Tonight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, 32-0 (26), defends his WBA Welterweight Championship against Mexican Antonio Margarito, 36-5 (26), who voluntarily gave up the IBF title to face Cotto.
This 147 pound bout could go a long way to deciding who the premier welterweight is.
Cotto, the two weight world champion is making the fifth defence of the title he first won back back in February, 2006. Vulnerable at 140 pounds, Cotto has seemed stronger since moving up to the welterweight division and has certainly grown into the weight with ease.
Big names such Zab Judah and Shane Mosley have been the names amongst the five defences of Cotto, and the bout against Mosley last November particularly impressed me.
Never an easy opponent and also coming off an impressive win against Fernando Vargas, Mosley used all the tricks in his arsenal to try and dethrone Cotto, but the Puerto Rican, showing his trademark calmness under pressure, rode the storm, especially Mosley's body punches, on the way to a hard fought but clear enough unanimous decision verdict.
Cotto's opponent tonight, Antonio Margarito, at 30 is two years older than Cotto. For the last six years, Margarito has been perceived as the dangerman of the division.
Since winning the WBO title in 2003, Margarito made five successful defences before meeting the highly touted American Paul Williams in July of last year, losing the belt on a close unanimous decision verdict, but won the IBF crown by knocking out Kermit Cintron in six rounds this past April.
In between his successful welterweight title defences, Margarito dipped his toes into the 154 pound division, losing a technical decision to old foe Daniel Santos following a cut eye stoppage after 10 rounds in September, 2004. More...
Two-division world champion Zab Judah, former world title challenger Joshua Clottey and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum will host a news conference luncheon for their upcoming IBF world welterweight title fight, tomorrow, Saturday, July 26 in Las Vegas, NV.
The IBF's top-rated contenders, Judah, 35-5 (25), from Brooklyn, and Clottey, 34-2 (20), a native of Ghana, now living in the Bronx, will be battling for the vacant IBF welterweight title vacated by Antonio Margarito, on Saturday, August 2 at The Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas. More...
The public is invited to witness the official weigh-in for what the media has dubbed "A Fight for the Ages." Undefeated WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto and two-time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito will step on the scale today, Friday, July 25 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. More...
WBA light flyweight interim world title contenders Giovanni Segura of Mexico and Cesar Canchila of Colombia, rated No. 1 and No. 2 by the WBA respectively, undefeated super lightweight contender Mike Alvarado of Denver and former WBC lightweight champion Cesar Bazan of Mexico, NABF super bantamweight champion Bernabe Concepcion of the Philippines and former NABF super bantamweight champion Adam Carrera of Cathedral City, CA, will host a special News Conference for their undercard bouts on “The Battle!” / “La Batalla!” the four-fight pay-per-view extravaganza headlined by the Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito world welterweight championship fight. More...
On Monday, two-time world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito will host an open media workout in Montebello, CA, before breaking camp and heading to Las Vegas, NV.
Margarito is in his final days of preparation for “The Battle!”, the four-bout pay-per-view extravaganza headlined by Margarito’s world title rumble with WBA Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto, in a battle of legendary 147 pound superpowers. More...
Only one weekend separates boxing fans from fight week for the year's most eagerly anticipated event of the year! It's time for "The Battle", the four fight pay-per-view extravaganza, headlined by the collision of welterweight superpowers Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. More...
Antonio Margarito: I want to thank Bob for giving me this opportunity against Cotto and it is the biggest fight of my career. I am preparing myself very well for this fight and cannot wait to get up into the ring.
Sometimes you think things are not going to come your way. I did not want to leave my title on the table. I wanted to defend it. Things did not go as well there as I had expected, but the opportunity is here right now, it’s been a long road and now I am here. More...
On July 26, one of the biggest fights to grace the welterweight division will happen in Las Vegas. Be sure to circle the date and get ready to watch, along with Floyd Mayweather Jr, an amazing bout between two of the very best in the division.
Promoter Bob Arum is confident that this fight between two offensive minded boxers will be a huge draw for boxing fans worldwide. Arum even lobbied the Nevada State Athletic Commission to lower the limit on the 10 ounce gloves regulation to 8 ounce gloves.
When you factor all these equations together, this will be one of the most anticipated fights of the summer.
Now about the boxers: Miguel Cotto is coming off a massive victory against Alfonso Gomez in a five round massacre. Gomez was so badly beaten that it was necessary to stop the fight at the end of the fifth.
Cotto holds an undefeated record of 32 wins and no losses, with 26 knock outs. He is a skillful fighter with good speed and an aggressive mentality in the ring. His best asset as a fighter is his willingness to keep on coming and his willingness to get inside on boxers to get at the body.
He has always been a huge draw in the East Coast as his Puerto Rican fans flock into the venues to see his fights. Will he have a fair following in the West? Not likely and the reason why is Margarito.
Antonio Margarito knocked out his last opponent, Kermit Cintron. It took six rounds for Margarito to claim the victory against an ever diminishing Cintron. More...
Undefeated WBA Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto will host an open media workout in Caguas, Puerto Rico today, Friday, July 18. This will be Cotto’s final day working out in preparation for “The Battle!”, the four-bout pay-per-view extravaganza headlined by Cotto’s world title defense in a thrilling matchup against two-time world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito. More...
Question: How do you see this title defense with Antonio Margarito on July 26?
Miguel Cotto: This is just another fight for me. It’s a fight that Margarito wants to take my title – and that makes it big enough for me. Margarito is a great fighter. I have trained to win this fight and that is all that’s on my mind right now – win this fight.
I feel the same right now, in this fight with Margarito, as I do going into most of my fights. This is going to be a battle in the ring. Everyone that shows up is going to see a real battle because he is trying to take my title away. More...
Undefeated WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto will host an open media workout in Puerto Rico, this Friday, July 18. This will be Cotto’s final day working out in preparation for “The Battle!”, the four-bout pay-per-view extravaganza headlined by Cotto’s world title defense against two-time world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, in a battle of legendary welterweight superpowers. More...
Fasten your seatbelts! The undercard for “The Battle!”, the pay-per-view extravaganza headlined by the world championship fight between welterweight superpowers Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito, promises to be as explosive as the main event! Promoted by Top Rank, “The Battle!” takes place Saturday, July 26 at the MGM Grand Resort and Casino and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Giovanni Segura and Cesar Canchila, the WBA's No. 1 and No. 2 rated contenders, respectively, will battle 12 rounds for the WBA interim light flyweight title. More...
South Africa’s and the United States’ two top boxing promoters, Branco Milenkovic and Bob Arum, have been ordered by the IBF to begin negotiations for Nonito Donaire and Moruti Mthalane’s envisaged flyweight championship fight.
Arum, a Hall of Fame inductee who promotes under Top Rank, controls Donaire, the Filipino who holds the IBF belt, while internationally acclaimed Milenkovic of Branco Sports Production guides the career of the number one ranked Ntuzuma fighter, Mthalane. More...
"Fight of the Year," "Round of the Year," "Minute of the Year"; any and all the above are being used to describe Saturday's wild WBO Junior Welterweight Championship rematch between defending champion Ricardo Torres and the newly-minted world champion Kendall Holt. More...
In a torrid, 61 second affair last night at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, NV, WBO Light Welterweight Champion Ricardo Torres and Kendall Holt engaged in a vicious rematch that ended in shocking fashion.
The pair started the bout with a simultaneous exchange of left hooks before Torres slipped a Holt jab and connected with a massive right hand that dropped Holt hard on the canvas after just 15 seconds of action.. Holt popped up immediately and beat the count with no lingering effects of the knockdown.
A pure dogfight then broke out in at center ring as Torres and Holt threw defense to the wind and let go with everything they had. Both found the target but the heavier shots of Torres had Holt looking to grab on to his opponent. More...
Open letter from Chris "The Mechanic" Smith to Top Rank, Star Boxing, Hall of Fame Promotions and Los Leones:
First and foremost, the Top Rank matchmaker promised me a rematch with Jesus Soto Karass. I recently found out that Karass is now fighting David Estrada. More...
Ten months after a wildly controversial ending to their first fight, WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Ricardo Torres and No. 2 contender Kendall Holt both weighed in at 139 pounds yesterday ahead of their rematch tonight on a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation, live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast, on Top Rank promotion from the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. More...
Tommorow night, Ricardo Torres will defend his WBO Junior Welterweight title against No. 1 contender Kendall Holt in a rematch on a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation on Saturday, July 5, 2008, live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT and delayed on the west coast. More...
Ten months after a wildly controversial ending to their first fight, Ricardo Torres will risk his WBO Junior Welterweight title against No. 1 contender Kendall Holt in a rematch on a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation this Saturday, July 5, live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT and delayed on the west coast.
The ShoBox team weighs-in on what to expect in this highly anticipated rematch. Plus 22 boxing journalists nearly split on their predictions for the winner.
Steve Farhood: ShoBox Analyst and Boxing Historian More...
WBO junior welterweight champion Ricardo Torres, 32-1-1- (28), his opponent, top-rated contender Kendall Holt, 23-2 (12), undefeated top five contender Lamont Peterson, 24-0 (11), and his opponent, former IBA world champion Rogelio Casteneda, 24-13-3 (8), will step on the scale for their official weigh-in. More...
