TOWN OF LOCKPORT — Professional boxer and World Boxing Organization Lightweight champion of the world Jose Miguel Cotto (32-2-1) has chosen Lockport as his training camp for his upcoming fight with Jose Luis Castillo (63-11-1) on March 24 in Houston Texas.

The two journeymen will fight on the undercard of the Erik Morales versus Danny Garcia main event, which will be televised worldwide on HBO.

Cotto, the younger brother of boxing superstar Miguel Cotto (who just signed to fight Floyd Mayweather) is trained by Team Abdallah head coach Juan Deleon and Team Abdallah strength and conditioning coach Gina Nowak.

Cotto’s boxing and sparring workouts are conducted in Buffalo under Deleon’s watchful eye, while Nowak is in charge of conditioning, agility and weight management.

“I’ve always had the confidence in knowing the Team Abdallah conditioning program is at a world class caliber,” said gym owner Amer Abdallah, the WKA United Stateslight heavyweight champion.

“Bringing in such elite athletes as Cotto further reaffirms this assurance. Whether it’s preparing me for an upcoming fight, working with select world class athletes, or working with the everyday beginner, this program is exceptional. It’s physical, mental and emotional toughness.”

Nowak, who has been with the LA&FC for more than eight years, has personally taken over the strength and conditioning training of Abdallah, the No. 1-ranked light heavyweight in the country and undefeated at 11-0.

In his last fight on Nov. 14 at the Lockport Kenan Center Arena, Abdallah defeated the former No. 1-ranked kickboxer, Francois Ambang, proved Nowak’s effectiveness in camp.

“We fought a young, fast and powerful kid that has all the tools to become a world champion. It came down to our skill, effectiveness and conditioning.” Abdallah added.

Cotto has been training with Nowak for the past six weeks and she sees tremendous improvement from day one.

“I’ve seen an amazing change from the first day Jose walked in until today,” Nowak said.

“Nothing is going to stop him from beating Castillo and becoming world champion once again.”