Fibroso
06-02-2015, 05:29 PM
Miguel Cotto: The living, breathing, fighting, modern boxing legendhttp://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/media/motion/2015/0601/dm_150601_mtr_cotto_preview/dm_150601_mtr_cotto_preview.jpg&h=376&scale=crop&w=943&location=origin
Miguel Cotto had his first world title fight in September 2004 and since that night in Puerto Rico he has had a total of 22 world title fights.
Cotto is a living, breathing, fighting, modern boxing legend and this Saturday in New York he makes his first defence of the WBC middleweight title, the fourth weight at which he has won a world title.
Cotto beat Sergio Martinez to win the title last June in a bit of surprise; Martinez was considered the man at middleweight, a drifter in the business that he had come to rule late and then ruled with ruthless power. Cotto chopped him down in 10 painful rounds.
When Cotto was the light-welterweight and welterweight world champion between 2004 and 2008 only the very best, the elite survived the full 12 round distance. He had 12 world title fights during that period and Paulie Malignaggi and the great Shane Mosley were the only two fighters to hear the final bell.
It was in 2008 that he lost for the first time when he was brutally stopped in round 11 by Mexico's Antonio Margarito in a defence of his WBA welterweight title. Margarito at the time was a beast, avoided by Floyd Mayweather, who had left for a temporary retirement, and he looked untouchable.
In Los Angeles the following year everybody was shocked and appalled when it was discovered that Margarito had a form of plaster of Paris in his bandages; the discovery was made a few minutes before his fight with Mosley. The bandages were removed, Margarito was given a savage beating by Mosley and stopped in nine rounds. Margarito was, in theory, suspended from boxing for a year but he had a fight in Mexico six months after the Mosley loss and returned to American rings in late 2010. There was some forensic evidence linking the bandages used by Margarito against Cotto and the ones that were confiscated before the Mosley fight; Margarito claimed he was innocent.
"I knew there was something wrong the night I lost to Margarito," said Cotto. "I just wanted revenge, I wanted to fight him again." In 2011, Cotto got his sweet revenge and stopped Margarito in the ninth.
"Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez is a giant fight, trust me."
ESPN's Steve BunceCotto was back in serious business and in 2012 he was paid a small fortune to fight Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas. Cotto lost, but he found a way to get close to Mayweather, hitting him more than just about anybody had in 42 previous fights. Mayweather responded by bringing back his father to help with his defence. "Cotto is a great fighter, he made me fight for 12 rounds," said Mayweather.
Cotto dropped a tight decision to unbeaten Austin Trout for the WBA's light-middleweight title in 2012, had an easy win in 2013 and then fought Martinez in what was considered a big, big risk. Right now Cotto is 34 years of age, a winner of 39 of his 43 fights and one of the finest boxers in the last 25 years.
On Saturday he defends his WBC middleweight title against the former IBF champion Daniel Geale in a fight made at 157 pounds, and not the middleweight limit of 160 pounds. Geale has lost two of his last four, including a clinical third round defeat to Gennady Golovkin, the best middleweight in the world at the moment. Cotto is not looking at Golovkin, but he has turned his attention to the young Mexican Saul Alvarez down at light-middleweight. A win against Geale sets up a super fight in September - it would be bigger than any fight available to Mayweather right now, and Alvarez, who is calling the shots, wants to go up against Mayweather on the same night with his own pay-per-view. Cotto and Alvarez is a giant fight, trust me.
Miguel Cotto had his first world title fight in September 2004 and since that night in Puerto Rico he has had a total of 22 world title fights.
Cotto is a living, breathing, fighting, modern boxing legend and this Saturday in New York he makes his first defence of the WBC middleweight title, the fourth weight at which he has won a world title.
Cotto beat Sergio Martinez to win the title last June in a bit of surprise; Martinez was considered the man at middleweight, a drifter in the business that he had come to rule late and then ruled with ruthless power. Cotto chopped him down in 10 painful rounds.
When Cotto was the light-welterweight and welterweight world champion between 2004 and 2008 only the very best, the elite survived the full 12 round distance. He had 12 world title fights during that period and Paulie Malignaggi and the great Shane Mosley were the only two fighters to hear the final bell.
It was in 2008 that he lost for the first time when he was brutally stopped in round 11 by Mexico's Antonio Margarito in a defence of his WBA welterweight title. Margarito at the time was a beast, avoided by Floyd Mayweather, who had left for a temporary retirement, and he looked untouchable.
In Los Angeles the following year everybody was shocked and appalled when it was discovered that Margarito had a form of plaster of Paris in his bandages; the discovery was made a few minutes before his fight with Mosley. The bandages were removed, Margarito was given a savage beating by Mosley and stopped in nine rounds. Margarito was, in theory, suspended from boxing for a year but he had a fight in Mexico six months after the Mosley loss and returned to American rings in late 2010. There was some forensic evidence linking the bandages used by Margarito against Cotto and the ones that were confiscated before the Mosley fight; Margarito claimed he was innocent.
"I knew there was something wrong the night I lost to Margarito," said Cotto. "I just wanted revenge, I wanted to fight him again." In 2011, Cotto got his sweet revenge and stopped Margarito in the ninth.
"Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez is a giant fight, trust me."
ESPN's Steve BunceCotto was back in serious business and in 2012 he was paid a small fortune to fight Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas. Cotto lost, but he found a way to get close to Mayweather, hitting him more than just about anybody had in 42 previous fights. Mayweather responded by bringing back his father to help with his defence. "Cotto is a great fighter, he made me fight for 12 rounds," said Mayweather.
Cotto dropped a tight decision to unbeaten Austin Trout for the WBA's light-middleweight title in 2012, had an easy win in 2013 and then fought Martinez in what was considered a big, big risk. Right now Cotto is 34 years of age, a winner of 39 of his 43 fights and one of the finest boxers in the last 25 years.
On Saturday he defends his WBC middleweight title against the former IBF champion Daniel Geale in a fight made at 157 pounds, and not the middleweight limit of 160 pounds. Geale has lost two of his last four, including a clinical third round defeat to Gennady Golovkin, the best middleweight in the world at the moment. Cotto is not looking at Golovkin, but he has turned his attention to the young Mexican Saul Alvarez down at light-middleweight. A win against Geale sets up a super fight in September - it would be bigger than any fight available to Mayweather right now, and Alvarez, who is calling the shots, wants to go up against Mayweather on the same night with his own pay-per-view. Cotto and Alvarez is a giant fight, trust me.