By Jake Donovan
Following its most successful year in its 25 years of boxing coverage, Telemundo is ready to kick off the 2015
Boxeo Telemundo
series. The spring season premiere takes place Friday at Kissimmee Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida, a longtime network favorite.
In the main event, Puerto Rico's Jonathan Oquendo takes on Mexico's Gabino Cota. Both fighters came in at the 126 lb. featherweight limit for their scheduled 10-round regional title fight.
Oquendo (24-4, 16KOs) headlines the season premiere of Boxeo Telemundo for the second straight year. The battle-tested Boricua accepted a late offer to fill in for Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., agreeing to face - and going on to beat - Guillermo Avila in this very same venue exactly 51 weeks ago.
The win ranks among Oquendo's best performances to date, parlaying the fight into a clash with a comebacking Abner Mares last July. Things didn't go as well that night, dropping a 10-round decision in a supporting bout to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez' close, disputed win over Erislandy Lara.
Cota (17-3-1, 15KOs) has lost two straight, and will fight on the road for his second straight fight. His first 20 bouts as a pro took place in his native Mexico before traveling abroad for his eventual points loss to Andrey Klimov last November.
The bout will air live on Telemundo (11:35 p.m. ET), marking the first of four consecutive Fridays of boxing on the network to comprise of the spring season. Three of the four shows in the spring will take place in Florida, with the lone exception taking place on March 20 in making its first appearance this year in Mexico City.
FULL WEIGHTS
Jonathan Oquendo, 126 lbs vs. Gabino Cota, 126 lbs - 10 rds, featherweight
Moises Carasquillo, 162.6 lbs vs. Emanuel Sanchez, 166 lbs - 6 rds, super middleweight
Jovan Perez, 138.5 lbs vs. Jeffrey Ramos, 138 lbs - 4 rds, junior welterweight
Charles Natal, 148.8 lbs vs. Juan Aguirre, 150 lbs - 4 rds, welterweight
Alex Roman, 119.4 lbs vs. Edgardo Marin, 121.4 lbs - 4 rds, junior featherweight
Robert Burwell, 159.4 lbs vs. Nathaniel Gallimore, 160.2 lbs - 4 rds, middleweight
Fernando Martinez, 159 lbs vs. Anthony Way, 160 lbs - 4 rds, lightweight
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
