Christopher Diaz

At the age of 24, Christopher is a five-year pro. A contender at 126 pounds, he has an all-action style – he has headlined several fights cards and is a fan favorite wherever he fights.

Christopher stayed very active in the ring with six fights in 2014, six in 2015, five in 2016, three in 2017, and three in 2018.

He challenged for the vacant WBO junior lightweight world title on July 28 in Kissimmee, Florida. Christopher gave a strong effort and had several rallies in an exciting fight, but lost a 12-round unanimous decision against Masayuki Ito.

In his last fight on November 24 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he won by first-round knockout against David Berna.

The Ring’s Francisco Salazar reported [excerpts]: Christopher Diaz bounced back from the only loss of his career, knocking out David Berna in the opening round at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel and Casino.

Diaz, who resides in nearby Barranquitas, dropped Berna with a left hook to the head and the stricken fighter was counted out at 1:08.

This knockout win comes almost four months after Diaz lost by unanimous decision to Masayuki Ito.

For the Berna fight, Diaz dropped down to 126 pounds. [End Salazar item]

In his post-fight interview, Christopher said, “From the defeat we learn, and this is the beginning of a great stage in my career. The fight against Ito was a great experience. I had never had such a brawling fight. From now on they will see better things of Pitufo.”

“There’s nothing to prove. People know what I’m giving – I’m a warrior and they know I can fight the 12 rounds, I prepare well. I have a commitment with my daughters, with my wife – it’s doing my job, which is to fight.”

In earlier interviews, Christopher said, “I’m not playing. I’m fighting for my babies now – I want to make sure their future is good. I’m working hard for them and my family and my mom.

“I’m hungry – I want to be champion. The fans like aggressive fighters, and that’s what I do. I move forward, but I can box, too. For every fight, I come ready. The fans pay to see the fights, and I appreciate that. I come to fight. I give a great show to the fans, that’s my job. I fight for me, but I fight for the fans, too.”

Regarding his nickname, he said, “My father’s nickname was Pitufo. When he died, in his honor I put that as my nickname.”

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Christopher said, “I was born in Philadelphia, USA, but my family moved to Puerto Rico when I was one month old. My father had all of his family in Puerto Rico, but he had been living in the U.S. for about a year. I got two brothers – one older than me and one younger than me. My mother is a nurse and my father was a builder. He died about 14 years ago. I’m the only boxer in the family. My father boxed when he was younger. He had like, 35 fights amateur.

“I was eight years old when I started boxing. I took up boxing like a hobby, like entertainment.

“I had 137 amateur fights. I lost like, 29 fights. The José Cheo Aponte Tournament was my final tournament as an amateur. I’m naturally right-handed.”…

Christopher is married and had three daughters…

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole wrote [Dec. 8, 2017 – excerpts]: Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz was born and raised and still has a home in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. He did have a home, that is, until Sept. 20, when Hurricane Maria hit land in Puerto Rico.

When the massive storm finally subsided, Diaz got the bad news from family members: 95 percent of everything they owned was gone and their home was destroyed.

Diaz was in New Jersey, training for [his] bout with Bryant Cruz, when the storm hit. He flew his mother, his girlfriend, his brother and his daughter to New Jersey to provide them shelter, and plans to move the family to Orlando, Florida, after the fight.

Large areas of Puerto Rico, nearly three months later, are still without electricity or potable water.

“It’s a terrible situation and it’s going to take a long time to get back,” Diaz said.

He managed to focus on his training, he said, and plans to give an inspired performance against Cruz. After that, the focus will be on picking up the remnants of what was left of his life in Puerto Rico and leaving the only home he has known to move to Florida.

He said because of his love for Puerto Rico, he wants to move back some day but said he fears it is going to be a long time before it is rebuilt.

“It’s going to be two or three years to get back to normal,” he said. “So many cities have nothing: No roads, no energy [power], no water. A lot of people are trying to help, but what happened was so bad. It’s going to be two or three years to rebuild and a lot of people are going to be in need of assistance.”

After the fight, he said he’s going to Barranquitas to give gifts to the children to try to give them a respite from the tragedy.

“They need some happiness in their lives, you know?” he said. “We all have to do whatever we can because it’s so bad what has happened.” [End Iole item]

AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:

2012 JOSE CHEO APONTE TOURNAMENT – Caguas, Puerto Rico, 123 pounds: in the quarterfinals (his first fight) on 6-1-12 he lost a 16-10 decision against Robenilson de Jesus of Brazil…

STRENGTHS: Has an aggressive style, good skills and movement…has good punching power…is experienced against good opposition…had a strong amateur background…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 25 fights…116 total rounds…

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 4.6 rounds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: of total fights – 64 %…of wins – 66 %…

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 1 (0-1)…10 rounds – 0…8 rounds – 4 (4-0)…