Alberto Machado (19-0, 16 KO’s) holder of the 130 pound title of the World Boxing Association (WBA), is gearing up for his first title defense against number one ranked Rafael Mensah (31-0, 23 KO’s).  The fight will be held in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and will be a co feature bout on HBO World Championship Boxing.

Machado held a public workout at the Westside Boxing Club in Los Angeles in the lead up to his title defense.  Machado has been out of the ring for almost a year and is itching to get back inside it.

“It’s been about 10 months since my last fight. But it served me well. It allowed me to get some rest and to work on some technical details I needed to work on. I had been boxing for 15 years straight, so it was a necessary rest.”

Machado is also very excited to fight on the premium network cable giant HBO, calling it “a dream come true” and further saying “I used to gather with my friends to watch Miguel Cotto, Ivan Calderon and Felix Trinidad on HBO, so this was definitely a dream come true. The fight against Jezreel Corrales was very tough. At first, he didn’t event make weight. I knew he had a lot more experience than I did too. But I brought out the spirit that characterizes us a boxers to walk away with the victory.”

Machado claims he is more than ready to defend his title, especially considering his work with the seven time trainer of the year and Hall of Famer Freddie Roach.

“For this camp, I worked on strategy and technique. I had more time to travel to Los Angeles and work with Freddie Roach. During this camp, I really got to see why he is a Hall of Fame trainer. I got to see why he’s had so many world champions. On July 21, you will definitely see a new and improved Alberto Machado.”