WBC MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION COTTO VS. GEALE NAMED OFFICIAL KICK-OFF EVENT For PRD Parade

WBC MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION MIGUEL COTTO VS. DANIEL GEALE

ON JUNE 6, 2015 AT BARCLAYS CENTER IN BROOKLYN

NAMED OFFICIAL KICK-OFF EVENT OF NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE WEEK 2015

Cotto Receives Honorary Title of “Athlete of the Year”

NEW YORK (May 26, 2015) – The National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) today announced that its 2015 Parade, scheduled for Sunday, June 14 on New York’s Fifth Avenue, will officially kick off a week of festivities with the WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Championship fight between Miguel Cotto and Daniel Geale on Saturday, June 6, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was also announced that Miguel Cotto, Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Promotions will be making a contribution to the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Scholarship Fund.

“Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Promotions are thrilled to be aligned with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and to kick off their week of festivities with our event on June 6 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn,” said David Itskowitch, COO of Boxing for Roc Nation Sports. “New York’s Puerto Rican community has supported Miguel throughout his career and we look forward to mirroring that support through our scholarship fund contribution and association with the Parade’s mission to promote education and empowerment.”

In addition, to honor Cotto’s impressive athletic accomplishments spanning over a decade which include him becoming Puerto Rico’s first and only Four Division World Champion, the NPRDP has bestowed upon him the honorary title of “Athlete of the Year.”

“It’s a privilege for my June 6 fight against Daniel Geale at Barclays Center in Brooklyn to be named the official kick-off event of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Week and I want to express my deepest gratitude for being honored me as Athlete of the Year,” said Cotto. “New York is truly my second home because I have been embraced by its Puerto Rican community. I’m looking forward to seeing my New York fans at Barclays Center on June 6.”

The NPRDP established the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Scholarship Awards Program to help promote the pursuit of higher education within the community. In 2015, the organization will double the total dollar figure and number of scholarships awarded from the previous year to 30 scholarships in the amount of $2,000 each. In celebration of the 2015 class of scholarship winners, Miguel Cotto, Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Promotions will be contributing $5,000 to the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Scholarship Fund in support of helping other high school and college students pay for their educations.

“The mission of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is to create an awareness and appreciation of Puerto Rican contributions to the United States by holding an annual parade that displays the culture and diverse achievements of the Puerto Rican community and by supporting the higher education of our youth through our scholarship program,” said Ululy Rafael Martinez, Vice-Chair of NPRDP. “We are proud to honor Miguel Cotto as Athlete of the Year and express our deepest gratitude to Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Productions for contributing to our scholarship fund.”

The 2015 National Puerto Rican Day Parade will take place on Sunday, June 14, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on New York’s Fifth Avenue. The Parade’s overall theme will be a continuation of “Un Pueblo Muchas Voces” (One Community, Many Voices) with a special commemorative theme “Celebrating Afro-Boricua Heritage,” meant to coincide with the designation of the next decade as the “International Decade for People of African Descent” by the United Nations. Spectators can watch the Parade from any designated areas between E. 44th and E. 79th Streets. NPRDP 2015 official events include the following:

May 27 – Education Leadership Awards

May 30 – 152nd Street Festival in the Bronx

June 6 – Miguel Cotto vs. Daniel Geale at Barclays Center in Brooklyn

June 6 – Rising Stars Challenge

June 7 – Annual Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

June 12 – Annual Gala of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade

June 14 – 58th National Puerto Rican Day Parade

For more information please visit www.nprdpinc.org. Follow NPRDP on Twitter: @PRparadeNYC, Instagram: NPRDP, #PRparade, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NationalPuertoRicanParade.

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