The following bouts are available on 12 DVDS
for $35.95
COTTO VS HUDSON
COTTO VS Jason DOUCET
COTTO VS Jacob GODINEZ
COTTO VS Martin RAMIREZ
COTTO VS Rudolfo LUNSFORD
COTTO VS Arturo RODRIGUEZ
COTTO VS Joshua SMITH
COTTO VS Sammy SPARKMAN
COTTO VS Juan Angel Macias
COTTO VS Justin JUUKO
COTTO VS Carlos Alberto RAMIREZ
COTTO VS John BROWN
COTTO VS Ubaldo HERNANDEZ
COTTO VS Cesar BAZAN
COTTO VS Joel PEREZ
COTTO VS Rocky MARTINEZ
COTTO VS Demetrios CEBALLOS
COTTO VS Carlos MAUSSA
COTTO VS Victoriano SOSA
COTTO VS Lovemore N`DOU
COTTO VS Kelson PINTO
COTTO VS Randall BAILEY
COTTO VS Demarcus CORLEY
COTTO VS Mohammed ABDULLAEV
(OLYMPICS)
COTTO VS Mohammed ABDULLAEV
(PRO)
COTTO VS Ricardo TORRES
COTTO VS Gianluca BRANCO
COTTO VS Paulie MALIGNAGGI
COTTO VS Carlos QUINTANA
COTTO VS Oktay URKAL
COTTO VS Zab JUDAH
COTTO VS Shane MOSLEY
COTTO VS Alfonso GOMEZ
COTTO VS Antonio MARGARITO
COTTO VS Michael JENNINGS
COTTO VS Manny Pacquiao
COTTO VS. Yuri Foreman
COTTO vs. Joshua Clottey
COTTO vs. Ricardo Mayorga
COTTO vs. Antonio Margarito II
for $35.95
COTTO VS HUDSON
COTTO VS Jason DOUCET
COTTO VS Jacob GODINEZ
COTTO VS Martin RAMIREZ
COTTO VS Rudolfo LUNSFORD
COTTO VS Arturo RODRIGUEZ
COTTO VS Joshua SMITH
COTTO VS Sammy SPARKMAN
COTTO VS Juan Angel Macias
COTTO VS Justin JUUKO
COTTO VS Carlos Alberto RAMIREZ
COTTO VS John BROWN
COTTO VS Ubaldo HERNANDEZ
COTTO VS Cesar BAZAN
COTTO VS Joel PEREZ
COTTO VS Rocky MARTINEZ
COTTO VS Demetrios CEBALLOS
COTTO VS Carlos MAUSSA
COTTO VS Victoriano SOSA
COTTO VS Lovemore N`DOU
COTTO VS Kelson PINTO
COTTO VS Randall BAILEY
COTTO VS Demarcus CORLEY
COTTO VS Mohammed ABDULLAEV
(OLYMPICS)
COTTO VS Mohammed ABDULLAEV
(PRO)
COTTO VS Ricardo TORRES
COTTO VS Gianluca BRANCO
COTTO VS Paulie MALIGNAGGI
COTTO VS Carlos QUINTANA
COTTO VS Oktay URKAL
COTTO VS Zab JUDAH
COTTO VS Shane MOSLEY
COTTO VS Alfonso GOMEZ
COTTO VS Antonio MARGARITO
COTTO VS Michael JENNINGS
COTTO VS Manny Pacquiao
COTTO VS. Yuri Foreman
COTTO vs. Joshua Clottey
COTTO vs. Ricardo Mayorga
COTTO vs. Antonio Margarito II
Only $35.95 for the entire set
of Cotto DVDs. All fights
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of Cotto DVDs. All fights
COMPLETE.
All orders secured with Paypal.
Miguel Ángel Cotto (born October 29, 1980 in Caguas, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican
professional boxer. He is a former WBO light welterweight champion and is the current WBA
welterweight champion. Cotto is currently ranked first in the welterweight division and sixth on
the Ring Magazine pound for pound list.[1] As an amateur, Cotto represented Puerto Rico in the
lightweight and light welterweight divisions at various international events including the 1999 Pan
American Games, the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 1998 Junior World Championships
where he won a silver medal.
Cotto began his professional career in 2001, and on September 11, 2004 he defeated Kelson
Pinto for the WBO junior welterweight championship. He defended the title successfully a total
of six times before vacating it when he ascended to the welterweight division. On his first match
on this division he defeated Carlos Quintana for the vacant WBA welterweight championship.
Cotto has successfully defended this title against Oktay Urkal, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, and
Alfonso Gómez.
Cotto was born and raised in Caguas, with several figures linked to boxing in his family, including
his father Miguel Cotto Sr., his brother José Miguel Cotto, his second cousin Abner Cotto and
his uncle and boxing trainer Evangelista Cotto. He is married to Melissa Guzmán with whom he
has two children, Alondra and Miguel Cotto III.[2]
Cotto has a daughter outside of this marriage with another woman, who was born in November
2006.[3]
On May 29, 2007 Cotto solicited a Protection Order against the mother of his child.[4] The
order was granted and it prevented her from gaining access to Cotto's house in the "Valle del
Turabo" sector of Caguas, Puerto Rico and the Bairoa Gym, where he usually trains.[5] The
case was dropped on June 14, 2007 when Cotto attended a citation and asked judge Bernardo
Solá to lift the Protection Order.[6]
As a child, Cotto was taken to the Bairoa Gym in Caguas.[7] There, he was able to develop
into a top amateur fighter who won several international competitions and represented Puerto
Rico at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.[7] After being eliminated from those games in the first
classificatory round, Cotto decided to turn professional.[7]
Cotto participated in several international tournaments, these include: The 1998 Junior World
Championships that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he finished in second place
while competing in the Lightweight division.[7] His three victories here were by points, the
results were: Andrey Kolevin of Ukraine by points 15-3; Dana Laframboise of Canada by
points 6-1, and Darius Jasevicius representing Lithuania 9-5. His only loss was to Anton
Solopov of Russia by points with a score of 8-9. In 1999, Cotto competed in the Pan American
Games that took place in Winnipeg, Canada. He only fought once in a loss to Dana Laframboise
of Canada by points with a final score of 2-5. Following his participation in the Pan American
tournament, Cotto was part of the Boxing World Championships in Houston, Texas.[7] He lost
his only fight by points to Robertas Nomeikas. In his final amateur tournament, Cotto
represented Puerto Rico as a Light Welterweight at 2000 Sydney Olympic Games where he lost
to Mahamadkadir Abdullayev of Uzbekistan by points.
Early in his career Cotto defeated former world title contender John Brown by decision in the
tenth round, he led the score through the entire fight and scored a knockdown in the second
round. The judges gave Cotto scores of 100-89 twice and 100-88.[8]
In 2001, Cotto suffered a dangerous injury that threatened his boxing career. As he was driving
to the gymnasium at 5 a.m. in the morning one day, he apparently fell asleep and had an
accident, breaking his arm and requiring hospitalization.[9]
On September 13, 2003, Cotto defeated Demetrio Ceballos by knockout in the seventh round
at Las Vegas. In a fight where Cotto injured Ceballos with numerous combinations in the sixth
round, switching between the orthodox and southpaw stances. In the seventh round Cotto
displayed an aggressive style that led to the referee stopping the fight with 0:32 remaining in the
round. With this, he was ranked number one in his division by the WBA.[10]
Cotto's first fight of 2004 was a fourth round knockout victory over the former world title
contender Victoriano Sosa. This was after an eventful week prior to the fight, which included
Cotto having to wait four hours for his luggage to arrive (after a 2 a.m. local time arrival) at
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, and almost being removed from the Mandalay
Bay Hotel, where the fight was held at, by a security guard who thought he was an
unaccompanied minor.[11]
On April 8, 2004 he defeated the former world title challenger, Lovemore Ndou, by unanimous
decision in Las Vegas.[12] The first three rounds of the fight had a slow pace with neither of the
boxers establishing control of the fight.[12] Cotto dominated the fourth and fifth rounds
managing to land combinations on Ndou's head.[12] Ndou won the seventh and eighth rounds
after landing more accurate hits than Cotto. The last three rounds were even with both fighters
establishing short periods of control in the fight.[12] The judges gave Cotto scores of 117-111,
116-112 and 115-113.[12]
On September 11, 2004 Cotto faced Kelson Pinto from Brazil, for the vacant WBO junior
welterweight title. This represented the third fight between them, with Pinto being victorious in
their two previous encounters, both of which took place while they were still amateurs. The fight
was televised by HBO from San Juan, Puerto Rico. During this card Cotto utilized a defensive
stance with his hands in a high position instead of his usual aggressive orthodox stance.[13] Over
the course of the fight Cotto scored three knockdowns and won the World Boxing Organization
Junior Welterweight Championship by knockout in the sixth round.[13]
On December 11, 2004 he successfully defended his title, beating former world champion
Randall Bailey by knockout in the sixth round, as part of the Vitali Klitschko-Danny Williams
undercard in Las Vegas.[14] Cotto's performance was described as a result of hand speed and
accuracy.[14] During the fight Bailey received punches in his face that opened cuts over and
under both of his eyes.[14] As a result of the cuts Bailey was examined by the ringside
physician. Following this Bailey expressed that he didn't want to continue and the referee
stopped the fight at 1:39 of the sixth round.[14] Eleven days later, on December 22, 2004 the
Puerto Rican boxing commission named Cotto as Puerto Rico's fighter of the year for 2004.[15]
Cotto's second title defense took place on February 26, 2005 in the Rubén Rodríguez in
Bayamón, Puerto Rico against Demarcus Corley.[16] During the fight Cotto practiced a boxing
style that was more aggressive than usual, trading hits with Corley over the course of the first
round.[16] During the fight both boxers were deducted one point following illegal low blows.
[16] Cotto scored three knockdowns before the fight was stopped by the referee at 2:45 of the
fifth round following a combination by Miguel.[16] Corley claimed that the referee stopped the
fight prematurely stating that "the ref just stopped the fight premature. If he wanted to stop the
fight, he could have stopped it when I had [Cotto] hurt."[16] Just a few days after retaining the
crown versus Corley, Cotto received a personal blow, when his stablemate and friend, former
2004 Olympian Joseph Serrano, was shot in the head upon leaving the Bairoa gym. Serrano
survived the shot, but was in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.
On June 11, 2005 Cotto faced the last man to beat him as an amateur, former Olympic gold
medalist Mohamed Abdulaev from Uzbekistan. As amateurs, Abdulaev eliminated Cotto from
the first round of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This time they met as professionals in New York
City's Madison Square Garden. Before the beginning of the fight Cotto received a positive
ovation from the public.[17] During the first round Miguel went on the offensive scoring hits on
Abdullaev's head and body while he was in a defensive stance.[17] In the fourth round a left
hook by Miguel hurt Abdullaev, who proceeded to focus his hits on Cotto's body.[17]
Abdullaev's offense was effective in the sixth and seventh rounds and as a result of this Cotto
assumed a defensive stance.[17] Following the eighth round Abdullaev's eye was swollen to the
point of being almost entirely closed.[17] In the ninth round following accurate punches by Cotto
the fight's referee paused the fight and asked the ringside doctor to examine Abdullaev's eye.
[17] After being examined by the doctor Abdullaev indicated to the referee that he could not
continue, this way Cotto retained the Welterweight division championship.[17]
Miguel's third championship defense took place on September 24, 2005 at Boardwalk Hall in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, against Ricardo Torres of Colombia.[18] In the first round Cotto had
an offensive advantage and scored a knockdown on Torres.[18] In the second round after
trading hits Torres scored a knockdown on Miguel.[18] The last seconds of the round were
evenly matched with both boxers finishing the round injured.[18] Cotto was apparently in better
condition when the third round began and was dominating the fight at that point. With two
minutes remaining in the round one of Cotto's punches landed in Torres' beltline. Following this
Torres was granted thirty seconds to recover by the referee.[18] Cotto dominated the fourth
round and Torres won the fifth.[18] Cotto won and scored a knockdown in the sixth round. At
1:24 of the seventh round a left hook by Cotto knocked Torres out.[18]
On March 4, 2006, Cotto defended his WBO Junior Welterweight title by knocking out
Gianluca Branco, who had to give up during the eighth round of their bout due to a shoulder
injury.[19] Cotto dominated the fight as a result of jab combinations in a card that took place in
Bayamón, Puerto Rico.[19] Cotto's next scheduled match was against the then-undefeated Paul
Malignaggi in a fight that took place on June 10, 2006 in Madison Square Garden.[20] Cotto
opened a cut over Malignaggi's right eye in the first round, [20] which, according to Malignaggi,
affected his performance over the course of the fight, by stating "this was the first time in which I
was cut, and the blood kept going into my eye. And it bothered me the entire fight. I was not
able to see very well. Cotto's a great fighter, but I'm disappointed, as I wanted to be the
champion".[20] Cotto won the fight by unanimous decision with scores of 116-111 and 115-
112.[20] Malignaggi suffered a fractured right orbital bone and his jaw was injured, he was
taken to Roosevelt Hospital after the fight's outcome was announced.[20]
Cotto relinquished his title in late 2006 and announced his intention to move to the Welterweight
division to challenge Carlos Quintana for a major title. The fight took place on December 2,
2006. Cotto defeated Quintana by technical knockout in the fifth round. Following a punch to
the body, Quintana surrendered prior to the start of the sixth round and Cotto won the vacant
World Boxing Association Welterweight Championship.[21] Cotto's Welterweight reign began
successfully on March 3, 2007 when he retained his belt with a technical knock out victory in the
eleventh round over Oktay Urkal. Urkal's corner threw in the towel because he was apparently
down in the fight, and had just had a second point deducted for a head butt, leading to his
corner's belief that the referee was unfair.[22]
On June 9, 2007 Cotto defended the WBA Welterweight Title against Zab Judah in New York
City before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden. The bout included two low blows by
Cotto (which led to a point deduction) and at stoppage had Cotto leading 97-91. Cotto won by
technical knockout in the eleventh round when the referee stopped the fight.[23] Judah argued
that the illegal blows played a role in his defeat. "He hit me hard twice and the referee didn't do
anything about it," he said. "I thought they were intentional. Those low blows took a lot out of
me. I want a rematch," added Judah.[24] Judah made numerous claims including a biased
referee.[24]
Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley fought on November 10, 2007 at Madison Square Garden in a
card made possible by a legal settlement between Top Rank Boxing, Cotto's promoter, and
Mosley's promoter, Golden Boy Promotions.[25] The fight was broadcast on HBO Pay-Per-
View and was won by Cotto via unanimous decision. During the course of the fight Cotto
pursued Mosley who was reacting in a slow fashion.[26] Late in the fight Mosley displayed
more aggression at one point becoming the aggressor.[26] Cotto's performance was described
as "a rare moment in sports when a sudden star rises from what is categorically termed as
goodness, to the cusp of greatness."[26]
On April 12, 2008, Cotto successfully defended the championship against Alfonso Gómez.
Throughout the fight Cotto scored three knockdowns before the fight was stopped following the
fifth round, when the doctor indicated to the referee that Gómez couldn't continue.[27] Cotto
was selected the World Boxing Association's "Boxer of the Year", during the organization's
annual award celebration, which took place in Buenos Aires.[28]
On July 26, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cotto suffered his first loss as a
professional boxer to Antonio Margarito in an unsuccessful title defense. Cotto had taken the
early initiative, frequently landing a series of punches on Margarito during the early rounds while
using his footwork to avoid danger. However, Margarito presented constant offensive pressure
of Cotto and eventually began to wear down Cotto's resistance by trapping him against the
ropes. Cotto was hurt in the seventh round after a pair of Margarito uppercuts caused his nose
to bleed. Margarito continued to chase his opponent down and inflicted further damage towards
the end of the tenth round. Margarito then threw a series of punches at the start of the eleventh
round, with Cotto against the ropes and bleeding profusely. A combination from Margarito
finally forced Cotto to his knee. He got up, but Margarito continued landing combinations.
Evangelista Cotto threw in the towel after a second knockdown. Two judges had Margarito
ahead by a score of 96–94 at the time of the stoppage, while the third scored the fight even.[28]
HBO analyst Harold Lederman had also scored the fight even.
professional boxer. He is a former WBO light welterweight champion and is the current WBA
welterweight champion. Cotto is currently ranked first in the welterweight division and sixth on
the Ring Magazine pound for pound list.[1] As an amateur, Cotto represented Puerto Rico in the
lightweight and light welterweight divisions at various international events including the 1999 Pan
American Games, the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 1998 Junior World Championships
where he won a silver medal.
Cotto began his professional career in 2001, and on September 11, 2004 he defeated Kelson
Pinto for the WBO junior welterweight championship. He defended the title successfully a total
of six times before vacating it when he ascended to the welterweight division. On his first match
on this division he defeated Carlos Quintana for the vacant WBA welterweight championship.
Cotto has successfully defended this title against Oktay Urkal, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, and
Alfonso Gómez.
Cotto was born and raised in Caguas, with several figures linked to boxing in his family, including
his father Miguel Cotto Sr., his brother José Miguel Cotto, his second cousin Abner Cotto and
his uncle and boxing trainer Evangelista Cotto. He is married to Melissa Guzmán with whom he
has two children, Alondra and Miguel Cotto III.[2]
Cotto has a daughter outside of this marriage with another woman, who was born in November
2006.[3]
On May 29, 2007 Cotto solicited a Protection Order against the mother of his child.[4] The
order was granted and it prevented her from gaining access to Cotto's house in the "Valle del
Turabo" sector of Caguas, Puerto Rico and the Bairoa Gym, where he usually trains.[5] The
case was dropped on June 14, 2007 when Cotto attended a citation and asked judge Bernardo
Solá to lift the Protection Order.[6]
As a child, Cotto was taken to the Bairoa Gym in Caguas.[7] There, he was able to develop
into a top amateur fighter who won several international competitions and represented Puerto
Rico at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.[7] After being eliminated from those games in the first
classificatory round, Cotto decided to turn professional.[7]
Cotto participated in several international tournaments, these include: The 1998 Junior World
Championships that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he finished in second place
while competing in the Lightweight division.[7] His three victories here were by points, the
results were: Andrey Kolevin of Ukraine by points 15-3; Dana Laframboise of Canada by
points 6-1, and Darius Jasevicius representing Lithuania 9-5. His only loss was to Anton
Solopov of Russia by points with a score of 8-9. In 1999, Cotto competed in the Pan American
Games that took place in Winnipeg, Canada. He only fought once in a loss to Dana Laframboise
of Canada by points with a final score of 2-5. Following his participation in the Pan American
tournament, Cotto was part of the Boxing World Championships in Houston, Texas.[7] He lost
his only fight by points to Robertas Nomeikas. In his final amateur tournament, Cotto
represented Puerto Rico as a Light Welterweight at 2000 Sydney Olympic Games where he lost
to Mahamadkadir Abdullayev of Uzbekistan by points.
Early in his career Cotto defeated former world title contender John Brown by decision in the
tenth round, he led the score through the entire fight and scored a knockdown in the second
round. The judges gave Cotto scores of 100-89 twice and 100-88.[8]
In 2001, Cotto suffered a dangerous injury that threatened his boxing career. As he was driving
to the gymnasium at 5 a.m. in the morning one day, he apparently fell asleep and had an
accident, breaking his arm and requiring hospitalization.[9]
On September 13, 2003, Cotto defeated Demetrio Ceballos by knockout in the seventh round
at Las Vegas. In a fight where Cotto injured Ceballos with numerous combinations in the sixth
round, switching between the orthodox and southpaw stances. In the seventh round Cotto
displayed an aggressive style that led to the referee stopping the fight with 0:32 remaining in the
round. With this, he was ranked number one in his division by the WBA.[10]
Cotto's first fight of 2004 was a fourth round knockout victory over the former world title
contender Victoriano Sosa. This was after an eventful week prior to the fight, which included
Cotto having to wait four hours for his luggage to arrive (after a 2 a.m. local time arrival) at
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, and almost being removed from the Mandalay
Bay Hotel, where the fight was held at, by a security guard who thought he was an
unaccompanied minor.[11]
On April 8, 2004 he defeated the former world title challenger, Lovemore Ndou, by unanimous
decision in Las Vegas.[12] The first three rounds of the fight had a slow pace with neither of the
boxers establishing control of the fight.[12] Cotto dominated the fourth and fifth rounds
managing to land combinations on Ndou's head.[12] Ndou won the seventh and eighth rounds
after landing more accurate hits than Cotto. The last three rounds were even with both fighters
establishing short periods of control in the fight.[12] The judges gave Cotto scores of 117-111,
116-112 and 115-113.[12]
On September 11, 2004 Cotto faced Kelson Pinto from Brazil, for the vacant WBO junior
welterweight title. This represented the third fight between them, with Pinto being victorious in
their two previous encounters, both of which took place while they were still amateurs. The fight
was televised by HBO from San Juan, Puerto Rico. During this card Cotto utilized a defensive
stance with his hands in a high position instead of his usual aggressive orthodox stance.[13] Over
the course of the fight Cotto scored three knockdowns and won the World Boxing Organization
Junior Welterweight Championship by knockout in the sixth round.[13]
On December 11, 2004 he successfully defended his title, beating former world champion
Randall Bailey by knockout in the sixth round, as part of the Vitali Klitschko-Danny Williams
undercard in Las Vegas.[14] Cotto's performance was described as a result of hand speed and
accuracy.[14] During the fight Bailey received punches in his face that opened cuts over and
under both of his eyes.[14] As a result of the cuts Bailey was examined by the ringside
physician. Following this Bailey expressed that he didn't want to continue and the referee
stopped the fight at 1:39 of the sixth round.[14] Eleven days later, on December 22, 2004 the
Puerto Rican boxing commission named Cotto as Puerto Rico's fighter of the year for 2004.[15]
Cotto's second title defense took place on February 26, 2005 in the Rubén Rodríguez in
Bayamón, Puerto Rico against Demarcus Corley.[16] During the fight Cotto practiced a boxing
style that was more aggressive than usual, trading hits with Corley over the course of the first
round.[16] During the fight both boxers were deducted one point following illegal low blows.
[16] Cotto scored three knockdowns before the fight was stopped by the referee at 2:45 of the
fifth round following a combination by Miguel.[16] Corley claimed that the referee stopped the
fight prematurely stating that "the ref just stopped the fight premature. If he wanted to stop the
fight, he could have stopped it when I had [Cotto] hurt."[16] Just a few days after retaining the
crown versus Corley, Cotto received a personal blow, when his stablemate and friend, former
2004 Olympian Joseph Serrano, was shot in the head upon leaving the Bairoa gym. Serrano
survived the shot, but was in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.
On June 11, 2005 Cotto faced the last man to beat him as an amateur, former Olympic gold
medalist Mohamed Abdulaev from Uzbekistan. As amateurs, Abdulaev eliminated Cotto from
the first round of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This time they met as professionals in New York
City's Madison Square Garden. Before the beginning of the fight Cotto received a positive
ovation from the public.[17] During the first round Miguel went on the offensive scoring hits on
Abdullaev's head and body while he was in a defensive stance.[17] In the fourth round a left
hook by Miguel hurt Abdullaev, who proceeded to focus his hits on Cotto's body.[17]
Abdullaev's offense was effective in the sixth and seventh rounds and as a result of this Cotto
assumed a defensive stance.[17] Following the eighth round Abdullaev's eye was swollen to the
point of being almost entirely closed.[17] In the ninth round following accurate punches by Cotto
the fight's referee paused the fight and asked the ringside doctor to examine Abdullaev's eye.
[17] After being examined by the doctor Abdullaev indicated to the referee that he could not
continue, this way Cotto retained the Welterweight division championship.[17]
Miguel's third championship defense took place on September 24, 2005 at Boardwalk Hall in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, against Ricardo Torres of Colombia.[18] In the first round Cotto had
an offensive advantage and scored a knockdown on Torres.[18] In the second round after
trading hits Torres scored a knockdown on Miguel.[18] The last seconds of the round were
evenly matched with both boxers finishing the round injured.[18] Cotto was apparently in better
condition when the third round began and was dominating the fight at that point. With two
minutes remaining in the round one of Cotto's punches landed in Torres' beltline. Following this
Torres was granted thirty seconds to recover by the referee.[18] Cotto dominated the fourth
round and Torres won the fifth.[18] Cotto won and scored a knockdown in the sixth round. At
1:24 of the seventh round a left hook by Cotto knocked Torres out.[18]
On March 4, 2006, Cotto defended his WBO Junior Welterweight title by knocking out
Gianluca Branco, who had to give up during the eighth round of their bout due to a shoulder
injury.[19] Cotto dominated the fight as a result of jab combinations in a card that took place in
Bayamón, Puerto Rico.[19] Cotto's next scheduled match was against the then-undefeated Paul
Malignaggi in a fight that took place on June 10, 2006 in Madison Square Garden.[20] Cotto
opened a cut over Malignaggi's right eye in the first round, [20] which, according to Malignaggi,
affected his performance over the course of the fight, by stating "this was the first time in which I
was cut, and the blood kept going into my eye. And it bothered me the entire fight. I was not
able to see very well. Cotto's a great fighter, but I'm disappointed, as I wanted to be the
champion".[20] Cotto won the fight by unanimous decision with scores of 116-111 and 115-
112.[20] Malignaggi suffered a fractured right orbital bone and his jaw was injured, he was
taken to Roosevelt Hospital after the fight's outcome was announced.[20]
Cotto relinquished his title in late 2006 and announced his intention to move to the Welterweight
division to challenge Carlos Quintana for a major title. The fight took place on December 2,
2006. Cotto defeated Quintana by technical knockout in the fifth round. Following a punch to
the body, Quintana surrendered prior to the start of the sixth round and Cotto won the vacant
World Boxing Association Welterweight Championship.[21] Cotto's Welterweight reign began
successfully on March 3, 2007 when he retained his belt with a technical knock out victory in the
eleventh round over Oktay Urkal. Urkal's corner threw in the towel because he was apparently
down in the fight, and had just had a second point deducted for a head butt, leading to his
corner's belief that the referee was unfair.[22]
On June 9, 2007 Cotto defended the WBA Welterweight Title against Zab Judah in New York
City before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden. The bout included two low blows by
Cotto (which led to a point deduction) and at stoppage had Cotto leading 97-91. Cotto won by
technical knockout in the eleventh round when the referee stopped the fight.[23] Judah argued
that the illegal blows played a role in his defeat. "He hit me hard twice and the referee didn't do
anything about it," he said. "I thought they were intentional. Those low blows took a lot out of
me. I want a rematch," added Judah.[24] Judah made numerous claims including a biased
referee.[24]
Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley fought on November 10, 2007 at Madison Square Garden in a
card made possible by a legal settlement between Top Rank Boxing, Cotto's promoter, and
Mosley's promoter, Golden Boy Promotions.[25] The fight was broadcast on HBO Pay-Per-
View and was won by Cotto via unanimous decision. During the course of the fight Cotto
pursued Mosley who was reacting in a slow fashion.[26] Late in the fight Mosley displayed
more aggression at one point becoming the aggressor.[26] Cotto's performance was described
as "a rare moment in sports when a sudden star rises from what is categorically termed as
goodness, to the cusp of greatness."[26]
On April 12, 2008, Cotto successfully defended the championship against Alfonso Gómez.
Throughout the fight Cotto scored three knockdowns before the fight was stopped following the
fifth round, when the doctor indicated to the referee that Gómez couldn't continue.[27] Cotto
was selected the World Boxing Association's "Boxer of the Year", during the organization's
annual award celebration, which took place in Buenos Aires.[28]
On July 26, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cotto suffered his first loss as a
professional boxer to Antonio Margarito in an unsuccessful title defense. Cotto had taken the
early initiative, frequently landing a series of punches on Margarito during the early rounds while
using his footwork to avoid danger. However, Margarito presented constant offensive pressure
of Cotto and eventually began to wear down Cotto's resistance by trapping him against the
ropes. Cotto was hurt in the seventh round after a pair of Margarito uppercuts caused his nose
to bleed. Margarito continued to chase his opponent down and inflicted further damage towards
the end of the tenth round. Margarito then threw a series of punches at the start of the eleventh
round, with Cotto against the ropes and bleeding profusely. A combination from Margarito
finally forced Cotto to his knee. He got up, but Margarito continued landing combinations.
Evangelista Cotto threw in the towel after a second knockdown. Two judges had Margarito
ahead by a score of 96–94 at the time of the stoppage, while the third scored the fight even.[28]
HBO analyst Harold Lederman had also scored the fight even.
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Poche Pictures