By: Hans Themistode
It was about as one-sided an ass-kicking as you’ll see. But for featherweight contender Christopher Diaz, it may have prepared him for the opportunity now staring at him directly in the face.
After a protracted boxing lesson at the hands of Shakur Stevenson a year and a half ago, Diaz took his lumps on the night and has visibly improved. Now, with two wide decision victories under his belt, Diaz is being rewarded with his first crack at a world title against WBO belt holder Emanuel Navarette.
The Pair’s upcoming showdown is slated to headline an upcoming Top Rank card on April 24th.
Despite showing huge improvements since his loss to Stevenson, Diaz is figured to be a substantial underdog.
For Mexico’s Navarette, it’ll be his first attempt at defending his newly won WBO title. Before the rangy titlist grabbed the second title of his career, he was busy annihilating opponents four pounds lighter at super bantamweight. Yet, after defending his title for the fifth straight time, Navarette elected to move up, where he brought home another championship to add to his collection.
Unlike Navarette’s previous title bouts, Diaz, at least on paper, will present the multi-division champion with one of his more stiffer challenges.