Olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz (19-1) is in for the fight of his life this weekend. Â Diaz, who lives in Brooklyn, New York but comes from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic,m takes on undefeated world 140-pound champion Terrance Crawford Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Â
Diaz's promoter, Lou DiBella, introduced Diaz on a media call last week as follows: "I know how good Crawford is.  Felix knows how good Crawford is.  The media knows how good Crawford is, but he is not God, he is not unbeatable. Felix has wanted this fight forever.  This is a kid that grew up with nothing.  A poor kid from the Dominican Republic that became a top amateur and became the Dominican’s only Olympic [boxing] gold medalist in the history of the country in 2008.  This is the culmination of a professional boxing career that began in 2009. Joel Diaz in California trains him.  He moved up to welterweight and had a big win against Sammy Vazquez.  He had to move up to welterweight to get that opportunity.  He’s got a lot of other quality wins and I thought he beat Lamont Peterson [the only loss on Diaz's record].  He’s beaten Emmanuel Lartey and Adrian Granados and Gabriel Bracero before he lost to Peterson.  I think this is the toughest challenge that Terence Crawford has ever had and I’m looking forward to it – it is going to be in New York and there will be a nice Dominican contingent there to support Felix."
IM: Good day Felix. I wanted to talk to you about your upcoming fight on May 20th against Terrance Crawford which looks to be a very interesting match-up for us boxing fanatics. Tell us how has training camp gone so far?
Felix Diaz : Training has been good until now I’m working with a good team-- Alex Ariza, Joel Diaz and Tonio Diaz [a former welterweight contender who holds a win over Micky Ward]. We’ve been training for one year.
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IM: That sure sounds like a good team. Now what about your weight?
FD: My weight is all good.
IM: The boxing world expects this fight to be as good as the last couple of fights it’s had like for example Oscar Valdez vs. Miguel Marriaga and Wladimir Klitschko vs. Anthony Joshua. Terrance Crawford is considered pound-for-pound one of the best in boxing.  So what are your thoughts on that?
FD: Terrance Crawford has earned that title. He’s a good boxer, I can’t deny it but I believe I have what it takes to beat him.
IM: Some fans may not realize that you are also a good boxer who won the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics.
FD: That’s right, in 2008.
IM: So those who don’t know much about you probably think Crawford will easily beat you.  But you are also a southpaw, and have a style which a lot of times gives trouble to your opponents,  right?
FD: Well as many boxing fans know, I like to throw a lot of punches, I am awkward so  let’s see how this fight turns out.  I’ve had quite a few good fights in the past, I’ve fought Sammy Vazquez and Lamont Peterson and that kind of experience helps for this upcoming fight.
IM: Crawford has the height and reach advantage, so how can you deal with that?
FD: Well, when a fighter knows how to control the ring, plus the experience I have, I don’t think Crawford’s’ height or reach will be a problem for me.
IM: Any predictions on how you believe you will beat Crawford?
FD: Well I can’t say exactly how I will win this fight but all I know is I will be victorious.Â
IM: Well I wish you all the best on May 20th, and I am hoping this fight will be another candidate for fight of the year. For all your fans, let them know how they can follow you on social media...
FD: Thanks Ivan, much appreciated.  My fans can follow me on Twitter  @FelixDiazIMP, on Facebook: Felix Diaz and on Instagram: Felix mlDiaz to see how my training goes.  This win will be for all my Latino people-- Dominicans, Puerto Ricans and all the rest of my Latinos out there.  As you can see my entire team is Latino-made!
