Martirosyan in line for Cotto fight?
MARTIROSYAN COULD
FIGHT COTTO
With rumors swirling around the boxing world that a much-hyped rematch between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito could be called off, undefeated Glendale boxer Vanes Martirosyan’s name has surfaced as a possible replacement for Margarito, according to multiple boxing websites.
“Getting someone to step in and replace Margarito on short notice will be much easier than thought. Two names instantly stand out, those being Vanes Martirosyan and Pawel Wolak. Both are in shape,” Jack Hirsch wrote on boxingnewsonline.net.
Martirosyan (31-0, 19 knockouts), who has been a speculated opponent for Cotto in the past, currently trains at Wild Card Boxing with Freddie Roach and Glendale Fighting Club with Edmond Tarverdyan. Tarverdyan could not confirm the fight was official, but said the next few days would likely determine whether it was.
Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs) is the current World Boxing Assn. super welterweight (154 pounds) champion and is set to defend his title against the controversial Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) on Dec. 3 at Madison Square Garden live on HBO Pay-Per-View.
However, problems with the New York State Athletic Commission sanctioning the bout due to rumored health problems with Margarito and concerns over his past discretion in the ring have led to reports that the bout has already been called off. A hearing is set for Friday that will determine if Margarito will receive his license to fight in the state.
Margarito defeated Cotto via 11th-round technical knockout in July of 2008. Thereafter, Margarito was suspended following his bout with Shane Mosley for using illegal hand-wraps, something Cotto accused him of doing in their bout due to a picture that surfaced of Margarito’s torn glove and an apparent cracked hand-wrap in their fight.
WOJCIECHOWSKI
PICKS NC STATE
A year ago, Louis Wojciechowski moved from Arizona to Southern California to experience a new level of high school swimming. For the next phase of the Crescenta Valley High senior’s standout swimming career, he will migrate clear across the country.
Wojciechowski, the reigning CIF Southern Section Division II 100-yard breaststroke champion, formalized his intent to swim at North Carolina State on National Signing Day, Nov. 9, according to Falcons boys’ swimming Coach Jan Sakonju.
“He’s real excited about it. He went and did a campus visit and was really gung ho and that’s when he made the decision to focus solely on swimming,” Sakonju said of Wojociechowski, who helped the Falcons place third in Division II in May. “He’s certainly at that elite level and he was well-accomplished before he even transferred over here in Arizona. We’ve had several swimmers leave this program and go swim with [NCAA] Division I schools with James Martin, Yumi So and Sara Sun and they had very similar backgrounds as him, so there won’t be as much of a shock going into a college program because he’s used to that type of workload and high commitment level.”
North Carolina State competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and was ranked No. 19 in the nation in the most recent College Swimming Coaches Association of America poll, announced on Nov. 9.
MISI MAKES CAL
BAPTIST HIS PICK
Christian Misi has found the perfect fit to continue his basketball career at the collegiate level in Cal Baptist University, according to his Crescenta Valley High Coach Shawn Zargarian, who said the senior power forward signed a letter of intent on National Signing Day, Nov. 9.
“Since the day Christian came into CV I think his goal has always been to play at the next level, to play college basketball and to be able to get a scholarship to play at the next level,” Zargarian said. “We’ve talked quite a few times about what the best fit was as far as him not only being able to play at the next level, but to actually be able to go somewhere where he would make an impact. Cal Baptist pretty much fit all the criteria he was looking for.”
Misi, who averaged 18.5 points and 11 rebounds per game as a junior post player en route to garnering All-CIF Division I-A first-team honors, will join a Lancers program that went 14-16 and 8-12 in the Pac West Conference last season and is currently 2-2 in the young 2011-12 season.
“It feels great, it’s a lot of pressure [off] to know where you’re going next year,” Misi said. “I just feel like now I can focus on this next season and getting the job done.
“It’s a Christian school and I grew up Christian, its’ close to home, it’s only an hour away and I liked the team when I met them.”