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COTTO - GOMEZ: AN
EXCLUSIVE PHOTO GALLERY... by Cesar 'KenMarc' Delgado
MARGARITO-CINTRON: AN EXCLUSIVE
PHOTO GALLERY... by Cesar 'KenMarc' Delgado
MY THOUGHTS ABOUT COTTO, GOMEZ AND QUESTIONABLE MATCH MAKING...
by Frank Gonzalez, Jr.
Saturday night in Atlantic
City, New Jersey, Miguel Cotto (32-0, 26 KO’s) made easy work
of Alfonso Gomez (19-3-2, 8 KO’s) winning by TKO after the
fifth round when the ringside doctor stepped in and stopped
it. Even though Gomez was in way over his head and getting
floored three times in five rounds, he wasn’t incapable of
continuing. That stoppage, while merciful, was totally
premature.
Imagine the controversy that
would have risen had the ringside doctor come in and retired
Miguel Cotto during the DeMarcus Corley fight? No way that
that would’ve happened, but there was no controversy about
this one. Maybe to mask the more subtle controversy as to why
Cotto vs. Gomez was even made?
COTTO, MARGARITO SHINE ON HBO BIG STAGE... by George Elsasser
HBO flipped the coin, and scored with a fan friendly double feature of
welterweight title action that resulted in a natural follow up to bigger and
better things - the shining stars Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito with
knockout victories.
The battles at the fabled “Boardwalk of beauties and bag ladies” of Atlantic
City, New Jersey, opens with defending IBF strap holder Kermit Cintron facing
past nemesis Antonio Margarito who administered the single loss in first meeting
- a round five TKO.
This one a pier-six, donnybrook, of Katie bar the door magnitude - the former
champion arrived with knockout repeat on the mind while Cintron clearly had
revenge on his - Margarito would prevail - the edge evoked memories of a long
ago war that went, “We did it before and we can do it again” - as in USA vs
Germany circa WW1 - WW2.
PLAYING THE GAME: AN
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH WELTERWEIGHT CONTENDER ALFONSO
GOMEZ... by Dominic Nicosia
Harshest critics of this sport say that at the end of a
fighter’s career, he has little left but a stack of medical
bills and a few less brain cells. Among many others,
Whittier California’s Alfonso Gomez is an outright
contradiction of this statement. A former contestant on “The
Contender” TV series, a ten-year veteran of the amateur
boxing ranks and now the latest roadblock on the way to WBA
welterweight champion, Miguel Cotto’s quest for continued
undefeated status, Gomez is playing the game hard and smart.
In a recent interview with braggingrightscorner.com, Gomez
talked about his upcoming fight with Miguel Cotto, how he
ended Arturo Gatti’s career, the politics of the sport he
loves and life after it.
GOMEZ ON FIGHTING COTTO APRIL 12: “ALL THE DOUBTERS WILL
MAKE MY VICTORY THAT MUCH SWEETER”
“I had my eye on Cotto as a world champion, but I was
planning on taking my time before challenging him. I was
looking at fighters like Chavez, Jr., or Zab Judah first,
because I didn’t feel I had the resume to call out Cotto,”
Gomez explained. “But then I got the offer for the world
title, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Gomez considers Cotto a worthy adversary, with the clash
between two fighters in their primes as the possible start
of a great rivalry between Mexican and Puerto Rican
fighters, which have some of the most passionate fan
followings in the sport.
TWO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS... ONE NIGHT... by Ricky Ray Taylor
Yesterday's assembly of Media sponges, trainers, managers as well
as three of the four main event combatants (missing in action
Antonio Margarito who sent word that he was too busy training in
LA to make the trip eastward) were congregated atop a plush West
side hotel in the Big Apple. Though initially the ambiance
of the room seemed more like a "cocktail party" than an assembly
of a few of the world's best fighters and fight-trainers, the
excitement snowballed once the stuffed shirts turned over the mic...
TWO WORLD TITLES AT STAKE…MIGUEL COTTO vs. ALFONSO GOMEZ AND KERMIT CINTRON vs.
ANTONIO MARGARITO ON APRIL 12 AT BOARDWALK HALL
Undefeated world champion Miguel Cotto defends his WBA welterweight belt on
April 12 against Contenders’ star Alfonso Gomez. Cotto has beaten a
quartet of former world champions in his last five fights – Shane Mosley, Zab
Judah, Paulie Malignaggi and Carlos Quintana – which has made him the most
dangerous welterweight in the world. Gomez, in the biggest fight of his
career on July 14, 2007, stopped Arturo Gatti in the seventh round and
ultimately sent him into retirement. Also featured on the card is IBF
Welterweight Champion Kermit Cintron defending his title against former world
champion Antonio Margarito. This will be Cintron’s chance to avenge his
only professional loss which took place against Margarito at Caesars Palace on
April 23, 2005.
Tickets, priced at $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50, are on sale now and can be
purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at
1-800-736-1420 or by visiting
3-31-2008
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