MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Floyd Mayweather Jr. extended his unbeaten streak to 43 fights after defeating Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto via unanimous decision 117-111, 117-111, and 118-110, becoming the new World Boxing Association junior middleweight champion in the process.
Mayweather, fighting at 154-pounds for the first time since 2007, found himself in a dogfight against the determined Cotto, taking in a huge amount of punishment against the Puerto Rican.
"You're the toughest guy I ever fought," Mayweather told Cotto in the ring after their fight.
Mayweather was able to control the early rounds by keeping Cotto at the end of his jab, while his trademark shoulder roll prevented Cotto from landing clean punches.
But by the middle rounds, Cotto had become more comfortable and was able to execute his game plan. The Puerto Rican boxer forced Mayweather against the ropes, where he was able to do damage to Mayweather's body.
Mayweather clinched the victory in the later rounds, especially in the 12th, wherein he dominated Cotto with an array of body punches. With a little over a minute left in the final round, he cracked Cotto with an uppercut but failed to knock him down.
"Miguel Cotto is a future Hall-of-Famer," Mayweather declared in the post-fight interview. "He's not a push-over, he's tough, he's solid."
"He came to fight, he didn’t come for survival. He came to fight. He’s a tough competitor, what else can I say," he added.
Cotto lost for only the third time in his career, dropping his record to 37-3. It was his first loss since a 2009 technical knockout defeat to Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao.
Tough battle
 |
| WBA super welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (L) of Puerto Rico punches Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the U.S. against the ropes during their title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada May 5, 2012. Photo by Steve Marcus, Reuters. |
It was Mayweather’s first time to fight above the welterweight division since May 2007, when he defeated Oscar De La Hoya via split decision. He weighed in at 151-pounds for this bout, the heaviest he’s ever been in his career.
Known as perhaps the finest defensive fighter of his generation, Mayweather fought hard to earn the decision as Cotto was able to attack him more successfully than any of his previous foes.
Cotto landed 105 of 506 punches thrown, while Mayweather landed 179 of 687 punches. But Cotto was able to penetrate Mayweather's solid defense in the middle rounds, even bloodying the unbeaten boxer's nose.
"That comes with the territory," Mayweather said. "You have to suck it up and fight hard. Miguel Cotto was a great competitor. I had to execute the game plan and fight my heart out."
Mayweather was coming off a controversial knockout victory against former champion Victor Ortiz last September, wherein he won through what has been called a "legal sucker punch."
Against Cotto, however, Mayweather provided boxing fans with an entertaining, exciting show with back-and-forth action throughout the 12 rounds.
"When it's pay-per-view and fans are paying, you want to give the fans excitement," he said.
Pacquiao next?
Mayweather said that he has not given up hope of fighting Pacquiao, and called on Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, to stop getting in the way of the mega-fight.
"This fight, I was looking to fight Manny Pacquiao. I don't think the fight would happen because of Bob Arum," Mayweather said. "Let's see what the fans want, let’s make that fight happen."
The two boxers' camps engaged in negotiations earlier this year, but no deal was reached after they failed to agree on the split of pay-per-view revenue.
Pacquiao has confirmed that he is willing to accept a lesser guaranteed purse, but wants an equal share of the pay-per-view revenue. Mayweather, in turn, offered the Filipino boxer a $40-million guaranteed purse with no share, and Pacquiao refused.
Mayweather ended up fighting Cotto, while Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Timothy Bradley Jr. on June 9, also in Las Vegas.
Moreover, Mayweather once again demanded that Pacquiao take random blood and urine testing for the performance enhancing drugs.
"Miguel Cotto didn't have a problem taking random blood and urine tests, so why can't Manny Pacquiao?" he said. "If you the best, take the test
No comments:
Post a Comment