fight Masayuki Ito for the WBO 130-pound title at the Civic Center Kissimmee

ESPN + to broadcast Diaz-Ito LIVE at 9:30 pm ET

Kissimmee, Florida (July 20, 2018) Unbeaten Puerto Rican contender Christopher "Pitufo" Diaz exudes confidence just days from his first world title opportunity. He is a student of Puerto Rico 's rich boxing lineage, and he will do whatever it takes to fulfill his dream of adding his name to the long list of world champions in Puerto Rico. "Island of enchantment".

Diaz will face veteran Masayuki Ito of Japan for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior title on July 28 at the Kissimmee Civic Center.

"It's time to show the world what I'm doing: being able to fight for a world title is every boxer's dream," said Diaz. "I am ready for my first chance to win a world title because I have gone through many years of sacrifices, and have been waiting all my life for that moment, the time has come, I 'm going to get a world title. I'm hungry and I'm focused … 28, Puerto Rico will have a new world champion. "

Diaz (23-0, 15 KOs), from Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, begins his first world championship game in four sets. Diaz, the WBO No. 1 junior lightweight contender, won NABO's vacant junior title last December with a third round knockout of Bryant Cruz, cutting Cruz five times en route to a stop. During his last fight, on March 17, on the undercard Jose Ramirez-Amir Imam at the Hulu Theater of Madison Square Garden, Diaz beat Braulio Rodriguez via the fourth-round TKO to win the world title. For Diaz, this world title opportunity is a glimmer of hope, as her home and most of her possessions were destroyed when Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico last year.

"I have a tough fight against Masayuki Ito, but I am very focused, I know Puerto Rico is in my corner," Diaz said. "Without the support of my people, none of this would be possible, thank you for always supporting me and for sending me positive airs On July 28, my mission will be to bring the title global to the island. "

Ito (23-1-1, 12 KOs), of Tokyo, is the No. 2 WBOs junior contender. He has won seven consecutive bouts since the solitary defeat of his career, a 10-round majority decision at Undefeated Rikki Naito in February 2015. Ito, who has fought all his professional fights in Japan, has won four of his last five games. fights by knockout, including a ninth round stoppage of Lorenzo Villanueva in April of last year. In his last fight on March 3 at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall, Ito stopped Vergil Puton in the ninth round.

Diaz-Ito will be broadcast live and exclusively in the United States at 9:30 am (ET) on ESPN +, the consumer and consumer direct-to-consumer subscription service recently launched by The International Direct and International Sales Service. Walt Disney Company. segment in conjunction with ESPN. Sub-train battles will follow live on ESPN + from 18:30. AND. ESPN + is available to all fans on the ESPN App and ESPN.com.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with All Star Boxing and Teiken Promotions, the remaining tickets for this world championship event priced at $ 100 (red carpet ringside), $ 50 (lower bowl), and $ 30 (general admission), can be purchased at the Kissimmee Civic Center Box Office, online at ticketerapr.com, or by phone at (787) 305-3600.

For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, @ ESPN @ ESPNBoxeo, @ ESPNDeportes. Use the hashtag #DiazIto to join the conversation on social media

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