938 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Elisinio Castillo byline.
Every story follows our editorial policy. To report a mistake, use our corrections form; for anything else, contact us.
The fight between former three division champion Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31KOs), and WBC middleweight king Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 26KOs), could be finalized by month's end, according to Martinez's adviser Sampson Lewkowicz. The two sides have continued to negotiate a possible HBO pay-per-view fight for June 7th at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Former super bantamweight champion Jhonatan Romero (23-1, 12KOs) is looking to make a lot of changes in his career. He was last seen in the ring last August in Atlantic City, when he suffered an upset six round TKO defeat to Kiko Martinez of Argentina. He aims to come back on a date in March. Romero is going to travel over to the United States and at some point he is planning to come to Las Vegas to train for a few days with Roger Mayweather and Floyd Mayweather Sr. The two brothers co-train the pound for pound king of boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Cuban amateur star Julio Cesar la Cruz, 24-years-old and a two-time world amateur champion, was hospitalized after taking a bullet outside of a recreation center in the eastern province of Camagüey, his hometown, in the early hours of Saturday. The wound is located near the top of his left hip. He will soon be moved to a hospital in Havana to continue his recovery. No details were available about the incident.
WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31KOs) issued a minor warning to the pound-for-pound king. Maidana was approached with a question regarding whether or not he was capable of beating WBC champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0, 26KOs). Maidana is one the fighters being considered for Mayweather's return on May 3rd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Carlos Ortega (8-3-1, 4KOs) has been given a chance to capture the WBC FECARBOX minimumweight title when he faces Gilberto Pedroza (10-1-1, 5KOs) at the Fantastic Casino de Albrook Mall in Panama City, Panama. Ortega has not won a fight since April 2012 - dropping two decisions and going to a draw in October. Pedroza is also coming off a draw, but won his last three fights prior to that.
It has been reported that welterweight Aristides Quintero (16-4-1, 13KOs) has been given a six month suspension for signing multiple promotional agreements. He signed a deal with Eventos y Promociones del Istmo, which is led by Rogelio Espiño; and then he also signed a contract with Manuel Pérez Barreiro. Quintero has gone undefeated since 2010, putting together a serious streak of twelve victories and ten of those wins came by way of knockout.
Roman Gonzalez (37-0, 31KOs) is reportedly going to return on a March date in Japan. Teiken Promotions, who co-promote Gonzalez tried to make a fight between him and WBC flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi of Japan. The talks failed when Yaegashi rejected the idea of facing Gonzalez. They also tried to get Juan Carlos Reveco, but he already has a return date set for February. Gonzalez fought three times in 2013 and scored knockout victories in all three contests.
Oscar Escandon (22-1, 15KOs) got the best New Year's present that he could ask for - when the World Boxing Association ordered a rematch with WBA interim-super bantamweight champion Nehomar Cermeno (22-5-1, 13KOs). They fought in August, with Cermeno winning what some called a controversial twelve round split decision at the Megapolis Convention Center in Panama City. Two judges saw it for Cermeno with scores of 117-111, 116-113 and the third had it 115-113 for Escandon.
Former IBF super bantamweight champion Jhonatan Romero (23-1, 12KOs) aims to return to the ring in the month of March. In his last fight, in August, Romero was upset in six rounds and lost his IBF crown to Kiko Martinez. It was the first defense for Romero, who captured the title last February with a twelve round split decision over Alejandro Lopez in Tijuana, Mexico. Romero plans to travel to Los Angeles in January, when he plans to train under new coach Dany Zamora.
Former champion Jonathan Victor Barros (36-4-1, 20KOs) is going to push for a shot at IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich (18-0, 9KOs). Barros, who previously held the WBA's title at 126, is now the IBF's Latino champion at the weight. He defends that title against Sergio Javier Escobar on January 31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gradovich's stablemate, Mikey Garcia, knocked out Barros in 2012. Since the loss, Barros picked up two victories in 2013 by knockout.