Miguel Cotto successfully defended his WBA super welterweight title with a dramatic twelfth round TKO win over gutsy brawler Ricardo Mayorga (0:53). The later was set up via a Cotto left hook that landed cleanly to the chin of Mayorga who wobbled to the canvas and oddly grabbed his left hand. Mayorga showed true fighting spirit as he rose from the canvas though he was like a duck out of water as Cotto pounced for the Kill with Mayorga finally motioning to the referee to halt the bout.
From the announcement of the fight many fight fans and writers called foul over the bout. Mentioning that it would be a complete blow out for Cotto whom would easily finish the always entertaining former world champion. Score cards did reflect a points blow out (107-102, 107-102,107-102) though the beatdown many predicted Mayorga would receive would never come to be. Cotto relied heavily on the jab, scoring constantly on the right eye of Mayorga that it eventually swelled up. Mayorga would continue coming forward to fight, at times missing wildly on combinations and landing at times. He managed to connect to the back of the ear of the champion who for a moment looked unstable and proceeded to back pedal. Flashes of the bout with Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao where Cotto backpedaled round after round came to the minds of many fans as a obvious trait that the Puerto Rican fighter was indeed hurt.
It was the most focused performance on Mayorga’s part in recent memory as in the later rounds, far behind in the score cards did everything from taunting and swinging forward to desperately get the KO result he needed to win the bout. The tactic would eventually land him on the canvas for the final time in his career.
“I am not happy with the result. I have to be a man about it. I said if I lost this fight I would retire. I have to go find a new job, because I am going to retire,” said Mayorga when asked about how his performance tonight. “I dislocated my thumb and I stoped it cause its better to lose the fight than your life.”
Undercard Results:
Pawel Wolak def. Yuri Foreman via corner stoppage at the end of R6
Tommy Zbikowski def. Richard Bryant via KO in R1 (1:45)
Miguel Vazquez def. Lenny Zappavigna via unanimous decision (117-111, 118-110, 118-110)
