Philippines, 13 Jul 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


MIGUEL COTTO CAPTURES WBO JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE

PhilBoxing.com




COTTO WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION AGAINST YOSHIHIRO "EL MAESTRITO" KAMEGAI IN FRONT OF SOLD-OUT STUBHUB CENTER IN CARSON, CALIF.

REY VARGAS RETAINS WBC SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE WITH UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY OVER RONNY RIOS

LOS ANGELES (Aug. 26, 2017) Miguel Cotto (41-5, 33 KOs), the only four-division world champion in Puerto Rico's rich boxing history, earned his sixth world title with a unanimous decision victory against the Japanese slugger Yoshihiro "El Maestrito" Kamegai (27-4-2, 24 KOs) for the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight World Title in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,689 boxing fans at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The judges scored the bout 119-109, 118-110, and 120-108 in favor of Cotto.

"I tried to do my best, and I think I did that tonight," said Miguel Cotto. "I am happy with my performance. Kamegai is a tough fighter and opponent. It was during round five or six that I knew he was going to make it to the 12 rounds. Come December 31, I will retire. I've done it all. I'm 36 going on 37, and I think I've come to the end of my career. I will fight once more in December. I'll let Freddie [Roach] tell you who I want."

"We want the winner of Canelo-GGG," said Freddie Roach, trainer to Miguel Cotto.

"I felt so much frustration not being able to land any of my punches," said Yoshihiro Kamegai. "I could not catch him at all. I couldn't catch him at all. He is such a talented legend, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to fight him."

Rey Vargas (30-0, 22 KOS) of Mexico City successfully defended his WBC Super Bantamweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision victory against Santa Ana, Calif.'s Ronny Rios (28-2, 13 KOs). Vargas, the student of the Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain fought intelligently at a distance during the entire fight, while Rios tried to close that distance with hooks to the body. Though the fight was very competitive, Vargas won with scores of 118-110, 118-110 and 115-113.

"We came here to take the belt back home, even if that means that we didn't get the knockout," said Rey Vargas. "Rios was definitely an intelligent and skillful fighter. He got me with some head shots that threw me off, and he was of an elite level when it came to his boxing. We definitely need to go back and refine our style."

"I wasn't expecting for him to move so much," said Ronny Rios. "He was running more than I was expecting for him to. We put up a good fight, and my team and I will have to go back to the drawing board."

Joet Gonzalez (18-0, 9 KOs) of Glendora, Calif. took another decisive step towards the top of the featherweight division with an impressive fifth-round technical knockout victory over Deivis Julio (19-3, 11 KOs) of Monteria, Colombia. Gonzalez dropped Bassa with a right hand in the fifth round, and after getting back to his feet, Gonzalez landed a flurry of punches that forced the referee to stop the fight at 2:57 of that very same round.

"It feels really good to get the fifth-round stoppage," said Joet Gonzalez. "My opponent really knew how to box, he was on the Colombian National team so that meant we had to come prepared for battle. I'm ready to fight again real soon. Hopefully by October you'll see me again."

Emilio Sanchez (16-0, 11 KOs), the rising super bantamweight prospect of Pacoima, California, scored a dominant fifth-round technical knockout victory against Danny Flores (11-9-1, 11 KOs) of Mexico. Sanchez punished Flores with shots to the body and head in each round before the fight was stopped at 33 seconds of the fifth round.

"I feel satisfied with my win tonight," said Emilio Sanchez. "I was really working on closing the gap and I want to work on my technique and style and be able to be distinct among all the fighters in my pretty stacked division."

Los Angeles' Tenochtitlan "T-Dog" Nava (7-0, 1 KO) scored a four-round unanimous victory against Angel Aguilar (18-14, 1 KO) of Mexico City in a featherweight fight in frond of a wild crowd of his supporters. Nava won the back-and-forth battle with three scores of 39-37.

"I feel great - I made it out of the ring without any significant damage to my body," said Tenochtitlan Nava. "I tried to close the gap between me and my opponent, and focused on landing my jab throughout the fight. That was one of the next steps to one day becoming a world champion. I feel like I am ready."

Alexis Rocha (9-0, 6 KOs), the welterweight sensation of Santa Ana, Calif., scored an impressive knockout victory in the very first round against Esau Herrera (19-10-1, 10 KOs) of Tlaquepaque, Mexico .

"I wanted to win, and I wanted it to look easy and intelligent," said Alexis Rocha. "I feel like I was able to do that with this knockout win. I came in wanting to work the body, and I was able to figure him out quickly."

Genaro Gamez (6-0, 4 KOs) of San Diego, Calif. scored a six-round unanimous decision victory against Rafael Reyes (7-11, 5 KOs) of Tamaulipas, M?xico in the super lightweight division. Gamez scored a knockdown in the second round and hurt Reyes in each of the following rounds. Although Gamez was deducted a point in the fourth round because of a low blow, Gamez won with scores of 59-53, 58-54 and 59-53.

"I wanted to give my fans a good show, and he was able to soak up a lot of my punches. It's been a tough couple of weeks, so this win is really sweet. I recognize that this wasn't my best performance - I am not at my desired weight and I'm still learning as a fighter, but my dream is to fight top names and this was a step towards it."

Javier Padilla (3-0-1, 3 KOs) of Indio, Calif. and Ricardo Arias (1-1-1) of Mexico City engaged in a four-round war in the super bantamweight division that culminated in a unanimous draw. All three judges scored the fight 38-38.

Janel Rivera (16-2-3, 9 KOS) of Catano, Puerto Rico landed a thunderous left hook on Marco A. Sanchez (12-6-3, 7 KOS) of Mexicali, Mexico to win via first-round knockout in minimumweight division.

In the first bout of the evening, Ruben Rodriguez (1-0, 1 KO) of Indio, Calif. made a successful professional debut with a second-round technical knockout victory against Rolando Padilla (0-3) of Los Angeles in a super lightweight bout.

Cotto vs. Kamegai was a 12-round fight for the vacant WBO World Junior Middleweight Championship, and was presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions in association with Teiken Promotions. The event was sponsored by Tecate "BORN BOLD" and Casa Mexico Tequila. Rey Vargas vs. Ronny Rios was a 12-round world championship fight for the WBC Super Bantamweight Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Promociones del Pueblo.

Visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.promocionesmiguelcotto.com, and www.hbo.com/boxing; follow on Twitter at @cottopromotions, @GoldenBoyBoxing, and @hboboxing; and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/realmiguelacotto. Visit us on Instagram at @GoldenBoyBoxing and @realmiguelacotto and follow the conversation using #CottoKamegai.




Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Hamzah Sheeraz Demolishes Edgar Berlanga in Stunner, Becomes Mandatory Challenger to Canelo Alvarez
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 13 Jul 2025
  • Shakur Stevenson Masterfully Tames William Zepeda to Retain WBC Lightweight Crown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 13 Jul 2025
  • JV Tuazon, Ador Torres, Lemuel De Barbo, Jomar Fajardo Score KO Wins in Brico Santig's Highland Show in Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 13 Jul 2025
  • Yanon is PBF flyweight champ
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sun, 13 Jul 2025
  • Taylor vs. Serrano Trilogy: Can Amanda Get The Nod?
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • BERLANGA-SHEERAZ, STEVENSON-CEPEDA, MORELL-KHATAEV MAKE WEIGHT IN NEW YORK
    By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • Johnny Spell Takes on Chancellor Batttenberg on Saturday, July 19th at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows in Washington, PA
    , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • JV Tuazon, Ador Torres, Lemuel De Barbo, Jomar Fajardo Make Weight for Brico Santig's Highland Show in Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Philippine Under-12 Girls Team Shines Bright, Clinches Multiple Medals at 23rd ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships in Penang
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Kenneth “Llover Boy” Takes on “El Nica” Concepcion Aug 17 on Gerry Peñalosa’s Show @ the Winford Resort and Casino Manila (Analysis)
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Anthony Velazquez won’t be Boxing’s best kept secret in 2026
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Undefeated Gabriela Tellez Returns July 18 at “Night of Champions” Live on DAZN
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Dushanbe hosts stacked fight card with Bakhodur Usmonov and Christopher Mouafo headlining IBA.Pro 8
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Shakur vs Zepeda & Morrell vs Khataev Fight Analysis
    By Ralph Rimpell, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Peñalosa To Test "Lover Boy" Llover Versus Accomplished Panamanian Veteran Concepcion
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team Begins Brandenburg Cup Prep Camp
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Dream Fight: “Bam” Rodriguez vs “Puma” Martinez on the Horizon
    By Carlos Costa, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Perez vs Vivas Headlines All Star Boxing's Prueba de Fuego Card on July 25
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Christy Martin Promotions & Ringside Ticket Inc. Present ‘Lopez Vs. Vargas’ Welterweight Battle
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Vegas Fight Experience Where Authentic Sparring Meets Cinematic Vegas Energy
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • 4 Division World Champion & Hall of Famer Erik Morales Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13, in Las Vegas
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • SALITA PROMOTIONS SIGNS FORMER WORLD CHAMPION TONY HARRISON
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • FIGHT EMPIRE! TUAZON, ADOR, DE BARBO, JOMAR, AND MORE ARE READY FOR ACTION IN BRICO SANTIG'S EXCITING SHOW JULY 12 IN THAILAND
    By Carlos Costa, , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • Shakur Stevenson and David Morrell Face "Crossroad Fights" This Saturday in Queens
    By Ralph Rimpell, , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • Christy Martin’s “Mayhem in Music City 2” to Feature Undefeated Vic Hernandez Facing Jayvon Garnett for NABA & Jr. NABF Featherweight Championships
    , Wed, 09 Jul 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.