On next Saturday August 1, in Fiumicino (close to Rome), Italy, Salvatore Cherchi’s OPI 2000 will promote a major card in association with TM Promotion: in the main event former European lighweight champion Emiliano Marsili will fight former WBC world super featherweight champion Gamaliel Diaz for the vacant WBC Silver lightweight title. TM Promotion is a new company led by popular Italian singer Federico Zampaglione, leader of the band Tiromancino. The fight will be televised live in Italy by Deejay Tv, in Canada, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand by ESPN International, in Poland by FightKlub.

 

 

Emiliano Marsili and Gamaliel Diaz are used to fight for major belts and that’s why the bout could go either way. Marsili’s record is made of 32 fights: 31 wins (14 inside the distance) and 1 draw. In the lightweight division he became Italian, European and IBO world champion. He conquered the latter title in Liverpool (U.K) defeating local favorite Derry Matthews in seven rounds.

 

 

Gamaliel Diaz is four years younger than Marsili, 5 centimeters (2 inches) taller and has fought 53 professional contests with a record of 38 wins, 12 losses and 3 draws. He has a long list of belts to prove that he belongs in the elite division: he was WBC world featherweight champion for about five months defeating Takahiro Ao on October 27, 2012 and losing to Takashi Miura on April 8, 2013 (both fights took place in Japan). Before that, he won and successfully defended the Carribean Boxing Federation super featherweight belt. Among featherweights, Gamaliel Diaz won the NABF and FECARBOX championships. In his last 5 fights, Diaz lost three times and drew once: he is tough, but can be beaten.

 

On the undercard, four Italian rising stars will fight on the six rounds distance: current Italian light heavyweight champion Orial Kolaj (15-5), former Euorpean Union cruiserweight champion Mirko Larghetti (23-1), former Italian heavyweight champion Matteo Modugno (18-0) and lightweight Carel Sandon (17-1).