By Lyle Fitzsimmons



Kermit Cintron is hardly the first fighter to change his mind on retirement.

In fact, the list of boxers who’ve hung up the gloves before ultimately returning to the squared circle could stretch from here to the ex-welterweight champ’s birthplace in Puerto Rico… and back.

Yet Cintron, who’ll turn 40 in October, has a novel path for his “Killer” return.

The IBF’s former top man at 147 pounds is set to climb back up the ring steps three days after his birthday to face twice-beaten super middleweight Brandon Robinson at the 2300 Arena in south Philadelphia. But it’s not as if the extra 20 pounds is the product of a hiatus spent pounding pretzels and cheesesteaks.

Rather, the added weight is what the former wrestler hopes will help him achieve a goal he’s pondered since his 20s – becoming the first high-profile boxer to successfully transition from ring to cage.

He said he’s negotiating with Bellator MMA, the world’s second-largest mixed martial arts promotion.

“It’s a totally different world for me. I love new challenges,” Cintron said. “With my background, boxing and wrestling will help me succeed. I just need to work on some grappling, jiu-jitsu type stuff.

“It definitely has been something I’ve wanted to do, and it has been talked about for years now, but the opportunity was never there.”

A boxing defeat of Robinson, who’s got nine KOs in 13 wins – but just three against foes with winning records – isn’t mandatory to validate the leap inside the fence, but it would create some worthwhile momentum for Cintron, who’s not fought since February 2018 and not won since December 2016.

A bout with David Grayton ended in a cut-induced technical draw in March 2017, and was followed three months later by a tumultuous KO loss to Tyrone Brunson in which Cintron scored two knockdowns in the fourth round before falling three times himself in the fifth.

Another cut prematurely ended another bout with Marquis Taylor in February 2018, and Cintron walked away that summer at 39-6-3 – with 30 KOs – after discussions with Antonio Margarito’s team failed to result in a third match between the bitter rivals.

The pair first met in April 2005 and then again in April 2008, with Margarito winning both by stoppage. But nine months after the rematch, Margarito was caught with doctored hand wraps against Shane Mosley – casting at least some doubt on all his high-profile wins.

“I keep looking at my record,” Cintron said, “and the 39 just doesn’t look nice. I’m doing it to get my 40th.”

Cintron wrestled at William Tennent High School in suburban Philadelphia and later at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in nearby Lancaster, Pa., and he was initially included in cage conversation in 2007 after UFC czar Dana White proposed a meeting between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and then-lightweight champ Sean Sherk.

Mayweather balked, leaving Cintron to insist he’d take on the octagonal challenge, and Sherdog.com contributor Mike Sloan suggested the fighter might have had a stellar eight-sided career.

“He would have torn most of the lower weight divisions asunder,” Sloan wrote in 2014, including Cintron on a list of boxers who had the stuff to succeed in both sports.

“He would have been a top contender in MMA. Cintron wrestled in high school, and his accomplishments in that sport allowed him to compete at a respectable level in college. Couple that with a ferocious banging style that gave birth to dozens of highlight-reel knockouts, and what we have is a dynamic combination that would have given MMA contenders all sorts of trouble.”

It never occurred, but the itch never completely went away for the now married father of four, who now says it’s an 80-percent certainty he’ll make the switch – regardless of the result with Robinson.

He made it social media official over the weekend, posting multiple pics from a wrestling workout.

“I’m feeling like I’m 20, 25,” he said. “I think it’s easier for me because of my wrestling background. Look at what happened to James Toney when he stepped in the octagon against Randy Couture. I just tested my skills working with a former D-1 wrestler and former UFC fighter. I’m confident.”

* * * * * * * * * *

This week’s legit title-fight schedule:

SATURDAY

WBA/WBO/Vacant WBC lightweight titles – London, United Kingdom

Vasiliy Lomachenko (WBA, WBO champ/No. 1 IWBR) vs. Luke Campbell (No. 1 WBC/No. 4 IWBR)

Lomachenko (13-1, 10 KO): Third WBA title defense; Nine KO/TKOs in 12 title-fight victories

Campbell (20-2, 16 KO): Second title fight (0-1); Five KO/TKO wins in nine 12-round fights (7-2, 5 KO)

Fitzbitz says: Campbell is taller, longer and he’s on his home turf in a more familiar weight class. But Loma is the best fighter in the world today to these eyes. Enough said. Lomachenko by decision (95/5)

WBC flyweight title – London, United Kingdom

Charlie Edwards (champion/No. 3 IWBR) vs. Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (No. 1 WBC/No. 6 IWBR)

Edwards (15-1, 6 KO): Second title defense; Four wins in five fights at O2 Arena (4-1, 2 KO)

Aguilar (14-1, 11 KO): First title fight; Eighth consecutive wins by KO/TKO (21 total rounds, 2.6 average)

Fitzbitz says: Aguilar is a puncher who’s earned his ranking thanks to a prodigious streak of stoppages, but Edwards is no slouch and seems better suited to the big lights. Edwards by decision (80/20)

This week’s bogus title-fight schedule:

Vacant WBA “world” super welterweight title – Minneapolis, Minn.

Erislandy Lara (No. 2 WBA/No. 5 IWBR) vs. Ramon Alvarez (No. 6 WBA/No. 25 IWBR)

Why it’s bogus: It’s not enough that the WBA has one “super” champion in the weight class (Julian Williams), but the Panamanian nonsense cartel also has the unmitigated gall to list another fighter as a “gold” champion while also sanctioning this match. Garbage of the highest and smelliest order.

Last week's picks: 4-1 (WIN: Estrada, Kovalev, Tanaka, Mendez; LOSS: Penalosa)

2019 picks record: 68-14 (82.9 percent)

Overall picks record: 1,079-357 (75.1 percent)

NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.