Manuel Medina Headlines Guilty Boxing Card On Aug. 20

01.08.05 – Five-time former world champion Manuel Medina of Mexico, the most decorated fighter in Guilty Boxing’s stable, attempts to move one step closer to a sixth crown when he faces undefeated Jose Miguel Coto of Puerto Rico in an International Boxing Federation junior lightweight title-eliminator Aug. 20 in Ponce, P.R..

Also on the card is Hugo Cazares defending his World Boxing Organization junior flyweight championship against Alex Sanchez.

The card, which includes three preliminary bouts, will be televised live exclusively by DirecTV in the United States and available for $29.95. The telecast is presented by Guilty Boxing while the card is promoted by Best PR Boxing Promotions.

The 34-year-old Medina, from Tijuana, has a record of 64-14 with 30 knockouts. A total of 29 fights have been 12-round bouts for world or regional championships.

Medina was the IBF featherweight champion from 1991 to 1993, from 1998 to 1999 and from 2001 to 2002; the World Boxing Council featherweight champion during 1995; and the World Boxing Organization featherweight champion during 2003.

He won the World Boxing Association North America Boxing Association super featherweight title in his most recent outing, April 23, 2004.

Medina, born in Tecuala, Mexico, turned pro during 1985 at the age of 16. He lost two of his first four pro fights then won 27 straight and 44 of 45 to burst into world prominence, a status he still enjoys today.

Cotto has a record of 26-0 with 18 knockouts.

The 28-year-old Cotto may have an age advantage, but the lanky, long-armed Medina has a five-and-one-half-inch edge, 70 to 65 1/2.

Cazares, from Los Mochis, Mexico, has a record of 20-3-1 with 14 knockouts and is making his first defense of the championship he won during April.

Sanchez, from Puerto Rico, has a mark of 31-5-1 with 21 knockouts and was the WBO minimumweight champion during 1997.

Guilty Boxing presents weekly cards which are seen in more than 200 million households worldwide, making Guilty Productions one of the fastest-growing providers of boxing television programming in the world.

Guilty has been the most frequent provider of nationally and internationally televised professional boxing cards in Las Vegas for more than five years. Venues include multiple hotel-casinos and arenas in “The Boxing Capital of the World.” Guilty also presents cards of this caliber in California, Arizona and Mexico as well as East Coast locations.

Guilty Boxing is expanding its already impressive stable of boxers, and now has more than 80 fighters from the United States and Mexico under contract. These include, in addition to Medina, world-ranked boxers such as super flyweight Jose Luis Azaria, welterweight Jose Luis Cruz, featherweight Humberto Soto, strawweight Omar Soto and light flyweight Luis Valdez; plus numerous undefeated prospects destined to crack the world-rankings and get world title shots in various weight divisions