Photos: Miguel Cotto Returns, Drops Big Bombs on Kamegai

Miguel Cotto (41-5, 33 KOs), the only four-division world champion in Puerto Rico’s rich boxing history, earned his sixth world title with a unanimous decision victory against the Japanese slugger Yoshihiro “El Maestrito” Kamegai (27-4-2, 24 KOs) for the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight World Title in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,689 boxing fans at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The judges scored the bout 119-109, 118-110, and 120-108 in favor of Cotto.

“I tried to do my best, and I think I did that tonight,” said Miguel Cotto. “I am happy with my performance. Kamegai is a tough fighter and opponent. It was during round five or six that I knew he was going to make it to the 12 rounds. Come December 31, I will retire. I’ve done it all. I’m 36 going on 37, and I think I’ve come to the end of my career. I will fight once more in December. I’ll let Freddie [Roach] tell you who I want.”

“We want the winner of Canelo-GGG,” said Freddie Roach, trainer to Miguel Cotto.

“I felt so much frustration not being able to land any of my punches,” said Yoshihiro Kamegai. “I could not catch him at all. I couldn’t catch him at all. He is such a talented legend, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to fight him.”

CARSON, CA – AUGUST 26: Yoshihiro Kamegai punches Miguel Cotto in a 12 round unanimous decision loss during the WBO Junior Middleweight title fight at StubHub Center on August 26, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

www.boxingscene.com/photos-miguel-cotto-returns-drops-big-bombs-on-kamegai–119888?print_friendly=1

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

While most of the world’s attention was focused on the Mayweather-McGregor spectacle in Las Vegas, The action was in Southern California as Puerto Rico’s only four-division world champion Miguel Cotto (41-5, 33 KOs) returned to the ring Saturday night at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California against Japan’s Yoshihiro “El Maestrito” Kamegai (27-4-2, 24 KOs).

It was an action packed fight from start to finish with Cotto adding another world title to his legacy in taking a hard fought decision over the Japanese warrior Kamegai who kept bringing throughout the night.

Kamegai came right at Cotto sneaking in the right hands and backing him to the ropes but in the closing seconds Cotto connected with a huge left hook. Continuing to go at Cotto, Kamegai pressed in round two as they went toe to toe. The Japanese kept the aggression in round three as Cotto boxed away landing power shots. Circling the ring in round four Cotto landed big but despite that, Kamegai continued to go at him taking his best shots.

Cotto landed a huge right hand to start the fifth snapping Kamegai’s head back tagging him throughout the round but that didn’t bother to shy away the Japanese warrior who kept coming banging his gloves together. Nothing seemed to bother Kamegai as he kept running into Cotto’s bombs in the sixth and pressing, the Puerto Rican boxed effectively. Past the halfway point in the seventh Cotto continued his dominance but Kamegai’s heart made it a fight as he kept coming.

Late in the fight in round nine the Puerto Rican landed power combinations snapping Kamegai’s head again. In round ten Cotto circled the ring boxing away but there was no stopping Kamegai. The championship rounds was all Cotto as he kept it conservative and sealing it in route to a decision win as the judges scored the fight 120-108, 119-109, and 118-110.

www.fightnews.com/cotto-beats-kamegai-wins-wbo-154lb-title/3695

 Photo: Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

By Miguel Maravilla

Four-division world champion Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) of Puerto Rico hosted a media workout Wednesday afternoon at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California ahead of his bout against Japan’s Yoshihiro “El Maestrito” Kamegai (27-3-2, 24 KOs). Cotto will take on Kamegai next Saturday, August 26 at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California live on HBO World Championship Boxing. Cotto and his Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach had a full workout here is what they had to say.

“We are one week away from the Kamegai fight. Camp was good and I am ready,” Miguel Cotto told Fightnews.com®. “Kamegai is a tough, strong, fighter that comes forward. He will come ready to prove who he is. There is no doubt that I will come out with the victory.”

“Camp was great. He is looking real good. We got the game plan down and we are one-hundred percent ready,” added Roach. “His opponent comes, comes, comes and don’t stop. He is always in great shape but I think Miguel will catch him along the way. It won’t be easy.”

Santa Ana, California’s Ronny Rios (28-1, 13 KOs) took part in Wednesday’s workout as he goes up against Rey Vargas (29-0, 22 KOs ) of Mexico in the co-feature bout for the WBC super bantamweight title.

“This is a big fight. A world championship fight vs. an undefeated fighter. It feels good fighting on this card. It’s the secret be time I fight on a Cotto card but most importantly fighting for a world title,” Rios told Fightnews.com®. “Expect a hungry fighter and show everyone an exciting fight.”

www.fightnews.com/miguel-cotto-media-day/3056

World renowned trainer Freddie Roach shared important details regarding the training camp of Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs), the only Puerto Rican boxer to ever win world titles in four divisions, as he prepares to go to war for the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight title against the Japanese slugger Yoshihiro “El Maestrito” Kamegai (27-3-2, 24 KOs). Cotto will attempt to obtain a sixth world title in four divisions and will appear on HBO for an astounding 23rd time. The event takes place Saturday, August 26 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Roach, a Hall of Fame trainer who was supervising a recent sparring session at the Wild Card Boxing Club, shared Cotto’s training camp routine, which consists of:

    Strength and conditioning at 5:00 am with Gavin McMillan (exercises are done either at the gym, pool, nearby hills or at the track).
    Breakfast at around 8:30 am. (Cotto likes to cook all his meals himself; his diet is normal, avoiding fried food).
    Light snack at around 11:15 am.
    Sparring three days a week at 1:00 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
    Boxing routine on at 1:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
    Dinner at around 5:30 pm.

Roach also provided additional training camp details, including the strategy for taking advantage of the exciting and crowd-pleasing style of Kamegai.

“Kamegai [Yoshihiro] is very aggressive and I like that. I think it should make for a great fight because he’s coming forward all the time and always looking for a knockout. Guys who look for knockouts, get knocked out. So, we’re working on countering his attack, and it’s going really well so far,” Roach concluded.

“I feel great, everything is working perfectly in camp together with Freddie and Gavin on every workout session. Freddie has a great game plan and I just follow him and do my best every day at gym. We look forward to have a big win” Miguel Cotto said.

“For more than 16 years, Miguel Cotto has represented Puerto Rico. He has given fans incredible fights at a number of weight classes, and has won world titles in an astounding four divisions,” said Oscar De La Hoya. “Now, after nearly two years out of the ring, as he attempts to claim a sixth championship belt, we are fully expecting a tough war between him and Kamegai.

www.boxingscene.com/photos-miguel-cotto-grinding-hard-kamegai-showdown–118866?print_friendly=1

Photos: Cotto Promotions

In addition to the main event starring Gamalier Rodriguez who will defend his NABO featherweight championship for the World Boxing Organization against Aldimar Dos Santos (19-5, 10 KOs) in a 10 round fight; theres a 6 round battle in the flyweight division between Juan ‘Cowi’ Herrera (9-6, 4 KOs) and Erickson Martell (11-4-1 8 KOs) in another great show presented by Top Rank in association with Cotto Promotions and H2 Entertainment this Saturday, December 14th from the Roger L. Mendoza Coliseum in Caguas which could be seen live on Unimas as part of the successful series “Solo Boxeo Tecate.”

“I am ready for Martell I know him very well, everybody knows the way I fight and I am willing to have a great win,” Juan Herrera said. Erickson Martell confessed that he is in excellent condition and ready for a great fight. “I trained really hard for this fight, I know Juan Herrera very well. But he hasn’t felt my power.”

Also in action undefeated rising star in the super bantamweight division, Jose ‘Wonder Boy’ Lopez (10-0, 8 KOs) will clash against Luis Ortiz and also undefeated Anton Novikov (27-0, 10 KOs) will meet with Manuel Perez (20-9-1, 4 KOs) in a 10 round fight. Former member of the Puerto Rican National Olympic team who participated in the Olympic games in London 2012 together with friend and rising star Felix Verdejo; Francisco Vargas is ready to make his profesional debut when he takes on Luis Gonzalez in the welterweight division. “I feel ready for this step, I have trained really hard. I know what it takes and I am willing to becomer a world champion in the near future” Vargas said. Also undefeated prospect Christopher Diaz (1-0,1KO) will exchange punches with Jonathan Feliciano, Antonio Ortíz (2-0, 2 KOs) faces Samuel Ocasio in a 4 round fight in the junior welter division.

Promoter and four time world champion in three divisions Miguel Cotto reaffirmed its commitment to the Puerto Rican boxing “Here we are to continue developing the sport of boxing in Puerto Rico and will continue to work hard for our young fighters”. Promoter and businessman Héctor Soto said “Our company made about 16 events in 2013 all our fighters were active in different TV platforms. Theres is a new generation of boxers growing up which we will work together with their trainers to continue developing the best talents in Puerto Rico”.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/gamalier-rodriguez-ready-for-dos-santos-233118

By Rick Reeno –

BoxingScene.com reported earlier that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer had a meeting with former three division world champion Miguel Cotto (38-4, 21KOs) on Tuesday afternoon at the Golden Offices in Los Angeles. During the meeting, Schaefer offered Cotto more than $10 million dollars to face former champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30KOs) in the headline bout of a March 8th Showtime Pay-Per-View event.

Another option for Cotto, although far less lucrative, would be a middleweight fight with WBC champion Sergio Martinez. But there are questions marks on when Martinez would be injury-free, and whether the World Boxing Council will sanction the fight when a mandatory is due to Marco Antonio Rubio.

For Cotto, the main selling point in facing Martinez is the scenario of becoming the first Puerto Rican boxer to win four world titles in four weight divisions.

If Cotto’s heart is set on capturing a fourth divisional title, Schaefer says there is also the option of facing undefeated WBO champion Peter Quillin (30-0, 22KOs). The Golden CEO is confident he can put together a package that would give Cotto a better monetary deal than the boxer would receive in facing Martinez.

“If Miguel wants to fight for a middleweight title, and he wants to fight in New York, he can go and fight Peter Quillin……no problem. And by the way, he won’t have to go and split 50-50 with Sergio Martinez. That’s another possibility,” Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

http://www.boxingscene.com/schaefer-cotto-also-option-facing-quillin–71394

MANILA, Philippines – Miguel Cotto has chosen WBA super-welterweight champion Austin Trout, and not Manny Pacquiao, as his opponent on Dec. 1 at the Madison Square Garden.

This leaves Pacquiao with lesser options – a rematch with WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley or a fourth fight with WBO junior welter king Juan Manuel Marquez.

Since Cotto is fighting on Dec. 1, Pacquiao cannot afford to go head-on with the heavy-handed Puerto Rican who has a very solid fan base and a great pay-per-view history.

Bob Arum, having a real hard time making Pacquiao decide on his next fight, has come up with a new date for the Filipino superstar’s return to the ring. It’s Dec. 8.

Arum had originally penciled Nov. 10 for Pacquiao. But it’s not going to happen. Then came Dec. 1, and it’s not going to happen either because of the Cotto decision.

With Cotto fading out of the picture, Pacquiao is back with two choices.

He can fight Bradley and try to regain the title that was snatched from him via a highly controversial and highly questionable decision by the judges at the MGM Grand.

But if Pacquiao takes on Bradley, he will have to settle for less, especially in the pay-per-view side. Bradley has very little following, even if he is now the champion.

Marquez, on the other hand, offers everything Pacquiao wants – a fighter who doesn’t back out, and one that can provide the pay-per-view numbers.

A fourth fight between Marquez and Pacquiao could easily fetch 1.3 million pay-per-view buys. But it’s a risky one.

In all their three fights, Marquez came close to beating Pacquiao, during a draw in 2004 and two razor-sharp decisions in 2008 and 2011. The law of averages may finally catch up on Pacquiao.

By facing Marquez, Pacquiao will also put his dream of finally facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. at risk. If he fails to impress against Marquez, or worse, if he loses to Marquez, the super-fight may go down the drain.

Former two-time world champion Gerry Peñalosa said Pacquiao will be better off facing Bradley.

“Less risk, easy fight but less money,” said Peñalosa.

“Pacquiao can earn more against Marquez but it’s risky. If he really wants to fight Mayweather next year, he should pick Bradley. Go for the easy fight,” Peñalosa added.

By: Abac Cordero

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/09/02/12/cotto-drops-pacquiao-fights-trout-dec-1

WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley’s #1 pick for his next fight is a rematch against former WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao who Bradley just finished beating last June despite having two hurt feet. However, with Bob Arum talking about Miguel Cotto or Juan Manuel Marquez for Pacquiao’s next fight on November 10th, Bradley says he’d be interested in facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Cotto next.

Bradley said to RingTV “If Manny Pacquiao doesn’t want to fight me, then I’m looking for a Floyd Mayweather fight. Or I’m looking for a Miguel Cotto fight.”

Well, it’s kind of not up to Bradley who he fights. He signed with Bob Arum of Top Rank, and he kind of will have to agree to fight with the guys that Arum can put fights together with, and I don’t see a fight being put together between Mayweather and Bradley, so he might as well forget about that one happening.

There’s a good chance that Pacquiao will take on Marquez next. In that case, Bradley-Cotto would be a good fight. However, Cotto doesn’t want to fight at 147 lbs anymore, and it’s unclear whether Bradley would be able to move up in weight to take a fight against Cotto unless it was a catch-weight variety fight. But Cotto might not be interested in facing Bradley, because Bradley’s last fight against Pacquiao failed to bring in huge pay per view numbers.

If Cotto fights Bradley, he would find himself in a PPV bout that brings in disappointing figures. Since the PPV buys are extremely important for fighters, Cotto might not be all that interested in facing Arum’s fighter Bradley. There’s no upside there for Cotto, and he might be hurting himself if he agrees to take on Bradley now if it doesn’t promise to bring in huge numbers. Cotto’s best bet is to try and get Pacquiao or Mayweather back in the ring. If not one of them, then he needs to go after a fight against WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez instead.

By: Chris Williams

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/08/bradley-hoping-to-get-cotto-or-mayweather-in-the-ring-if-pacquiao-doesnt-step-up-to-the-plate/

According to Top Rank’s CEO, Bob Arum, the next opponent for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao could be revealed as early as next Tuesday. Pacquiao’s return is scheduled to take place on June 9th, likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. While Arum refused to fully confirm the opponent, it appears Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12KOs) is going to secure the lucrative opportunity.

There were four names on Pacquiao’s list of potential opponents – Juan Manuel Marquez, Lamont Peterson, Timothy Bradley and Miguel Cotto. The first choice, by Pacquiao and Arum, was Cotto. But, the Puerto Rican star is now three fights forward as a full fledged junior middleweight and refuses to fight Pacquiao at 147. Arum is attempting to match Marquez and Peterson against each other  – which only leaves Bradley.

“We wanted Cotto, but he said that he can’t make 147. If the other two guys are fighting each other and Cotto can’t make the weight, then it only leaves one guy, but lets see what happens,” Arum told BoxingScene.com.

“We won’t announce anything until after the Super Bowl. I don’t want to take anything away from the Chavez fight [on Saturday]. We want to wait until after the Chavez fight, and after the Super Bowl [to make the announcement]….probably Tuesday.”

However, Arum believes anything can happen between now and next week.

“What if Cotto has an epiphany and suddenly calls and says he can make 147?,” Arum noted.

By Rick Reeno

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=49089

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – World Boxing Organization (WBO) will tribute all the WBO’s Puerto Rican champions during their Annual Convention, to be held in Puerto Rico in 2011, from October 24th to 29th at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, located in Isla Verde, Carolina, Puerto Rico.

WBO President, Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel announced that as a special recognition, this entity will tribute in Puerto Rico these former WBO World Champions since their establishment in 1988.

WBO former Champions from Puerto Rico are Héctor “Macho” Camacho at junior welter, deceased José “Cheíto” Ruiz superflyweight, John John Molina junior lightweight, José “Cagüitas” de Jesús junior flyweight, Orlando Fernández superbantamweight, Rafael del Valle bantamweight, Josué “Dicky” Camacho junior flyweight, Daniel “La Cobra” Jiménez superbantamweight and bantamweight, Álex “El Nene” Sánchez minimum weight, Samuel Fuentes junior welter, Daniel Santos welter and junior middleweight, Nelson “Fueguete” Dieppa en junior flyweight, Iván “Iron Boy” Calderón minimum and junior flyweight, Miguel Cotto junior welter and welter, Carlos “El Indio” Quintana welter, Juan Manuel “Juanma” López superbantamweight and featherweight, Román “Rocky” Martínez junior lightweight, José “Carita” López superflyweight and Wilfredo Vázquez Jr. superbantamweight.

Plus many activities for the guests, PR Best Boxing Promotions (PRBBP) will present a World Title Show during the WBO Convention. Also, in the Convention is expected the presence of some of the WBO Champions, former Champions, other boxers, known trainers, managers, promoters, officials, and other political, social and cultural personalities.

As always, at the Convention will be discussed various topics as rules, rankings, among others.

For reservations at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, can call 1 787 253-1700 Ext. 4161, 1 800 241-3333 or a accesing http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/SanJuan/Default.htm.

More information at
www.www.wboboxing.com (www.facebook.com/WorldBoxingOrganization).

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2011/08/wbo-will-tribute-their-puerto-rican-champions-at-the-24th-wbo-convention-in-puerto-rico-on-october-24-29-2011/