cintron fighting sept 8th

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2946595


Welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron, so impressive in his first defense earlier this month, will make a quick return to the ring to defend his belt against Jessie Feliciano on Sept. 8.
"The fight is made, it's set," Emanuel Steward, Cintron's manager and trainer, told ESPN.com.
"I'd like for Kermit to win and then come right back again in November or December."
Cintron and Feliciano will meet at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on the Showtime PPV card headlined by former two-time junior middleweight titlist Fernando Vargas' announced career finale against former welterweight champ Ricardo Mayorga.
Cintron, 27, a Puerto Rico native living in Reading, Pa., made the first defense of his belt July 14 in Atlantic City, N.J., and overpowered Argentina's Walter Matthysse in a mandatory defense.
Cintron (28-1, 26 KOs) scored three knockdowns en route to a spectacular third-round knockout. Cintron won a vacant version of the 147-pound crown when he stopped Mark Suarez in the sixth round in October.
Although Feliciano (15-5-3, 9 KOs) will be a prohibitive underdog, he has been involved in a number of exciting fights and pulled off some upsets. His last three fights, all on ESPN2, have been exciting with Feliciano, 24, rising above expectations.
In his last outing in March, he scored an upset eighth-round knockout of highly touted prospect Delvin Rodriguez. He also outpointed former junior welterweight world champion Vince Phillips in an upset and fought to a blazing eight-round draw against Alfonso Gomez, who sent Arturo Gatti into retirement on the same card as Cintron-Matthysse.
"Jesse is an exciting fighter and he has a lot of heart," said Star Boxing's Joe DeGuardia, Feliciano's promoter. "Who expected him to do what he did with Delvin? That was some fight. Jesse is the kind of kid you want to see win."
Feliciano will be fighting since his newborn baby died just a couple of days after the birth a few months ago.
"That was a heartbreaker and you're glad when you can help someone get an opportunity like this," DeGuardia said. "Jesse has won a lot of fights he's not supposed to win. He's the kind of guy you can't ever underestimate. It's a good matchup and tough matchup. Cintron been doing well and he's a very good fighter."
Feliciano had been in the hunt to face former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah on the Sept. 7 season finale of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," but DeGuardia said the Judah camp didn't move quickly enough, so they accepted the unexpected title shot against Cintron.
Steward's reason for taking the fight is because he simply wants Cintron to remain active and to keep his name in the public eye, especially because of the number of possible big fights in the loaded welterweight division.
"Sooner or later, he'll be offered some kind of big fight," Steward said. "Making a lot of money on these type of fights is not the issue. It's about staying busy, staying sharp and having people see you fight. Kermit has got to be active and we're trying to do that."