Andres Cortes Expects To Stop Alejandro Salinas on Zepeda-Castenada Card

When Andres Cortes steps into the ring on July 7th, more than 12 months will have passed since his last fight when he stopped Sergio Lopez in 3 rounds. The fight takes place at "The Bubble" inside of the MGM Grand Garden Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip.

Cortes (12-0) will take on Alejandro Salinas (10-3) on the Jose Zepeda-Kenda Castaneda undercard that will be broadcast live on ESPN.  Andy Vences faces Luis Lopez in the co-feature bout.

While a lot of fighters who have fought in "The Bubble" have taken their fights on short notice, Cortes said that he had plenty of time to prepare for what essentially is an audition for the fight card's promoter Top Rank.

"I knew that the opportunity would come around in like May but I didn't have an exact date until mid June. We have been talking about this for a while now so it wasn't short notice," said Cortes. "I am working with Top Rank. I am looking to fight Top Rank's best fighters. I want to fight all the top 130s that Top Rank has to offer. If I get a contract it doesn't matter. I just want to fight the best guys."

The top guys that Top Rank has to offer in the division are WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt and WBO champion Shakur Stevenson.  While Cortes is still probably at least a handful of fights away from being ready for a title shot, he is very confident that he has what it takes to dethrone both of them.

"They are good but none of these guys have seen anything like me. I am different from every fighter. Until they get in the ring with me we won't know what happens. We have to wait and see," Cortes told BoxingScene.com.

The 23-year-old Las Vegas native isn't too familiar with his opponent but doesn't expect him to last the full 8 rounds that the fight is scheduled for.

"I don't know too much about him. I know he is tough and in the losses that he has he has given good competitive fights. I am looking to change that and give him his first stoppage loss. I am looking to do better than the other guys before. I always want to do more. I am looking for a mid to late round stoppage. I am going to be smart at first as the rounds progress and then get more aggressive and go for the knockout," said Cortes.

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