Cotto/Canelo: Promising Excitement in Mexico/Puerto Rico Rivals Fight

Even before his fight with Australia’s Daniel Geale, it was something of an open secret that WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto was lined up to fight Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez later this year, and now the fight is officially a done deal for November 21st at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, excitement among fans is building all across social media.

The fight will take place on HBO PPV at an expected 155lb catchweight, which is seemingly becoming the done thing for a Miguel Cotto middleweight defence, given by his own admission he isn’t a true 160lb fighter – and it will fast ignite the flames of the traditional Mexico v Puerto Rico boxing rivalry that has given fans some terrific contests over the years.

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Tarver vs. Cunningham: It’s a Sleeper either way

(Photo credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment) At first glance “Sleepy Hallow” is a fitting title for the Heavyweight main event tonight for the PBC on Spike. There’s a good chance it could be a sleepy affair. The argument could be made that the bout is being slept on as well. At least the location is solid with a main event featuring somewhat known boxers and two fighters of polish decent on the televised portion of the broadcast which will air live at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Does anyone care about Antonio Tarver’s aspirations of topping George Foreman’s record? Not really. Even with a win the goal won’t be accomplished until he gets a likely shot at Deontay Wilder’s WBC strap. Cunningham isn’t the household name that sparks interest per-say either which is the main reason why this fight has been put out to pasture and thrown on the pile of meaningless fights made by the PBC.

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Cotto-Canelo conference call transcript

MICHAEL YORKMAN, President & Chief of Branding and Strategy Roc Nation:

Good afternoon. It is a great day in boxing. As the fight of the year, which every boxing fan throughout the world has wanted to hear about and see, has finally become a reality: Cotto versus Canelo Alvarez, a 12 round fight for the total WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Championship will take place on Saturday, November 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The event will be produced and distributed live by our friends at HBO, Pay Per View, beginning at 9:00 PM Eastern, 6:00 PM Pacific time. The fight is presented by ROC Nation sports, Golden Boy Promotions, Miguel Cotto Promotions and Canelo Promotions. The event will be sponsored by Corona Extra, México, Live It to Believe It! and O’Reilly Auto Parts.

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Antonio Tarver: Still Focused on Achieving History-Making Title Dreams

Tonight in Newark, New Jersey former 175 lb boss Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver squares off against fellow ageing veteran Steve Cunningham over 12 rounds on the Premier Boxing Champions bill on Spike TV (US) knowing defeat will surely spell the end of his title ambitions.

Now 46 years old, Tarver has made his ambition to become the oldest world heavyweight champion in history perfectly clear – hoping to overtake the record set by a 45 year old George Foreman when he knocked out Michael Moorer in 1994 – and he knows fellow old-timer and former cruiserweight champion Cunningham, 39, is standing firmly in the way.

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Leo Santa Cruz: Frampton Could be Next After Mares / Happy to go Back to 122 lb to Fight Him

Assuming he gets past arguably his toughest test yet in Abner Mares on August 29th in Los Angeles, then WBC 122 lb champion Leo Santa Cruz – who fights Mares at 126 – has said a fight with IBF super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton is a very real possibility and a fight he definitely wants, win or lose later this month.

While the bout with his California based Mexican rival is no foregone conclusion, Santa Cruz has insisted he will put the pressure on Mares – whose sole defeat is a 1st round knockout at the hands of Jhonny Gonzalez 2 years ago – and hopes to end the fight by stoppage, believing he has what it takes to grind the smaller man down over the course of the fight and take him out.

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Official: Cotto vs Alvarez Set For Highly Anticipated Mega-Fight on November 21

Roc Nation Sports, Golden Boy Promotions, Miguel Cotto Promotions and Canelo Promotions are pleased to announce the highly anticipated clash of two titans in a classic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico battle. On Saturday, Nov. 21, Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs), the reigning WBC, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion and the first native of Puerto Rico to become world champion in four different weight classes, and Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs), a former WBC and WBA Super Welterweight World Champion will finally meet in the ring at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas for the WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Championship. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

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Lucian Bute is Fully Fit and Returning on Saturday Night in Canada

Former IBF 168 lb champion Lucian Bute will return to the ring on Saturday night after 19 months out of action through injury to face little known Italian fighter Andrea Di Luisa over 10 rounds in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The last time we saw Bute in a ring was January of 2014 when he dropped a wide decision to another Canadian based fighter in Jean Pascal, and a mooted December 2014 return was also dropped when he suffered a back injury in training – yet with all those problems firmly behind him, the now 35 year old Bute has insisted he is in confident mood ahead of his return.

Speaking at yesterday’s final presser, he said;

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Andy Lee/Billy Joe Saunders Postponed Until October 10th / Moved to Manchester

WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee’s defence of his title against Hatfield’s Billy Joe Saunders, that was scheduled for Thomond Park, Limerick, Ireland has been postponed until October 10th and moved to the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, England.

In a joint statement last night from co-promoters Frank Warren and Adam Booth, it was claimed the Irishman is suffering from a virus that means the September date was potentially in jeopardy;

“Andy’s had a virus and he’s recovering from it, or he’s about recovered from it, according to Adam Booth, who’s contacted me.,” Warren said.

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Weights: Tarver 217 vs. Cunningham 204, Huck 199 vs. Glowacki 198

With just two days to go until their Premier Boxing Champions on Spike showdowns, fighters participating on the Friday, August 14 card at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey held a press conference Wednesday at B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grill in Manhattan.

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/PT and is headlined by a 12-round heavyweight showdown between Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver (31-6, 22 KOs) and Steve “U.S.S.” Cunningham (28-7, 13 KOs). Also featured on Spike is cruiserweight world champion Marco “Captain” Huck (38-2-1, 26 KOs) defending his title against Polish contender Krzyzstof Glowacki (24-0, 15 KOs) and Polish heavyweight Artur Szpilka (19-1, 14 KOs) taking on Cuba’s Yasmany Consuegra (17-1, 14 KOs).

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Golovkin-Lemieux breaks pre-sale records at MSG, over 6,000 tickets sold

New York City (August 12, 2015) A new Madison Square Garden box office record has been set by the highly anticipated World Middleweight Championship Title Unification between WBA/IBO and “Interim” WBC Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (33-0, 30KO’s), and IBF Champion DAVID LEMIEUX (34-2, 31KO’s) headlining the historic venue on Saturday, October 17.

A pre-sale of over 6,000 tickets established a new record at the “Mecca of Boxing”, shattering all previous marks for boxing events.

“The interest from fans in this middleweight title unification has been overwhelming,” said Tom Loeffler, Managing Director of K2 Promotions. “Madison Square Garden has never had a faster pre-sale for a boxing event. “

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