José Manuel Martinó gets exclusive footage of undefeated prospect Mario Santiago working hard in the gym and looking sharp. The reggaeton edition.
Fighter background - Things haven’t come easy thus far, for featherweight prospect Mario “The Ponce Prince” Santiago (13-0, 8KO). The Puerto Rico native has been a professional for close to five years now, but has only fought thirteen times in a career plagued by inactivity. However, things appear to have taken a turn for the best for the Ponce Prince. In 2005 he would join the growing ranks of fighters being managed by Evangeslita Cotto, uncle to current WBO jr. welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. This past October, Santiago would also make his first televised bout when he faced Cornelius Lock on Showtime, on the popular boxing series, ShoBox. Mario would be facing his toughest opponent and took full advantage of the opportunity by stopping Lock in the 5th round.
“There were some people who thought I was committing a big mistake by facing a fighter with a lot more experience then I had and who had a world ranking. (Lock was ranked 15th by the IBF at the time) But, I gladly accepted the opportunity. I wanted to face a known fighter and challenge myself.”
“It was not an easy fight, but I am happy with how I did, and pleased with the results”, Santiago would comment about the fight.
Santiago hopes to build on his ShoBox performance when he makes his 2006 debut on the March 4 Miguel Cotto- Gianluca Branco undercard No opponent has been named as of yet. With Gary Shaw as his promoter, and Evangelista Cotto as his manager, it would appear that Mario Santiago is poised to make his mark on the boxing world in 2006.
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