Jewish Champ Will Lose To Puerto Rican Icon at Yankee Stadium

Provided that a bar mitzvah doesn’t prohibit it from occurring, WBA super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman is expected to defend his crown against former WBO welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto on June 5 at Yankee Stadium.

“The Yankees want to make a deal, we know we can make a deal, they’re just working through a problem at Yankee Stadium,” promoter Bob Arum told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

“But you wouldn’t believe it if I told you. They’ve leased out some lounges for this bar mitzvah and part of the deal was for a half hour or so, they could use the big screen in center field to show pictures and all that sort of stuff. Obviously you can’t do that if there’s a fight going on.”

Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) last fought on Nov. 14 when he relinquished his belt to Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) by a brutal 12th round TKO.

On the under-card of the Pacquiao versus Cotto bout, Foreman (28-0, 8 KOs), who is ironically an aspiring rabbi, defeated Daniel Santos (32-4-1-1, 23 KOs) by unanimous decision to become Israel’s first ever world boxing champion.

Foreman, 29, the winner of the New York Golden Gloves in 2001, was considered as a potential opponent for Pacquiao after the WBO champion’s proposed a matchup with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (40-0, 25 KOs) deteriorated earlier this month.

However, Pacquiao rejected the offer mainly because Foreman, at five feet and eleven inches, is quite tall for a welterweight. As evidenced by his paltry knockout percentage, Foreman does not possess tremendous power in either of his fists.

Still, Foreman is a tactician in the ring and his height has posed problems for his opponents in the past.

“Foreman is a solid boxer,” said Brad Sherwood, a personal trainer at Gold’s Gym in Medford, Massachusetts. “He is way taller than Cotto and Cotto has been through so many wars that he is old for a 29-year-old. But, I still think Cotto will win though because he is such a powerful warrior. I would take Cotto by a stoppage in the later rounds.”

Foreman was born in Gomel, Belarus.

At age nine, Foreman immigrated with his family to Israel and it was in the Holy Land where he began to box at a local Arab gym.

“The first time I walked in, I saw the stares. In their eyes, there was a lot of hatred,” said Foreman. “But, I needed to box; and boy, did they all want to box me.”

Particularly because of the pounding he received at the hands of Pacquiao, Cotto is going to “want to box” and bludgeon Foreman as well.

Foreman’s vast size advantage and relatively cautious style will keep him competitive in the fight.

Nevertheless, expect Cotto to ultimately brawl his way to a decisive knockout victory over Foreman whenever the two finally meet in the Bronx.

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