Andres Cortes

Bio

Andres Cortes is the fighter everybody at 135lb knows about and nobody particularly wants. Twenty-six fights, twenty-six wins, and a style built entirely around making the other man do the wrong thing.

He is not a banger — thirteen knockouts in twenty-six is respectable rather than frightening. What he is, is a brilliant range manager. He fights at exactly the distance he chooses, doubles the jab, and steps off before the return comes back.

On 12 September 2026 in Las Vegas he outboxed former WBC featherweight champion Mark Magsayo over ten rounds, building a lead early and then closing the fight down intelligently. All three judges had it 97-93. It was a properly mature performance from a home-town fighter on the biggest stage he has had.

The knock on him is that he has not yet beaten a top-five lightweight. The counter is that nobody at the top of the division has been in a hurry to find out. He is levels above most of what is available and the matchmaking will have to catch up.