Undefeated Puerto Rican star Christopher Diaz will fight Japanese contender Masayuki Ito for the vacant WBO super featherweight world championship on July 28, also on the card is Gabriel Bracero vs. Artemio Reyes in a 10-round catchweight showdown, the event takes place at Kissimmee Civic Center in Florida and is promoted by Top Rank and will be live streamed on ESPN +.
Diaz (23-0, 15 KOs) is 23-years-old from Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, and he is eager to become a world boxing champion to be included among the great Puerto Rican boxing champions in history. Tonight he will get his chance when he fights for the Vacant WBO world title.
What makes this fight even more personal to Diaz is the recent tragedy that happened last year in Puerto Rico when the Hurricane Maria wiped out homes including his own, he used the natural disaster to help motivate him in training and he is not going to stop until he achieves his goal of becoming a world champion.
Ito (23-1-1, 12 KOs) comes from Tokyo, Japan and will make his USA debut tonight, all of his professional boxing bouts have been in his native Japan, so this will be a culture shock moment for the young Japanese contender.
Heading into this fight Ito will be a heavy underdog, and it will be a huge upset if he could win the WBO title on foreign soil and prove the critics that he can win away from home.
The Co-feature to kick off the ESPN + broadcast is a Gabriel Bracero vs. Artemio Reyes.
The undefeated Dominican welterweight boxer Carlos Adames was originally scheduled for the event but had to pull out of the fight last-minute, so the 37-year-old veteran Gabriel Bracero stepped in on short notice to face Reyes (25-2, 20 KOs). The bout was originally contested for welterweight but both fighters agreed to a catchweight of just under 150 pounds.
The ESPN+ Live Stream for Diaz-Ito and Bracero-Reyes airs Live on July 28, 2018 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.
