Boxing’s headlines from the Left Coast
The Robert Garcia (l) and Antonio Margarito (r) combination may need some tweaking if they plan to defeat Miguel Cotto who will be in revenge mode.
On Saturday, Brandon Rios, the current WBA lightweight champ and stablemate Mikey Garcia are having a charity boxing function in Oxnard, Ca. with all the proceeds going to the family of amateur boxer Gustavo Rodriguez who was shot and killed last week.
“Gustavo was just 17,” said Robert Garcia of the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy. “He worked out at the gym last Friday and while walking home was shot and killed. It is a real tragedy. Brandon and my brother Mikey want to help the family.”
Rios and Garcia are scheduled to go into the ring and duke it out for fight fans at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, 1601 Pacific Ave #201, Oxnard, Ca. 93033.
“We will have a donation box at the gym,” said Garcia. “All of the proceeds will go to the family. We are hoping many of the fans will come out and help. Brandon and Mikey will sign autographs, take pictures, anything that will help.”
Rios has been training for his first world title defense against challenger Urbano Antillon of Maywood, Ca., on July 9 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca. The bout will be televised live on Showtime Championship Boxing.
Be on the look-out for the red and black bucket.
Antonio Margarito just agreed to challenge WBA junior middleweight Miguel Cotto on December 3 in New York City. Margarito has already received the doctor’s approval and is in the preliminary stage of his training. The bout will be for Cotto’s 154 pound title with no catch weight and hopefully no plaster of paris inside the hand-wraps.
Also on Saturday, at La Musica Hall in Toluca, Mexico, a boxer versus a slugger are set to go. World champion Miguel “Títere” Vázquez (28-3-0, 12 KOs) will make the third defense of his IBF lightweight championship against Marlon “Rata” Aguilar (25-10-1, 18 KOs) and then on the same fight card,Giovani Segura (27-1-1, 23 KOs) will not expose his WBO light flyweight world championship or WBA light flyweight super championship, when he faces Eddy Zúñiga (7-5-1, 1 KO) in a non-title ten rounder.
Diego Magdaleno (19-0, 7 KOs), trained by Augie Sanchez at Barry’s Gym in Las Vegas, is now preparing for his next Showtime appearance, this time as their headliner. Magdaleno will defend his NABF super featherweight title July 15 at the Texas Station in Las Vegas against Alejandro Perez (15-2-1, 10 KOs).
