By Miguel Rivera

Back in late August, when Christopher "Pitufo" Diaz opted to dissociate himself with Club Diamante and his now ex-coach Ricky Marquez, he did so with the intention of learning new things.

Although at times he thought it was a serious mistake, he stood his ground and the results spoke for themselves.

The Barranquian fighter (22-0, 14 KO's), at the beginning of December, captured the 130-pound title of the NABO, a subsidiary of the World Boxing Organization, by dispatching Bryan 'Pee Wee Cruz at the 37 second mark of the third round.

The 23-year-old Boricua has been confirmed to return on the undercard of the title fight between José Ramírez and Amir Imam on March 17 - Saint Patrick's Day - to be held at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.

"It will be my fifth time in that place. The public identifies with me a lot," Diaz said to José Bartolomei.

The card will reunite Diaz with his former gymmate, Felix "El Diamante" Verdejo (23-0, 15 KO's). The two boxers have been featured on the same card several times in the past - but this time around it's Diaz who is riding a big wave of momentum.

"Felix and I are brothers," he said. "I always have him tied to my heart. That night we will both shine. He will resume where he left off and he'll continue to fight.

Diaz, like Verdejo, is still unaware of his opponent for the date.

"This Monday I start training," he explained. "My goals are to be a world champion and to be the next star of Puerto Rico. For that we must continue training hard."

For the second consecutive fight, Diaz will be stationed in New Jersey under the orders of trainer Raúl "Chino" Rivas.

"On January 2, I'll move over there for 10 weeks," he said.

"I respect Ricky a lot and the work he did with me. I'm grateful for that. But I made this change for the sake of my career and family. I wanted to learn new things. I wanted to be a better athlete and although I cried for a while, God's time is perfect. It was a personal decision."