The WBC Welterweight Tournament will continue on Saturday, January 30, when Azael “Turbo” Cosio (20-3-2, 17 KOs) of Santa Marta, Panama, faces Cesar Miguel “El Zurdo” Barrionuevo (28-3-2, 19 KOs) of Catamarca, Argentina.
The winner of this fight will face Pennsylvania’s Sammy “The Who Can Mexican” Vasquez in the semi-final in late Spring.
Promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing and Reginaldo and Oswaldo Kuchle of Promociones del Pueblo, the 12-round Cosio vs. Barrionuevo showdown will be held at Hotel Ixtapa Azul, in Guerrero, Mexico, and will be televised live on Mexico’s Televisa and TyC Sports of Argentina.
According to Lewkowicz, in the other leg of the tournament, new WBC Welterweight Champion Danny Garcia has been mandated to face Amir Khan. The winner of that fight will then face the winner of the Cosio/Barrionuevo vs. Vasquez semi-final fight.
“This tournament is a great move by the WBC,” said Sampson Lewkowicz. “I’m very happy for the great opportunity that the WBC has given all the participants to compete for the prestigious green belt.”
Lewkowicz says he loves the tournament format to unclog the top levels of the welterweight division and is looking forward to their next move, a super welterweight tournament beginning in late Spring.
“What the WBC is doing is good for boxing and gives some talented fighters their chance to fight for a championship they might otherwise be forced to wait years for or be shut out of totally. I commend them for this move.”
