Cintron Is Ready to Impress Tonight

Welterweight Kermit Cintron says he is not concerned about being the overlooked fighter in tonight’s ESPN pay-per-view outdoor fight card at Caesar’s Palace.

According to Cintron, he’ll be the boxer people remember once the night is over, not fellow welterweights Shane Mosley, who will fight David Estrada in a 10-round undercard match, or Antonio Margarito, the World Boxing Organization champion Cintron will fight in the 12-round main event.

“This is my fight, my show,” said Cintron, 24-0 with 22 knockouts but idle since he developed a hand infection after beating Teddy Reid in July 2004. “People will find out all they want about me.... I’m just going to go in and do my thing and whatever comes up, I’ll be ready.”

Mosley, 33, has lost his last two fights to Winky Wright at 154 pounds and is trying to regain his position as the sport’s best at 147 pounds, but Cintron says he’s ready to prove that his time is now.

“I feel really good and confident,” said Cintron, 25, born in Puerto Rico and raised in Warminster, Pa. “My weight has been solid. I arrived in Las Vegas weighing 149 pounds. This is me, I do not have to worry about making weight.”

The Mexican-born Margarito is a hard-hitting fighter sporting a 31-4-1 record with 22 knockouts. Margarito, 26, is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Sebastian Lujan in February that ended when Lujan’s left ear was detached by a punch.

“I know [Cintron’s] undefeated and I know he’s hungry,” said Margarito, who made his pro debut at 15 in Mexico in 1994 and has lost only once in the last eight years. “I know he wants to beat me but I want to win also. There are a lot of good opportunities for the winner of this fight.”

One possibility is a match against undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah. Another is a fight against Mosley, if he can get past Estrada, 22-1 and coming off a victory over Christopher Smith last January.

Said Cintron, “I’ll just continue to win fights and everyone will get a chance to fight Kermit Cintron.”

Also on tonight’s card will be a 10-round heavyweight bout between 265-pound Jameel McCline and 222-pound former Olympian Calvin Brock.

McCline, 31-4-3 with 19 knockouts, will be looking to hand Brock his first defeat after 24 victories.