The Bronx's Francisco "El Gato" Figueroa "can't stop, won't stop." He is on his journey to greatness and is paving the road with vigorous training, concentration and his fitness program.

Currently at 20-3-1 (13), Mr. Figueroa always had a positive, happy-go-lucky attitude growing up. Even getting questionably sent home from Miguel Cotto's training camp, EL Gato rises above.

SaddoBoxing: You were Miguel Cotto's sparring partner in preparation for his fight against Manny Pacquiao. How was your experience? And did you sense any problems?

Francisco Figueroa: "Cotto and my personalities don't mix. There was a personality clash. We didn't say too much to each other. It was never a "hi, bye" sort of thing. I was doing everything asked of me as a sparring partner. I was near, so close, to Manny Pacquiao's moves and angles. I push myself, and am competitive. I am self motivated, so even at 180 lb, which I was at during his camp, I stayed competitive. I have never had a complaint before. And I sparred with Sugar Shane, Arturo Gatti, Ricky Hatton, Andre Berto. I'm a sparring partner, but I'm a boxer first."

SB: You had Pacquiao winning. What did you observe about Cotto during his fight against Pacquiao?

FF: "Yes, I did have Pacquiao winning. Then when I was watching the fight, the first two rounds were all Cotto, he had them. He also had the weight advantage. I thought, maybe he fooled me." More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

This Saturday night Emanuel Augustus will step into the ring at Madison Square Garden for the first time in his career to fight on the undercard of Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones, Jr. He will face local New York favorite Francisco Figueroa 19-2 (13) as a late replacement for Figueroa’s original opponent Gavin Rees who pulled out of the fight last week due to a broken nose.

Augustus 38-29-6 (23) has one of the most deceiving records in the sport of boxing and has made a career out of taking fights on short notice. He has had his share of being on the wrong side of bad decisions and losing close battles, but win, lose or draw he is always entertaining. Floyd Mayweather was quoted as saying, “Augustus was the toughest opponent that he has faced in his career.”

In 2001 Augustus received the honor of Ring magazine’s “Fight of the Year” for his battle with Micky Ward in which over 2000 punches were thrown during the fight in back and forth action. Although the fight was very close Ward received a unanimous decision.

The most heinous decision he received in his career was his 2004 split decision loss to Courtney Burton. In the fourth round Augustus landed two solid body shots that put Burton on his knees which the referee ruled a low blow and provided Burton with five minutes to recover. More...

**With Slideshow**

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

ESPNʼs Spanish-language multimedia brand, ESPN Deportes, hosted their Upfront ʽ08 presentation to the advertising community to announce new programming initiatives and a multiplatform approach to the fall season.

Boxing took center stage at the event held at New York Cityʼs Gotham Hall, where the guests watched an onsite production of ESPNʼs Wednesday Night Fights to mark the return of the sport to ESPN Deportes.

The new programming initiatives include, Miercoles y Viernes de Combate which will begin to air twice a week starting in February 2009, anchored by a new studio show that will broadcast boxing matches from the preceding weekly telecasts. More...