Boxing News Boxing News
Boxing fans will be treated to back-to-back welterweight championship bouts when World Championship Boxing: Miguel Cotto vs. Alfonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron vs. Antonio Margarito is seen live Saturday, April 12 at10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The fight will be available in HDTV, as well as closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
In the main event, a welterweight title will be at stake as rising star Miguel Cotto, 31-0 (25), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, takes on Alfonso Gomez, 18-3-2 (8), from Whittier, CA., in a scheduled 12-round contest.
With convincing wins over Shane Mosley and Zab Judah in his past two fights, the skilled and powerful Cotto has proven more than worthy of the welterweight title he claimed in December 2006. His opponent Gomez looks to continue his high-profile journey to the top of the 147-pound division. Defeating the resilient Arturo Gatti with a seventh-round TKO last July, he defeated Ben Tackie by unanimous decision in his most recent fight in October.
The opening bout should be just as explosive, as welterweight champ Kermit Cintron, 29-1 (27), from Reading, PA., battles former champion Antonio Margarito, 35-5 (25), from Tijuana, Mexico, in a title fight scheduled for 12 rounds.
A devastating puncher with 27 knockouts in 30 fights, Cintron will be out for revenge in his third title defense – the only loss of his career came at the hands of Margarito, who knocked him out in the fifth round of their first showdown in April 2005.
After losing his belt to Paul Williams in July 2007, Margarito now finds himself as the challenger as he seeks his second welterweight title. The winner of this fight will have an eye toward unifying the welterweight titles in a bout with the winner of the Cotto-Gomez contest.
Other HBO playdate: April 13 at9:30 AM, HBO2 playdates: April 13 at 4:30 PM and 15 at 11:40 PM.
