Four-weight world champion Miguel Cotto has praised his legendary trainer Freddie Roach as the man to mastermind his victory over Mexican rival Canelo Alvarez.
The Puerto Rican icon’s fight week preparations have been marred in controversy after he was stripped of his WBC middleweight belt for failing to pay the governing bodies sanctioning fees.
Miguel Cotto’s trainer, Freddie Roach, has stated that after his fighter knocks out Canelo Alvarez on Saturday night in Las Vegas – as he believes he will – he would like the Puerto Rican modern great to ride off into the sunset on the back of a second Floyd Mayweather fight.
Cotto, the only Puerto Rican fighter to win four world titles in as many weight classes, fought the newly retired Mayweather back in 2012, without the services of Roach, who is claiming he has not only nailed the right game plan to topple Canelo on Saturday, but could also devise the correct one for Cotto to beat Mayweather, should Floyd return next year to reach 50-0, of course.
LONDON (19 NOVEMBER) Number one heavyweight contender Tyson Fury has urged fans from Britain and Ireland to snap up remaining tickets to his highly-anticipated world heavyweight title clash with Wladimir Klitschko at the ESPRIT arena in Dusseldorf, Germany next Saturday (November 28), and to cheer him on to an explosive and historic knockout victory.
The 27-year-old Fury, unbeaten in 24 professional fights, already feels he has spooked Klitschko, and well and truly got under his skin, and now believes his legion of supporters can play their part when the two heavyweight giants collide next weekend.
The Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) and former WBC and WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) completed their final press conference yesterday at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas ahead of their Nov. 21 world championship showdown, which will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View.
British former super-middleweight legend and Hall of Fame Inductee, Joe Calzaghe, has waded into the Klitschko/Fury debate to state that it’s a big ask for the undefeated challenger to topple the long-time champion, who is currently 11 1/2 years undefeated.
Fury attempts to wrest away Klitschko’s IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight titles in Dusseldorf in 9 days time, in what is to be, far and away the biggest fight of his life, yet having shed as much as 5st (70lbs) in order to be in the best shape possible, many are speculating that given his huge 6′ 9″ frame and youth, the 39 year old champion could possibly be in for his toughest defence in a long time.
Former WBA 122 lb champion, Guillermo Rigondeaux has confirmed his delight at signing with new handlers, Roc-Nation Sports and issued a warning shot to divisional rivals, Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg, saying ‘I’ll blow you off the face of the earth.’
The Cuban former amatuer standout steps out for the first time in almost a year on the undercard of the Cotto/Canelo HBO PPV card, facing Filipino, Drian Francisco, in a hastily put together fight that will showcase the avoided technician’s skills as he works toward reclaiming the WBA/WBO titles stripped from him recently for inactivity.
Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez, has sensibly stated that he doesn’t wish to discuss the Golovkin question until AFTER Saturday’s crunch middleweight clash with Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas, so as not to disrupt his focus.
The WBC middleweight strap, being contested at a 155 catch-weight, is only available for the Mexican to win after Cotto refused to pay $300k sanctioning fees earlier this week, leading many back to the question of a future fight with interim WBC champ, Gennady Golovkin – who will be upgraded to full champion status in the event of a Cotto victory.
Miguel Cotto has shrugged of the WBC’s decision to strip him of his middleweight title days out from Saturday’s clash with ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, saying ‘I don’t need their belt.’
The Puerto Rican, who is nearing the end of his Hall of Fame worthy career, had refused to pay the $300k sanctioning fees wanted by the WBC, instead trying to negotiate a lower fee, which was refused by the organisation.
IBF super-middleweight champion, James DeGale, has dismissed all suggestions of Carl Froch ahead of his fight with Lucien Bute in Quebec in 10 days time, saying ‘The Cobra’ is both ‘an old man’ as well as ‘old news.’
DeGale fights former Froch foe Bute, in the maiden defence of the (vacant) belt he won back in May against Andre Dirrell, hoping to better his newly-retired countryman’s own destructive stoppage performance over the Canadian southpaw back in 2012.
Mexico’s unbeaten super-middleweight contender, Gilberto Ramirez (32-0, 24ko) takes on Dutch-based Armenian, Gevorg Khatchikian (23-1, 11ko) Friday night in Las Vegas, hoping to move one step closer to his world title ambitions.
The 24 year old Top Rank star is the mandatory challenger to the WBO super-middleweight title held by Germany’s Arthur Abraham, who defends against Britain’s Martin Murray on Saturday night in Hannover, and says he wanted to stay active as he awaits the opportunity, which will likely come in the first few months of 2016, assuming he is victorious against the tough Khatchikian.