The latest member of the Cotto family to make his mark on the world boxing map is unbeaten junior lightweight Abner Cotto, who will be looking for his 15th professional win without a loss on Saturday, November 17 when he meets up with Mexico’s Alejandro Rodriguez in the main event of TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” from the Coliseo Roger Mendoza in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The six round co-main event will feature a meeting of two of the top junior lightweight prospects from the island, as Cataño’s Edgardo Lopez faces Bayamon’s Orlando Vazquez. In non-televised action, unbeaten Puerto Rican junior lightweight prospect Carlos Ivan Velasquez returns to the ring for the first time in over two years.
A silver medalist for Puerto Rico in the 2007 Pan American Games, as the cousin of Miguel and Jose Cotto, Abner Cotto (14-0, 6 KO’s) was practically born into the fight game and 14 fights into his professional career, he’s well on his way to carving out his own niche in the junior lightweight division. The winner of Puerto Rican and WBC FECARBOX championships already, the 25-year-old from Aguas Buenas has scored wins over Hevinson Herrera (W10) and Juan Montiel (TKO8) in a successful 2012 campaign leading to his November 17 fight. He’ll look to close out the year with a win at home against the upset-minded Rodriguez.
24-year-old Alejandro “Soma” Rodriguez (15-7, 8 KO’s) has faced eight unbeaten fighters since turning professional in 2009, so tough competition is nothing new for this native of Guadalajara, Mexico. A well-traveled vet that has competed in Miami, Texas, California, Oklahoma and Florida, Rodriguez will add some more frequent flyer miles this week when he aims to issue Cotto his first professional loss in Puerto Rico.
Already a fan favorite in Puerto Rico thanks to his exciting style, Cataño’s Edgardo “Sasso” Lopez (5-0, 3 KO’s) has been wowing crowds on the island since his professional debut in 2010. After winning his first three bouts by early knockout, Lopez has shown his versatility in decisioning his next two foes, but this Saturday he wants to end things early against island-rival Vazquez.
After debuting with a four round decision loss to Fernando Torres in 2006, Orlando Vazquez (5-1, 1 KO) evened his record at 1-1 after a hiatus from the ring three years later. then 2012 has been his breakout year, with the Bayamon native making up for lost time with four consecutive wins. This weekend he looks to keep his streak going against unbeaten Lopez.
A former amateur star who scored a win over Yuriorkis Gamboa at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, Cataño, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Ivan Velasquez (13-0, 11 KO’s) blazed through the first four years of his professional career, defeating Juan Nazario, Ira Terry, and Eduardo Arcos along the way. Now planning on picking up where he left off after injuries kept him out of the ring since July of 2010, the 28-year-old Velasquez is getting ready to take on the best the 130-pound division has to offer, beginning with his six round fight against veteran Robert Bonilla (18-13-1, 11 KO’s) of Managua, Nicaragua.
Cotto vs. Rodriguez is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Miguel Cotto Promotions and H2 Entertainment and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. On fight night, doors open at 6:00 p.m., the first bell rings at 7:00 p.m. and the TeleFutura broadcast begins at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Tickets priced at $10, $15 and $25 are available for purchase at all Ticket Center locations or by phone at (787) 792-5000.
