Cotto Triumphs at the Mecca!
Beats Clottey by Split Decison in War...

June 13, 2009 - Madison Square Garden, NY, NY

Ringside Report: Matt Richardson and Andreas Hale
Photos: Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com

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He still has it.

Any questions regarding what Miguel Cotto had left after the beating he absorbed from Antonio Margarito last summer were put to rest last night at Madison Square Garden in New York City when the WBO title-holder proved he still had a lot of fight in him, beating Joshua Clottey by split decision in front of a deafening crowd of 17,734.

Judge Don Trella submitted a score of 116-111 for Cotto. Judge John McKaie also thought Cotto won, handing in a score of 115-112. Judge Tom Miller, meanwhile, had Clottey ahead by a point, 114-113. In a close fight that could have gone either way, Fightnews came up with a score of 114-113 for Cotto.

It was an excellent fight with swings in momentum, an early knockdown and lots and lots of blood. In the end, however, it was Clottey who slowed down just enough for Cotto to edge by in what is bound to be one of the better fights of this year.

The first began tentatively, with Cotto (34-1, 27 KO's) doing more punching than Clottey (35-3, 21 KO's). Cotto received a warning to keep his punches up, though he did land solid left hooks to the body. A quick left down the middle of Clottey's guard in the final seconds deposited the Ghanaian on the canvas. Replays showed the punch to be a mix of a jab and a hook. Whatever it was, it got Cotto a 10-8 round. He couldn't capitalize, however, because the round concluded mid-way thru referee Arthur Mercante Jr.'s eight count. Cotto came out more aggressively in the second. Clottey scored well with a few uppercuts and landed a straight right that snapped Cotto's head sideways. Clottey landed another quick, albeit glancing right in the final seconds of the frame. Clottey landed a good right over Cotto's guard in the third. Cotto was badly cut over the left eye in the final seconds of the round. The cut was ruled to be the cause of an accidental head butt. By the end of the fight this cut would worsen to the point that Cotto's whole eyebrow hung over his eye like a piece of raw meat.

Cotto scored well with body shots at the start of the fourth but Clottey continued to charge forward. A right by Clottey seemed to buckle Cotto's legs. Cotto wiped at the blood in his eyes as he shook his head. A vicious uppercut by Clottey seemed to hurt Cotto. In between punches he pawed at his bleeding eye. Cotto came back well towards the end of the round though with solid hooks to the body and head. A good jab-right-right combination scored well for Clottey in the fifth. A straight right by Clottey landed on Cotto, but Cotto scored back with the same shot. Mercante got his feet stuck with a ringside photographer. He turned to yell at the photographer as Cotto attacked Clottey in a corner. By the time Mercante could realize what was going on; Clottey was on the canvas after absorbing a push. Clottey seemed to hurt his right knee. He rose on unsteady legs but resumed fighting after a few moments. Cotto scored well with two left hooks in the sixth that seemed to hurt Clottey. Cotto came forward throwing combinations, but many of the shots were blocked by Clottey's tight defense. During this, Clottey would rip off uppercuts down the middle that Cotto would absorb. Cotto landed a good jab when Clottey attempted to come out of the corner.

In the seventh, Cotto started backing up as his eye clearly bothered him. Clottey came forward to land a good 1-2, than another hard right as Cotto backed up against the ropes. Both men appeared to tire in the eighth, although Clottey buckled Cotto badly with a hard right. Clottey continued to come forward. Cotto scored well with a combination in the corner but Clottey shook his head and pounded his chest to imply that he wasn't hurt.

Cotto came out bouncing on his feet in the ninth. Clottey's work rate appeared to drop slightly, as Cotto picked his shots from the outside. Cotto threw some body shots in the corner that temporarily made the crowd roar. Clottey got ripped with a good left hook by Cotto towards the end.

Cotto did good body work in the tenth as he boxed from a more careful distance. Clottey was not as effective or as accurate with his punches. Cotto scored well with a left hook and again after the two broke up from a clinch in the final seconds of the round. Cotto boxed more in the eleventh. Cotto scored with an uppercut as he backed up. Cotto ripped another huge left uppercut off the ropes. Cotto clearly made a strategic move to box more and slug less and it worked as he easily out boxed and outworked Clottey in the round. A left landed by Cotto seemed to buckle Clottey's legs a little in the first minute of the last round. In a clinch, Cotto seemed to accidently hit Clottey in the back of the head as Clottey turned his back in a twist. Clottey also complained of a low blow. Both men swung with wild messy shots in the final seconds of the fight as they collapsed in a clinch together.

"I won the fight," a defiant Clottey said right after the fight. Clottey had to be convinced to stay ringside afterwards for a post-fight interview. Cotto, meanwhile, ran right out of the ring, bumped into HBO commentator Max Kellerman and waited to be interviewed by Jim Lampley. "The cut made the fight more difficult but I could always see," Cotto said. "I just tried to keep on fighting, keep on fighting to make my people proud."

According to punch statistics, Cotto threw more punches but Clottey landed more. Cotto scored with 25-percent of his shots while Clottey connected with 36-percent. -- Matt Richardson

Cotto vs Clottey Photos

Calderon, Mayol Draw after Clash of Heads!

WBO mini flyweight champion Ivan Calderon tried his best to put on a show for the fans in his title bout against Rodel Mayol, but just as soon as he got to work, an unfortunate clashing of heads brought everything to a grinding halt. Calderon (32-0-1, 6 KO's) would hold on to his title after his fight (25-3-1, 19 KO's) ended in a six round technical draw, but fans never got a chance to see what Calderon had to offer.

The champion started his fight with the Filipino boxer (who had Manny Pacquiao in attendance for support) very cautiously as the two small fighters looked to find their respective range.

Mayol pressed the action in the early rounds until Calderon effectively was able to counter Mayol's aggressive attack. Finding comfort as a counterpuncher in the third, Calderon clipped the Filipino with a solid left hooks and counter rights. Mayol would continue to press forward until midway through the fourth, the two clashed heads and Mayol dropped to a knee. Shaking off the effects of the accidental butt, the round would continue but the two would butt heads again. It was obvious that this would be a lingering issue throughout the fight but Mayol would close the round emphatically by landing three consecutive right hands.

The fifth round would see the two fighters' heads come together again, but this time a cut on Calderon's forehead was opened and yet another clash would cause the doctor to take a look at the deep gash on the champion's head. Frustrated, Calderon would go on the offensive and winged wild punches toward his opponent as a frantic exchange closed out the round and brought the fans to their feet.

As the sixth round began, it was clear that the cut had an effect on Calderon and after the two unorthodox boxers bumped heads again, the blood was streaming down the champion's face. With the crowd becoming restless and Calderon clearly shaken by the multiple head butts, the doctor deemed the cuts too severe and asked for the fight to be stopped. After some boos and disgruntled fans tried to make sense of what was going on, it was announced that the fight would go to the scorecards. With scores of 58-56 Mayol, 58-56 Calderon and 57-57, this fight would unfortunately end as a draw.

For Mayol, the fight may have proved that he has what it takes to hand Calderon his first defeat. However, there is no guarantee that the two will meet again and Calderon could face a possible unification bout with Brian Viloria in the fall. -- Andreas Hale

Calderon vs Mayol Photos

Korobov Goes Distance, Remains Unbeaten!

Top Rank's hot middleweight hopeful Matt Korobov made easy work out of opponent Loren Myers, winning every round of their four-round bout. It was the first time the southpaw Korobov had gone the full route. Judges Robin Taylor, Glenn Feldman, and Julie Lederman all scored the bout the same at 40-36. With the "W," Korobov improves to 6-0, 5 KO's. Myers is now 7-4 with 2 KO's. -- Matt Richardson

Korobov vs Myers Photos

Guzman Gains Split Nod!

Featherweight prospect Rafael Guzman won a six-round split decision against Juan Carlos Martinez. Scores were 59-55 and 58-56 for Guzman (judges Robin Taylor and Tony Paolillo) while judge Glen Feldman submitted a score of 58-56 for Martinez. There were no knockdowns. Guzman, from Guadalajara, Mexico improves to 22-1, 16 KO's. Martinez, meanwhile, now has losses in the double digits for an overall ledger of 14-10-1, 5 KO's. -- Matt Richardson

Guzman vs Martinez Photos

Other Results!

Jayson Velez kept the Puerto Rican fans happy as his brilliant offensive display dominated Jesus Bayron en route to a TKO stoppage in the fourth round of their six round super bantamweight fight. Velez (9-0, 8 KO's) began the onslaught by dropping Bayron (5-2, 4 KO's) twice in the third round. The first came courtesy of a thudding left hook that sent Bayron crashing to the canvas. He would rise but would be dropped again by yet another barrage of punches. The onslaught continued into the 4th round as Bayron was battered with a series of brutal shots before the fight was mercifully waved off by referee Earl Brown at :33 of round 4.

Velez vs Bayron Photos

Jersey's own Jorge Diaz used a variety of punches to upend Guadalupe De Leon via unanimous decision in their 6 round super bantamweight fight. Diaz - who improved to 9-0 - roared out of the gates from the opening bell and dropped De Leon at both the beginning and the end of the first round with chopping right hands. Although it looked as if the end was near, De Leon would adjust and make the fight competitive in the late rounds. The two would engage in brutal exchanges that put the still filling Madison Square Garden into a frenzy as Diaz would land the heavier artillery which featured a healthy dosage of rippling body shots and head snapping uppercuts. Judges saw the bout 59-53 and 58-54 twice. -- Andreas Hale

Diaz vs DeLeon Photos

Undefeated Puerto Rican Alberto Cruz Jr. pounded his way to a crowd pleasing TKO stoppage of Rudy Valdez in their lightweight bout. After severely outclassing Valdez - who dropped to 2-5 - for the first two rounds, Valdez' corner threw in the towel before the start of the 3rd to give Cruz his 5th victory and 4th stoppage. -- Andreas Hale

Cruz vs Valdez Photos

Young prospect Glen Tapia kept his early unbeaten streak alive as he dominated David Lopez en route to a unanimous decision in their four round middleweight bout. Tapia (3-0, 2 KO's) again showed that he may soon be a middleweight to watch as he outboxed Lopez (3-2-1) on his way to the easy victory. Scores were 40-36 twice and 39-37 in favor of Tapia. -- Andreas Hale

Tapia vs Lopez Photos

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