Credit: Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank-
Article by Dan Rafael –
Former featherweight world titleholder Orlando Salido and former title challenger Terdsak Kokietgym will square off for a vacant interim junior lightweight title on Sept. 20 in Salido’s hometown of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.
The WBO, which is sanctioning the title involved in the bout, normally does not give out interim belts the way other organizations do, but it made an exception in this case because Mikey Garcia, its 130-pound titleholder, is inactive and embroiled in a lawsuit with Top Rank, his promoter, and it looks like he will be idle for an extended period.
“The approval of interim championship bouts is an exception, not the norm,” WBO attorney Luis Batista-Salas wrote in the organization’s letter granting the sanction this week. “In this case we are ordering this fight due to the fact that current WBO junior lightweight titleholder Miguel Angel ‘Mikey’ Garcia is in an anticipated protracted legal battle with his promoter, seeking a declaration from the California State Court that he has no further obligation under the promotional rights agreement.
“Besides the contractual dispute, the champion has furthermore declared his intent to move up in weight. Thus, and in order to keep the junior lightweight division active, we approve the fight between Salido and Kokietgym, the two best available contenders.”
Garcia (34-0, 28 KOs), a two-division titleholder, has not fought since a lopsided unanimous decision win against Juan Carlos Burgos in a Jan. 25 title defense in New York, and it appears unlikely that he will fight again this year.
Salido lost his featherweight world title to Garcia by eighth-round technical decision in January 2013, also in New York, when an accidental head-butt broke Garcia’s nose and the fight was called off because Garcia, who had knocked Salido down four times, was deemed unable to continue.
After Garcia failed to make weight for his first defense against Juan Manuel Lopez, he was stripped of the belt. Salido then won the vacant title by knocking out Orlando Cruz in the seventh round in October.
Salido (41-12-2, 28 KOs), 33, was stripped of the title for failing to make weight for a March 1 defense against Vasyl Lomachenko. Salido won a decision, but the title remained vacant and he announced he would move up to junior lightweight, where he is again following behind Garcia.
“Mikey gave us the opportunity to fight for the featherweight title again by not making weight and now he is giving us the opportunity to fight for the (interim) junior lightweight title,” Sean Gibbons, Salido’s manager, told ESPN.com on Friday. “We’re happy to fight for this title against the top-rated (WBO) contender.
“If we win, we’ll send Mikey a nice Christmas ham even though Salido is still upset that he quit on us in ninth round with a suspect broken nose when Salido was coming on like Grant in Richmond. We know this is a big opportunity, especially because he gets to fight at home.”
Kokietgym (53-4-1, 33 KOs), 33, of Thailand, is riding a seven-fight winning streak since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Japan’s Takahiro Ao in a junior lightweight title challenge in April 2012.
Kokietgym’s four losses have all come when he has faced a top-level opponent. Besides the loss to Ao, he dropped a decision challenging Steven Luevano for a featherweight title in 2008, was knocked out in the seventh round by Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez in a 2006 interim featherweight title bout and lost by unanimous decision to Joan Guzman in a featherweight title eliminator in 2005.
Por Aleudi Rosario Cotto – La Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB) anuncia los oficiales que trabajarán este sábado, 9 de noviembre, en las peleas mundiales, entre Román “Rocky” Martínez y Miguel Ángel “Mikey” García, así como Vanes Martirosyan ante Demetrius Andrade, que se efectuarán en el American Bank Center de Corpus Christi, Texas, en una presentación de Top Rank, que será transmitida por HBO.
El presidente de la OMB, Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel, informó que para la tercera defensa del monarca junior ligero del organismo, el puertorriqueño Rocky Martínez (27-1-2, 16 KOs) ante el primer retador y ex campeón pluma de la OMB, el estadounidense Mikey García (32-0, 27 KOs), el árbitro será Laurence Cole.
Mientras, los jueces que oficiarán el pleito Martínez-García serán Oren Shellemberger y David LaCobucci, ambos de Texas, y Levi Martínez de Nuevo México. El supervisor de la OMB para este encuentro será Richard De Cuir.
Por otro lado, los invictos Vanes Martirosyan (33-0-1, 21 KOs) y Demetrius Andrade (19-0, 13 KOs), primero y segundo clasificado, respectivamente, disputarán el vacante cetro junior mediano de la OMB, y para esta pelea el árbitro será John Schorle.
Los jueces para la reyerta entre el armenio Martirosyan y el estadounidense Andrade los texanos Don Griffin, Jesse Reyes y Javier Álvarez. El supervisor de la OMB para esta pelea será Rolando Marcos Hermoso.
http://www.notifight.com/artman2/publish/Reporte_7/OMB_anuncia_oficiales_para_este_s_bado.php
Photos: PR Best Promotions
World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight champion, Roman “Rocky” Martinez ended today his training camp in Puerto Rico weighing 132 3/4 pounds one week before his third title defense against the former WBO featherweight champion Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia on November 9 at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, in a Top Rank presentation to be broadcasted on HBO.
Martinez (27-1-2, 16 KOs), who is going to defend his 130 pounds title for the third time against Garcia (32-0, 27 KOs), worked today for the Puerto Rican media at the Dorado Municipal Gym in Dorado with his trainers Raul “Papo” Torres and Freddy Trinidad. The Vega Baja native did some rounds of pads with Trinidad, then he worked with the punching bag and jumping the rope.
“I’m good at this weight and very happy with the training camp for this fight against Mikey Garcia”, Martinez said after the workout when he step up to the scale and weighed in 132 3/4 pounds. “We have worked hard for this fight and I feel so good and in great shape, just waiting for the day of the fight.”
Martinez, who come off a win over Diego Magdaleno on April in China, will travel to Corpus Christi, Texas, this Monday, November 4, in the morning for his final days of training there.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/roman-rocky-martinez-update-230097
World Boxing Organization (WBO) President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel announced today the officials who will work this Saturday’s featherweight world title fight between the champion Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia and former two time world champion Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez, to be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The referee will be Rafael Ramos (Texas), judges are Levi Martinez (New Mexico), Javier Alvarez (Texas), and Oren Shellenberger (Texas). The WBO supervisor for this fight will be Rafael López Santos.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/garcia-lopez-officials-named-205915
Viento en popa va el entrenamiento del californiano Miguel Ángel ‘Mikey’ García, quien está por culminar los últimos detalles de cara a su esperado enfrentamiento ante el boricua Juan Manuel López, el 15 de junio en el American Airlines Center de Dallas, Texas, con el cetro Pluma de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo en juego.
Al respecto, el hermano y entrenador de ‘Mikey’, Robert García, dijo a ESPN que la seriedad con la que se tomó este pleito fue básica para lograr una preparación estupenda, pues él y su hermano esperan al mejor ‘Juanma’.
“La verdad todo ha ido muy bien, tuvo mi hermano un buen sparring, se vio como siempre, inteligente, calmado, calculador, debe dar buena pelea”, expuso García.
“Pero veo yo una pelea difícil, no podemos pensar en una pelea fácil por el hecho de que venimos de ganarle a Orlando Salido y que el ‘Siri’ le ganó a ‘Juanma’, eso no es ningún parámetro”, señaló.
“Nosotros sabemos que ‘Juanma’ se juega mucho en esta pelea, que él está conciente de que puede ser su última oportunidad y por ello se ha encarado con la seriedad que necesita un peleador como él”, finalizó Robert en entrevista para ESPN.
http://www.allsportnewspr.com/2013/06/mikey-garcia-no-subestima-juanma-lopez.html
Photos: Peter Amador/Top Rank –
Free of the bruises on his face, Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez, continue his hard work for his challenge against the World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia to be held on June 15 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, in a Top Rank presentation, to be broadcast on HBO. The former two time world champion, Juanma Lopez (33-2, 30 KOs), who is ranked #4 by the WBO in the featherweights, will travel to Dallas on Monday, June 10, along with his manager Orlando Piñero, and his trainers Alex Caraballo and Freddy Trinidad.
“Juanma is training hard for the fight and better without the bruises on his face”, said Peter Rivera, PR Best Boxing Promotions Vice-President, about the bruises Juanma Lopez had on his face when he fell some weeks ago during track training. “He is working to make the weight and to get in a good shape and condition for Mikey Garcia.”
Also in action at the American Airlines Center, Puerto Rican prospect John Karl Sosa (7-0, 5 KOs), recently signed by Top Rank, will make his international debut againste Alexis Peña (7-2, 5 KOs) in a fight scheduled for six rounds in the junior welterweight division.
Sosa trains at the Jose “Cheo” Aponte Gym in Caguas along with Juanma Lopez, Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez and other contenders and prospects.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/free-of-bruises-juanma-training-hard-for-garcia-clash-202452