PUERTO RICO DEFENDS AGAINST MEXICO SATURDAY
Cotto-Alvarez
Orlando, FL– This Saturday, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will play host to the last big fight of 2015 as linear World middleweight (160 lb.) champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) will meet jr. middleweight (154) champion Canelo Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) at a “catch weight” fight at 155 lbs. Championship aside, this clash between Puerto Rico and Mexico, a rivalry that has brought fans epic encounters for decades.
COTTO LOSS TO MARGARITO “VERY SUSPICIOUS”
Miguel Cotto already had lost to a Mexican in Antonio Margarito (38-8, 27 KOs ) in a welterweight (147) contest back in 2008 at the MGM Grand. Cotto was the WBA welterweight champion while Margarito held the IBF diadem. In a fight that makes people think the Mexican was cheating with “loaded” gloves, after looking good early, the tide turned against Cotto in an instant resulting in a TKO 11. But due to the circumstances surrounding Margarito’s next fight (January 2009) in Los Angeles vs Shane Mosley (48-9-1, 40 KOs) where he was caught trying to put plaster blocks in his wraps along with trainer Javier Capetillo. Cotto got his revenge in 2011 when he defeated Margarito by stoppage in the ninth round in NY. Due to the shady circumstances, I won’t judge that fight among the best in the rivalry.
BEST PUERTO RICO VS. MEXICO MATCH
I personally believe it was in 1978 when Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez (44-3-1, 42 KOs) super bantamweight champion at the time KO’d undefeated Mexican bantamweight (118) champion Carlos Zarate (66-4, 63 KOs) in San Juan PR. For a while Gomez had the nick name the (Verdugo de los Mexicanos) or “Mexican Killer” which lasted until the late featherweight (126) king Salvador Sanchez took away the unbeatable aura from Gomez in 1981 when he broke Gomez’ orbital bone in the opening round before winning via TKO 8.
ISLAND COUNTRY VS. SOUTH OF BORDER TOP TEN
Ever since then they’ve been keeping track on this rivalry. The fighters with most title fights wins “country vs country” are Wilfredo Gomez 9 (8-1, 8 KOs) for PR and Julio Cesar Chavez 5 (5-0, 2 KOs) for Mexico.
10-2010: Giovanni Segura (32-4-1, 28KOs) defeats Ivan Calderón (35-3-1, 6KOs) by KO 8 for the WBO & WBA titles. Ring Magazine’s 2010 Fight of the Year, Calderon had been undefeated for a decade (34-0) defended the WBO 105. lb title 11 times, and the WBO 108 lb. belt six times before being beaten by the WBA champion Segura.
9-1980: Salvador Sánchez (44-1-1, 32 KOs) beats Juan La Porte (40-17, 22 KOs) by UD 15. Sanchez was 126 lb. champion and had 37 fights at the time he met the inexperienced Laporte who had 17 scraps under his belt. Sanchez was so impressed with Juan’s performance that afterwards he said to Laporte, “You will be champion one day.”
8-2007: Ivan Calderón defeats Hugo Cazares (40-8-2, 27 KOs) by SD (split decision) 12 rounds for WBO 108 lb. belt.
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7-1984 José Luis Ramirez (102-9, 82 KOs ) defeats Edwin “Chapo” Rosario (47-6, 41 KOs ) by TKO in 4 rounds, for Chapo WBA 135/lb title. “Fight of the Year” by The Ring magazine.
6-1987: Julio César Chávez (107-6-2, 86 KOs) defeats Edwin “Chapo” Rosario by TKO in 11 rounds for Chapo WBA 135/lb title.
5-1994: Félix “Tito” Trinidad (IBF belt 147) champion defeats Luis Ramón “Yory Boy” Campas by TKO 4.
4-1992 Julio César Chávez defeats Héctor “Macho” Camacho (79-6-3, 38 KOs) (WBC 140) by UD 12 rounds held in a match at the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV .
3-1981: Salvador Sánchez defeats the undefeated 122 lb. champion Wilfredo Gomez by TKO 8 at Cesar’s Las Vegas in the, “Battle of the Little Giants.”
2-2000: Félix Trinidad (42-3, 35 KOs) TKO 12 Fernando Vargas (26-5, 22 KOs) for WBA & IBF 154 lb. titles..
1-1982: Wilfredo Gómez defeats Lupe Pintor (56-14-2, 42 KOs) by TKO 14 in 14 in an epic battle for Gomez’ World 122 lb. title held in New Orleans under Thomas Hearns-Wilfredo Benitez . Considered one of the most brutal fights in the sport. The third round was ”Round Of The Year” by Ring magazine. HBO judge Harold Lederman calls it, “The greatest fight I ever scored.”
FIGHT DATE A BAD OMEN FOR PUERTO RICO
If history repeats it self it will be a long night for Cotto because on November 21, 1987 a Mexican champion named Julio Cesar Chavez moved up in weight looking for his second title by administering a beating to WBA lightweight champion Edwin Rosario. A description of the fight reads like a police account of a “street beating.”
Manny Caballero
MIGUEL COTTO-CANELO ALVAREZ “BITTER” RIVALRY