Denver boxer Alvarado stays unbeaten

Associated Press

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Photo by Ronda Churchill/Associated Press

Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico goes down in the 11th round during a World Boxing Association welterweight championship match against Antonio Margarito of Mexico in Las Vegas. Margarito won by TKO in the 11th.

LAS VEGAS — Antonio Margarito stopped Miguel Cotto in the 11th round Saturday night, blemishing Cotto’s unbeaten record and claiming the World Boxing Association 147-pound title with one last incredible barrage of punches.

In undercard bouts at the MGM Grand Garden, Mike Alvarado, of Denver, remained unbeaten with a fourth-round knockout of Cesar Bazan, and rising Filipino prospect Bernabe Concepcion stopped Adam Carrera in the fourth round.

Alvarado (22-0, 15 KOs), a little-known 140-pound prospect with Denver’s 303 area code tattooed prominently on his chest, bounced back capably after absorbing several big shots in the first two rounds from Bazan (48-11-1), a former champion on the downslope of his career. Alvarado finished it with 14 seconds left in the fourth, dropping Bazan in a heap with an uppercut.

Alvarado patiently has been groomed by Top Rank, but he could be in for bigger paydays after an impressive performance in his toughest test to date.

“I started off slow, but I started picking it up in the third round when I found my rhythm,” Alvarado said. “Bazan’s an experienced world champion, and I felt his power in the early rounds. He stung me a little bit, but I got stronger as the rounds came.

I’d like to try a top-10 contender in my next fight.”

Margarito (37-5, 27 KOs), the Mexican standout so often ducked by the best fighters in the division in recent years, dropped the Puerto Rican champion twice in the 11th after several rounds of relentless pressure at the MGM Grand Garden.

Also, Cesar Canchila of Colombia rallied for a unanimous decision against previously unbeaten Giovani Segura, winning the WBA's interim 108-pound belt.

“I told my corner I would wear him down and then knock him out,” said Margarito, who won his third welterweight belt. “He never hurt me, but that was the game plan, to come out early strong and to wear him down and knock him out. I got him with body shots, and then I hit him in the head, and then I knocked him out.”

Cotto (32-1), the respected champion attempting his fifth title defense, won the early rounds with defense and timely counterpunching. Margarito took several major shots on his tough chin yet still kept up the same relentless attack that finally paid off in the middle rounds.

With Cotto bleeding and woozy, the champion’s corner stopped the fight with 55 seconds left, sending Margarito’s team into a delirious celebration of a long-awaited victory. Cotto, unable to speak clearly through tears and welts, was taken to a hospital from his locker room.

“I am very proud and very happy I was able to give the fans a great fight,” Cotto said. “Life continues. It’s not over for me. I’m going to take a long rest, decide what to do next. This night was Margarito’s night. He’s an excellent fighter. He did his job better than I did.”

Segura (19-1-1), a Mexican who fights out of the Los Angeles suburbs, started with two outstanding rounds in the first big fight of his career, chasing his opponent around the ring before dropping him dramatically in the second.

The knockdown only seemed to infuriate Canchila (27-1, 21 KOs), who regained his legs and gradually tilted the fight in his direction during the middle rounds before both fighters staggered to the final bell. All three judges comfortably favored Canchila, a 26-year-old boxer who never had fought outside Colombia.

Concepcion (26-1-1, 15 KOs), a super bantamweight trained by Manny Pacquiao guru Freddie Roach, knocked down Carrera twice in the third round, finishing him with a nasty right uppercut with 46 seconds left.