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SEGURA and
CANCHILA BATTLE FOR WBA INTERIM TITLE!
ALVARADO RISKS UNDEFEATED RECORD
AGAINST BAZAN!
NO.
5 CONTENDER CONCEPCION RUMBLES
WITH CARRERA!
LAS
VEGAS, NEV. (July 11, 2008) – 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 & 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 World Boxing Association’s No.
1 and No. 2-rated contenders, respectively, will battle
12-rounds for the WBA interim light flyweight title. Segura
(19-0-1, 15 KOs), a native of Mexico, now hailing from Bell
Gardens, Calif., has won seven of his last eight bouts by
knockout, including a fifth-round stoppage of Jesus Martinez
for the NABF title last year. It was the first of three
knockout victories for Segura in 2007 made even more
impressive by the fact that his three 2007 opponents
(including Daniel Reyes and Willy Valdez) had a combined
record of 78-10-4 (57 KOs). Making his U.S. debut, Canchila
(26-1, 21 KOs), from Colombia, is riding a four-year, 18-bout
winning streak with only two of those fights going the
distance. Even more impressive is his current streak of 10
straight knockout victories dating back to 2006, including a
12th-round TKO of Miguel Tellez for the World Boxing
Organization Latino / WBA Latin American titles.
Undefeated
contender MIKE ALVARADO faces his toughest test when steps up
to fight former world champion CESAR BAZAN in a 10-round super
lightweight bout. Alvarado (21-0, 14 KOs), from Denver,
reeled off seven straight knockout victories beginning with
his pro debut in 2004. He has stepped up his competition in
recent fights successfully meeting each challenge. In his
last three bouts, Alvarado has stopped former world title
challenger Michael Clark in the first round, won a 10-round
decision over Jesus Rodriguez and knocked out Michel Rosales
in the seventh round of his most recent bout in May.
Together, Clark, Rodriguez and Rosales had a combined record
of 69-7 (36 KOs). Bazan (48-10-1, 31 KOs), from Mexico,
captured the World Boxing Council lightweight title in 1998,
dethroning another Denver native, Stevie Johnston, via a split
decision. He successfully defended the title twice before
losing it the following year in a rematch to Johnston, again
by split decision. Bazan returns to the ring fresh from a
10-round victory over Juan Rivera in May.
The
pay-per-view broadcast will open with a 10-round super
bantamweight rumble between top-rated contender BERNABE
CONCEPCION and ADAM CARRERA. Concepcion (25-1-1, 14 KOs),
promoted by Manny Pacquiao's
MP Promotions, is the reigning NABF super bantamweight
champion. A native of the Philippines, Concepcion is riding a
three-year, 18-bout unbeaten streak. Included in his
impressive streak are NABF title victories over Gabriel
Elizondo in 2007 and Juan Ruiz and Torrence Daniels this
year. Those victories have helped propel Concepcion into the
Top-10, where he is currently world rated No. 5 by the WBC and
No. 8 by the WBO. Pacquiao, boxing's No. 1 pound for
pound fighter and the first Asian fighter to win four
sanctioned world titles in as many different divisions, is
scheduled to be ringside rooting for his protégé. Carrera
(19-3, 8 KOs), from Cathedral City, Calif., is a former NABF
and WBC FECARBOX super bantamweight champion. His professional
resume boasts victories over Julio Gamboa and Juan Ruiz.
Remaining tickets,
priced at $700, $500, $300, $200 and $100, can be purchased at
the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office and at all Las Vegas
Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers,
Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall, and Ritmo Latino.)
Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by
phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702)
474-4000 or MGM Grand at (800) 929-1111. Tickets are also
available for purchase at
http://www.mgmgrand.com/
or
www.ticketmaster.com
The Cotto vs. Margarito
pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has
a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be produced and
distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more
than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be
available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO
Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to
the pay-per-view industry. For Cotto vs. Margarito fight week
updates, log on to
http://www.hbo.com/.
7-11-2008
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