Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Cotto-Margarito undercard recap

Margarito new champ

In what is being called by some as the fight of the year, Antonio Margarito beat Miguel Cotto by 11th round TKO to win the WBA welterweight championship Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

On the undercard of Saturday's Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito welterweight world championship fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena:

Cesar Canchila (27-1, 21 KOs) scored a major upset in the light flyweight division by outpointing Giovani Segura (19-1-1, 15 KOs), who went off as an 8-1 betting favorite, in a 12-round unanimous decision for the interim WBA title at 108 pounds. Canchila, a Colombian making his U.S. debut, sustained a second-round knockdown to win by 115-112 and 117-110 twice on the judges' scorecards.

Mike Alvarado (22-0, 15 KOs) stayed unbeaten by knocking out former world champ Cesar Bazan (48-11-1, 31 KOs) at 2:46 of the fourth round in a super lightweight fight. Alvarado, a hot prospect in the division, finished off the game but ultimately overmatched Bazan by forcing him against the ropes and delivering a series of combinations including a buzzing left uppercut followed by a straight right. Alvarado, of Thornton, Colo., was busier and more accurate than his Mexican opponent, landing 110 of 278 punches (40 percent), including 62 of 126 power punches (49 percent), according to CompuBox.

Bernabe Concepcion (26-1-1, 15 KOs) stopped Adam Carrera (19-4, 8 KOs) by technical knockout at 2:14 of the second round in a super bantamweight fight. Concepcion connected on 28 of 47 power punches for an impressive rate of 60 percent.

Jesus Rojas (13-0, 10 KOs) defeated Anyetei Laryea (16-5, 9 KOs) by eight-round unanimous decision in a super bantamweight fight.

Luis Cervantes (7-3-3, 2 KOs) and Brian Ramirez (5-1, 3 KOs) fought to a no-decision at super bantamweight. Ramirez was cut by an accidental head butt and could not continue past 1:22 of the third round.

Benjamin Flores (19-3, 6 KOs) defeated Vernie Torres (27-12, 15 KOs) by technical unanimous decision in a featherweight bout. Flores was cut by an accidental head butt and could not continue past 1:59 of the eighth round.

Luis Cruz (7-0, 4 KOs) stopped Jaime Villa (5-6-1, 2 KOs) by technical knockout at 2:59 of the first round in a featherweight bout.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy