“Boxeo Telemundo” Presents the Battle for the WBO Latin Featherweight Title between Orlando “The Phenomenon” Cruz and Jorge “The Ferocious” Pazos, Friday, October 19 at 11:35 pm ET/PT, 10:35 pm CT

The Bout is Orlando Cruz' First After Publicly Announcing His Homosexuality to Telemundo’s Jessi Losada and Becoming the First Active, Openly Gay Boxer in History

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“Boxeo Telemundo” will present the exclusive live broadcast of the World Boxing Organization (WBO)’s Latin Featherweight Title fight between the current champion, Puerto Rico’s Orlando “The Phenomenon” Cruz (18-2-1; 9 KOs) and Mexico’s Jorge “The Ferocious” Pazos (20-4; 13 KOs) this Friday, October 19 at 11:35 PM ET/PT, 10:35 PM CT from the Kissimmee Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida. The 12-round fight, featuring blow-by-blow narration by René Giraldo and commentary and analysis by sportscaster Jessi Losada, will be Cruz' first bout after publicly announcing his homosexuality in an exclusive interview to Losada for “Titulares Telemundo” on October 3rd in Puerto Rico, becoming the first active, openly gay boxer in history.

“This is the first time an openly gay boxer is defending his title”

“This is the first time an openly gay boxer is defending his title,” said Losada. “More than merely a match, we are witnessing a historic event with implications that go beyond boxing and that will have an enormous impact on the future of sports in general. It is also the most important fight in Orlando Cruz’s career. If he beats Jorge Pazos, he could be one step away from a world championship bout.”

Orlando “Phenomenon” Cruz, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is currently fourth in the WBO’s world ranking and has held the organization’s Latin Featherweight Title since October 14 of last year, when he took it away from Mexican Alejandro “Pique” Delgado.

Cruz’s challenger, Jorge “The Ferocious” Pazos, is from Guamuchil, Sinaloa. The Mexican fighter has 13 KOs to his credit, 10 of which he obtained in the first three rounds.

Click here for the video of Orlando Cruz’s exclusive interview with Jessi Losada on “Titulares Telemundo.”

ABOUT TELEMUNDO MEDIA

Telemundo Media, a division of NBCUniversal, is a world-class media company, leading the industry in the production and distribution of high-quality Spanish-language content across its multiplatform portfolio to U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world. Telemundo's multiple platforms include the Telemundo Network, a Spanish-language television network featuring original productions, theatrical motion pictures, news and first-class sports events, reaching U.S. Hispanic viewers in 210 markets through its 14 owned stations and its broadcast and cable affiliates; mun2, the preeminent voice for bicultural Hispanics in the U.S. reaching TV households nationwide on digital and analog cable, and satellite; Telemundo Digital Media, which distributes Telemundo’s original content across digital and emerging platforms including mobile devices, www.telemundo.com and www.mun2.tv; an owned and operated full power station in Puerto Rico that reaches 99% of all TV households in that DMA; and Telemundo Internacional, the international distribution arm which has positioned Telemundo as the second largest provider of Spanish-language content worldwide by syndicating content to more than 100 countries in over 35 languages.