The “Stadium Slugfest” Official Notebook

BRONX, NY (June 2, 2010) — Good morning Mr. and Mrs. America and all the boxing fans at sea. Let’s go to press.

WHO’S ON FIRST? . . . We know that MIGUEL COTTOand YURI FOREMAN will engage in the first world championship fight in Yankee Stadium but who will be forever remembered as the first to ever fight in Yankee Stadium?  Answer:  A pair of New York junior welterweights.  Undefeated CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ(3-0, 3 KOs), and JONATHAN CUBA (2-1, 2 KOs), will go toe-to-toe in Yankee Stadium’s inaugural brawl.
  

COTTO TAKES ATTENDANCE . . . Three world titles in two different divisions isn’t the only legacyMIGUEL COTTO boasts.  The Pride of Puerto Rico is also New York’s No. 1 box office attraction.  Miguel’s six fights at Madison Square Garden, dating back to 2005, with many coming on the eve of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, have sold approximately 93,000 seats, easily making him New York’s most popular – and bankable – fighter for the past decade.  On June 5, Miguel will become New York’s first and only fighter to have sold over 100,000 tickets in this millennium.  The breakdown is as follows: Muhammad Abdullaev – 12,000 (June 11, 2005), Paulie Malignaggi – 15,000 (June 10, 2006), Zab Judah – 21,000, a complete sellout (June 9, 2007), Shane Mosley – 18,000 (November 10, 2007),Michael Jennings – 12,000 (February. 21, 2009) and JOSHUA CLOTTEY – 15,000 (June 13, 2009)…

THE FANS WEIGH IN . . . The Official Weigh-In for “Stadium Slugfest” at Yankee Stadium will be open to the public and admission will be free. The gates to the Great Hall will open at 2:30 p.m. with the main event and co-main event stepping on the scale, beginning at 3:00 p.m., followed by the undercard.  Concession stands selling food and fight merchandise will be open…

CANADIAN COLD FRONT . . . Toronto Maple Leaf’s tough guy and YURI FOREMAN fan COLTON ORR will be sitting ringside rooting on Israel’s first boxing world champion as a guest of Foreman and his managerMurray Wilson …  

REMOTE PATROL . . . With appearances on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, ESPN’s E:60 with Jeremy Schaap and Versus’ The Daily Line already under his belt, look for a feature on YURI FOREMAN This Friday! at 10 p.m. ET on FOX News’ “On The Record, with Greta Van Susteren”…

COTTO CAUGHT STREAKING . . . Since 1994, MIGUEL COTTO has held a world title.  He’ll be looking to extend that streak on June 5 when he challenges World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion YURI FOREMAN.  If successful, Cotto will become a four-time world champion in three different divisions.  Cotto captured the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) 140-pound title with a sixth-round TKO of Kelson Pinto, July 11, 2004 in Puerto Rico.   After six successful title defenses, through June 10, 2006, he vacated the title and captured the vacant WBA welterweight title with a fifth-round stoppage of Carlos Quintana, in Atlantic City, on December 2, 2006.  He wore that championship belt through four successful title defenses, until he suffered his first professional loss, to ANTONIO MARGARITO, on  July 26, 2008.  Cotto regained the vacant WBO welterweight title in his next fight, knocking out Michael Jennings in the fifth round of their February 21, 2009 rumble. He held that title until last November when he lost it to MANNY PACQUIAO…             

HEY ABBOT! . . . Hall of Fame promoter BOB ARUM will be served his just desserts at a tribute dinner hosted by the Friars Club on Thursday.  Celebrities scheduled to speak include NFL great Jim Brown, who helped begin Bob’s boxing career by introducing him to Muhammad Ali; George Chuvalo, who challenged Ali for the World Heavyweight Championship in 1966, in the first fight ever promoted by Bob; former World Lightweight Champion Ray “Boom Boom”Mancini and seven-division world championMANNY PACQUIAO.  HBO’s Jim Lampley will act as Master of Ceremonies…

LIGHTS!  CAMERAS!  ARUM! . . .  Bob Arum will be pulling double duty Saturday night.  Not only will he be promoting Yankee Stadium’s first fight, he will also be filming a scene with actor Stacy Keach for the new FX boxing-theme television series “Lights Out,” which will make its debut in January 2011…