YANKEE STADIUM TO HOST “STADIUM SLUGFEST”

Press Release: May 02, 2010 - http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5163154

Yankee Stadium will host the “Stadium Slugfest”—a world title boxing match between World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman and three-time world champion Miguel Cotto—on Saturday, June 5, 2010, it was announced today in a press conference at Yankee Stadium. The announcement featured both fighters and their camps, Hall of Fame promoter and Chairman of Top Rank, Bob Arum, Melvina Lathan of the New York State Athletic Commission and HBO Sports Sr. Vice President Mark Taffet. Foreman vs. Cotto is promoted by Top Rank, in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions and Yankee Stadium. HBO World Championship Boxing will televise the fight live nationally at 10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT.

"The original Yankee Stadium had a great tradition of boxing, and with this fight we begin a new tradition in our new home," said Lonn Trost, Yankees Chief Operating Officer. “Yankee Stadium will provide a great backdrop for what will definitely be a magical night for the sport of boxing, in what we hope is the first of many fights in our prestigious home.”
"The inaugural promotion at Yankee Stadium is perfect for this location,” said Bob Arum, Chairman of Top Rank. “It should be a great night of boxing and I believe this will lead to other great nights of boxing at Yankee Stadium."

Foreman (28-0, 8 KOs), a 29-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., is the first orthodox Jew to win a world championship in nearly seven years. Born in Gomel, Belarus, and raised in Israel, Foreman immigrated to Brooklyn. The 2001 New York Golden Gloves Champion turned pro in 2002 and began studying to become a rabbi three years ago. He knocked down defending champion Daniel Santos in the final round of a 12-round fight on November 4, 2009, en route to a decisive and unanimous decision victory and Israel’s first boxing world title.

"It is a great honor to have my first title defense at Yankee Stadium and join the names of such fighters as Benny Leonard, Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali, and to represent Israel and the Jewish people," Foreman said.

Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, has held a world title every year since 2004 and will be looking to extend that streak with his challenge of Foreman. Puerto Rico’s most exciting fighter, Cotto held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight crown from 2004-06, successfully defending it six times before vacating it to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title at the end of 2006, a title he held for nearly as long. He won his second welterweight title in February 2009, knocking out Michael Jennings in the fifth round of a 12-round fight to become the WBO welterweight champion. He lost the title in his second defense, on November 4, 2009, to Manny Pacquiao. Notable victories for Cotto include Sugar Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, Paulie Malignaggi, and Demarcus Corley.
“I'm very excited to be fighting at Yankee Stadium and ready to make history in this legendary venue,” Cotto said. “I will become champion again in a third weight class. On June 5th, the fans will celebrate"