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For the first time in five years, Hall of Fame promoters Bob Arum and Don King will join forces to present “Relentless” — the first major pay-per-view world championship boxing event of the season — featuring the Pride of Puerto Rico, Miguel Cotto defending his WBA super welterweight title against two-division world champion Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga, on Saturday, March 12, at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.
Cotto vs. Mayorga will be produced and distributed Live on Showtime PPV, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The pay-per-view broadcast will also feature the return of former WBA super welterweight champion and future rabbi Yuri Foreman, who will be taking on Top-10 contender Pawel Wolak in a 10-round super welterweight rumble.
WBC) female super welterweight champion Christy Martin, going for her landmark 50th professional victory and IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez defending his title against mandatory challenger Lenny Zappavinga.
“Top Rank is delighted to give Miguel Cotto an opportunity to do a demolition job on Ricardo Mayorga,” said Arum. “In any event it will be a real treat to be reunited with my ageless friend Don King. Together we will put together a promotion no one will ever forget.”
“First and foremost, it’s great to be co-promoting an event with a real promoter like Bob Arum,” King said. “We will show the people how a boxing event is supposed to be promoted. Ricardo Mayorga is my enigma, but I have always believed in his abilities.
“He’s soared to great heights and he is poised to soar again. He is on his way back to win another world title. Everything is easier said than done with this man, but Ricardo is a remarkable fighter mentally, physically and psychologically, and we take on this task at hand with great enthusiasm and relish.”
“With a number of high-profile and large-caliber events already on the schedule for the first half 2011, this is shaping up to be a remarkable year for boxing fans,” said Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Showtime Sports. “This fight card not only features world-class prizefighters and champions, it also includes some of the most intriguing and compelling figures in sports. We are proud to join Bob Arum, Don King and the MGM Grand for what promises to be a thrilling night at the fights.”
“I know Mayorga very well. He is a written book,” said Cotto. “Nothing he will say or do will move my peace and concentration. I will do my job inthe gym and beat him inside the ring.”
“The old Mayorga is back and I’ve got a new attitude and outlook that makes me even stronger,” Mayorga said. “I’m going to use Cotto as my red carpet to open the door to even bigger fights. Cotto was quoted in Puerto Rico saying it was the ‘lie of the year’ when I said I would fight him. It looks like he had bad information as the so-called lie has become a reality. Puerto Rican boxing fans know I come to fight, and I’ll come into this match in better shape than I was for Tito Trinidad, which is not good for Miguel Cotto.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Top Rank and Don King on this championship fight,” said Richard Sturm, president of Sports & Entertainment for MGM Resorts International. “I can’t think of a better way to continue the March Madness by watching the tremendous battle between these two great warriors at MGM Grand.”
Cotto vs. Mayorga will be promoted by Top Rank, in association with Cotto Promotions, Don King Productions, Tecate and MGM Grand. Remaining tickets, priced at $400, $300, $200, $100, and $50, not including applicable service charges, can be purchased at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino.) Ticket sales are limited to 16 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
