New York– On what was to be boxing’s big return to Yankee Stadium in thirty four years, the bout between Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman gave spectators something surely they will not forget.
Miguel Cotto roughed up and outboxed Yuri Foreman for seven rounds, using textbook perfects jabs that bloodied the nose of the Jewish champion and improved footwork thanks in part to hall of fame trainer Emmanuel Steward. Steward had mentioned that the man focus in improving Cotto would be his technique and his foot work, which he quoted as “being a complete mess.” Prior to the bout, much of the attention was given to Yuri Foreman, the first Jewish champion since the nineteen thirties and his unusual story of being the only boxer who was champion at light middleweight and studying to become a rabbi. The real question of this fight would not be how the fighting rabbi’s height and speed would prevail but whether the Miguel Cotto of old would resurface and come through the shell of what many writers had labeled as a shot and damaged fighter.
The first three rounds more than answered all those questions with Cotto coming out of the gate landing double jabs over the gloves of his much taller opponent. Round four came and Foreman landed a flush right. Time passed and he landed another. I for one zoomed in on Cotto to see if there was something there that would crack, a glimpse of perhaps demons of past.
Nope. Not a thing.
Though Foreman is a light puncher, Cotto more than kept his composure and as the rounds began flying, the points were mounting in his favor. Then in the middle of round seven, Foreman slipped while moving back. Many had thought he may of tripped over a photographers arm but it was a pre existing knee injury. Replays showed his knee give out where he had a brace. If there were ever any doubts that Foreman possessed the mind of a warrior and the heart of a champion then the next two and a half rounds certainly proved that. Foreman would slip one more time in the seventh but continue to fight on even as Cotto advanced with thudding shots. In the eighth round, his knee would buckle again but to the surprise of many he continued on. Hobbling at times and standing his ground he continued on. It was like something written out of a boxing movie with the climax soon to come.
Foreman head trainer Joe Grier would throw the towel into the ring to signal his desire to stop the fight. Both fighters were coming out of a competitive exchange and corners rushed in as everyone believed to fight to be over. Foreman pleaded to Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. to let him continue as he obliged and waved everyone out and decided to protest the stoppage.
“The towel came in the heat of the battle when there was a good exchange going,” Mercante said. “When the towel came in, I felt it was not necessary to stop the fight. Ten seconds prior, they were yelling, ‘Stop the fight, stop the fight,’ but there was no need to do that. It was a great fight and that’s what the fans came to see.”
Mercante ordered everyone to be moved out of the ring and allowed Foreman to recuperate a bit. At the start of the ninth, behind on points and not able to move in and out, Cotto landed a hard left hook to the body. It’s not sure if the blow caused Foreman to fall onto the canvas or that his knee could simply not support his weight anymore but Mercante finally halted the bout at 42 seconds into the ninth as Miguel Cotto was proclaimed new WBA light middleweight champion via TKO.
“It was a old injury,” Foreman said of the knee slip. “While making side-to-side movements tonight, it gave out and I felt a sharp pain, Arthur Mercante let me try to work it out. I’m a world champion – now a former world champion – but when you have the title you never quit. I didn’t want it to be stopped.” In an odd twist of fate, Foreman certainly won more fans in defeat than he would of ever made with a win, as his sure grit and determination will fuel inspiration to his fans across the globe.
What lies ahead for Miguel Cotto remains to be seen. Many in his camp proclaimed that the Cotto of old was back, with the new champ himself saying this to HBO analyst Max Kellerman. It’s hard to say as Yuri Foreman certainly isn’t a hard enough puncher to give Cotto trouble nor the elite of the light middleweight division. This may have been more of a confidence builder for Cotto and we will really see if the Cotto that terrorized the welterweight division in early 2007 is back when he is put up against the likes of elite 154 pound fighters such as Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams.
