MIGUEL COTTO
PROFILE AND BIO

— As At 25 September 2009 —

At the age of 28, Miguel is an eight-year pro. The WBO welterweight world champion won the title in February, 2009, and has made one successful defense.

He is Puerto Rico’s brightest star and biggest draw in the ring, has fought and beaten some of the sport’s biggest names, and already had a Hall of Fame career.

Miguel is coming off a 12 round decision win against former IBF welterweight world champion Joshua Clottey in his last fight in June, 2009.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere and excitement of a Cotto fight at hallowed Madison Square Garden on the eve of the annual National Puerto Rican Day parade. It’s always a festive scene, and for the fourth time in the past five years, Cotto headlined on the weekend and gave his fans something to cheer about. Most of the heavily Puerto Rican crowd of 17,734 was staunchly in Cotto’s corner, cheering wildly for him as he made the first defense of the vacant welterweight belt he picked up with a dominant fifth-round knockout of England’s Michael Jennings at the Garden in February.
But this time, Cotto was facing Clottey, a far more dangerous, durable and quality opponent. Clottey is world-class and had given up his own version of the 147-pound crown to make the fight possible rather than face a mandatory challenger.... The result was an excellent, high-level fight between two of the best in the star-studded weight class. However, this was no robbery, as some are calling it. Please.

Cotto, two fights removed from his 11th-round knockout loss to Antonio Margarito (whom many believe faced Cotto with loaded hand wraps and cheated his way to victory) last summer, overcame a scenario similar to the one he faced in that fight. Like Margarito, Clottey...is a rough, physical fighter. The fight played out in a similar fashion to Margarito-Cotto in that Cotto was a bit dominant early until Clottey got rolling in the middle rounds and began imposing himself on Cotto, who was cut and fading slightly. But this time, Cotto hung in there like a champ.

Cotto overcame a brutal gash in his left eyebrow from an accidental head butt in the third round. The blood flowed freely from the cut for most of the rest of the fight and certainly had an impact on Cotto’s ability to see Clottey’s right hand coming. After the fight, Cotto needed six stitches in a cut below his eye and 14 in the bad one above his eye.... Given that adversity, Cotto gets a gold star for showing heart.

Clottey can complain that he was robbed all he wants, and some contrary fans and writers can join the chorus, but the reason he didn’t win is because of his own shortcomings, not poor judging. Cotto...fought all three minutes of the rounds and fought smart. Can’t say the same for Clottey, and it cost him dearly. [End Rafael item]

Fightwriter.com’s Graham Houston reported [excerpts]: A split decision was to be expected after such a well-contested bout, but to me there was no doubt that Cotto deserved the win.

It is true that Clottey was moving forward in the later rounds, and he looked the stronger man - but walking in with gloves up, following an opponent around the ring and not throwing punches, doesn’t win rounds.

The fight was there for the taking, but Clottey didn’t drive himself forward with the extra effort that was needed.

Cotto won with superior tactics.... He moved, stopped to punch and moved again. Clottey, after looking so good at numerous stages of the fight, just seemed to lose the plot.

Cotto’s movement in the later rounds wasn’t allowing Clottey to get set to punch. Although Clottey blocked many blows on his high guard, he wasn’t firing off his own shots. Cotto was outsmarting him and outpointing him.

With a number of close rounds, divergent scores were understandable. Cotto’s 10-8 opening round, when his stiff left jab sat down an off-balance Clottey, in the end didn’t prove to be his margin of victory - he would have won even without scoring the fight’s sole knockdown.

Clottey did some excellent scoring with the left hook to the body and left uppercut through the middle, and he also enjoyed success with the jab and straight right hand.

Cotto overall was the busier man, though, and his combinations to the body and use of the jab enabled him to snatch rounds when Clottey fell into his move-in-without-punching pattern.

After 11 gruelling rounds it was Cotto who provided the eye-catching finish. [End Houston item]

Miguel is also a former WBA welterweight world champion - he won that title in December, 2006, and made four successful title defenses.

He won the WBO jr. welterweight world title at the age of 23 in September, 2004, and made six successful title defenses before vacating the title to move up in weight.

He is experienced against top opposition and has fought current or former world champions Joshua Clottey (W12), Antonio Margarito (TKOby11), Shane Mosley (W12), Zab Judah (TKO11), Carlos Quintana (TKO5), Paulie Malignaggi (W12), Ricardo Torres (KO7), DeMarcus Corley (TKO5), Randall Bailey (TKO6), Carlos Maussa (TKO8), and Cesar Bazan (TKO11). He has also beaten previously undefeated contender Kelson Pinto (TKO6), as well as veteran contenders Muhammad Abdulaev (TKO9), Victoriano Sosa (TKO4) and Lovemore Ndou (W12).

KEY FIGHTS

2009

1ST WBO W WORLD TITLE DEFENSE in his last fight on 6-13-09 where he won a 12 round split decision against former IBF welterweight world champion Joshua Clottey (35-2). The fight was fast-paced and exciting. Miguel scored a knockdown with a jab that dropped Clottey to the seat of his trunks late in the 1st round. Miguel was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads late in the 3rd round, but built an early lead. After six rounds, he led by scores of 58-55 on all three scorecards. Clottey rallied in the second half of the fight and swept the 7th and 8th rounds on all three scorecards, and won the 9th on two scorecards. But, Miguel finished the fight strongly and won the 10th round on two scorecards, the 11th on all three, then won the 12th on two scorecards; scored 116-111, 115-112 Cotto, 114-113 Clottey. After the fight, Miguel said, “I had to box with all the blood coming out of my eye. I couldn’t see very well the last few rounds. He did hit me with a lot of good punches. The cut made the fight more difficult, but I felt I was winning throughout the fight.”

WON VACANT WBO W WORLD TITLE - on 2-21-09 by TKO against Michael Jennings (34-1). Miguel dominated as he constantly pressured Jennings and landed the harder punches. He bloodied Jenning’s nose in the 3rd round, then scored two knockdowns with left hooks to the body and cut Jennings over his left eye in the 4th. Miguel scored another knockdown with a right hand in the 5th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:38.

2008

LOST WBA W WORLD TITLE - on 7-26-08 by TKO against former WBO and IBF welterweight world champion Antonio Margarito (36-5) in an epic battle. Miguel was the clear favorite to win. He kept Margarito off-balance with movement in the early rounds, was the sharper, more accurate puncher, and built a lead on the scorecards – after five rounds, he led by scores of 49-46, 49-46, 48-47, but Margarito relentlessly pressed forward, repeatedly drove Miguel back into the ropes, and steadily wore him down. Miguel’s nose was bloodied in the 3rd round, his pace slowed in the 6th, and Margarito rallied strongly in the 7th round and rocked Miguel with a right uppercut that had him dazed. Margarito dominated the rest of the fight - Miguel showed tremendous heart and determination and was still effective when he boxed and moved, but Margarito repeatedly drove him back into the ropes and scored with a heavy two-handed attack. Margarito won the 6th round on two scorecards, swept the 7th on all three, won the 8th on two, then swept the 9th and 10th; Miguel’s mouth was also bloodied. Margarito scored two knockdowns in the 11th round – the first with a left uppercut followed by a series of punches that forced Miguel to one knee – Miguel was also cut over hie left eye and face was covered in blood when he got up. Margarito pressed forward again and Miguel again went to one knee from exhaustion – Miguel’s corner threw in the towel, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:05; after 10 rounds, the fight was scored 96-94, 96-94 Margarito, 95-95.

APRIL 12 - 4TH WBA W WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight in Atlantic City, NJ, he TKO’d Alfonso Gomez (18-3-2): the fight headlined at Boardwalk Hall, and Miguel dominated. He scored a knockdown with a right hand to the body in 2nd round, then scored another knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 3rd. Miguel scored a knockdown with a jab in the 5th round, and the referee stopped the fight after the round.

2007

NOVEMBER 10 - 3RD WBA W WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto won a 12-round unanimous decision against former lightweight, welterweight, and super welterweight world champion Shane Mosley (44-4) in a close, exciting fight. Both fighters gave impressive performances and the momentum shifted back and forth: Miguel started fast, landed the sharper punches, and swept the 1st round on all three scorecards, but Mosley scored well with right hands and won the 2nd and 3rd on two scorecards. Miguel was more consistent and swept the 4th round, but Mosley rallied and swept the 5th. Miguel came back to sweep the 6th and after six rounds, led by scores of 58-56, 58-56, 57-57; the 7th was a three-way split. One judge scored for Miguel, one for Mosley, and one had it even. Miguel swept the 8th and changed tactics in the 9th round. He boxed and moved and Mosley became more aggressive. Miguel won the 9th round on two scorecards, Mosley won the 10th on two, then Miguel came back and won the 11th round on two. Miguel was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads in the 12th, and Mosley won the round on two scorecards; scored 116-113, 115-113, 115-113.

JUNE 9 - 2ND WBA W WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - Miguel Cotto TKO’d lefthanded former IBF and WBO jr. welterweight and undisputed welterweight world champion Zab Judah (34-4). The fight was a sensational battle. Judah started fast - he rocked Miguel with a left uppercut midway through the 1st round, but went down later in the round from a low blow (Replays showed it was just below the belt.) Judah staggered Miguel with a straight left hand late in the 2nd that cut Miguel’s lower lip badly, but went down from another low blow in the 3rd round. (Replays showed it was very low.) Miguel was penalized one point for the foul but kept pressing forward and rallied in the following rounds. Judah was cut over his right eye in the 4th from a clash of heads, but it was not ruled by the referee and his nose was bloodied in the 5th round. Miguel was cut badly over his right eye in the 6th from a clash of heads. Judah came back in the 7th round and staggered Miguel with a left uppercut, then rocked him with a series of punches later in the round. Miguel rallied and scored a knockdown with a series of punches, finished with a left hook, that dropped Judah to one knee in the 9th. Miguel scored another knockdown with a series of punches that put Judah flat on his back in the 11th round – he got up, but Miguel staggered him with another series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 0:49

MARCH 2007 - 1 ST WBA W WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight, he TKO'd former three-time world title challenger Oktay Urkal (38-3). Urkal gave a good effort, but Cotto dominated the fight. He constantly pressed forward, landed the harder punches, and used a strong body attack. Miguel was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads in the 5 th round, and Urkal was penalized one point for another head butt in the 7 th round and penlized another point in the 11 th round for the same foul. Urkal's corner stopped the fight at 1:01.

2006

DECEMBER 2006 – WON VACANT WBA W WORLD TITLE - Cotto TKO'd previously undefeated lefthander Carlos Quintana (23-0). Miguel was very impressive; he started fast and rocked Quintana with a right hand midway through the 1 st round and landed the sharper punches in the 2 nd, but Quintana rallied in the 3 rd and 4 th rounds. Miguel stepped up his pace in the 5 th – he rocked Quintana with a left hook midway through the round, and scored a knockdown moments later with a left hook to the body; Quintana got up, but Miguel scored another knockdown with a series of punches, and Quintana, battered and bruised around his eyes and with a bloody mouth, did not continue after the round.

JUNE 2006 - 6 TH WBO JW WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto won a 12 round unanimous decision against previously undefeated Paulie Malignaggi (21-0). In this exciting fight; Miguel dominated the early rounds – he cut Malignaggi over his left eye in the 1 st round and scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 2 nd. Malignaggi gave a tremendous effort and rallied in the middle rounds to win the 5th, 6th and 9th rounds on all three scorecards, but Miguel finished the fight strongly and gave him a severe beating. Malignaggi had a bad swelling on his right cheek. Both fought hard until the final bell and had the fans on their feet. Malignaggi underwent surgery a week later for a fractured right cheekbone.

MARCH 2006 - 5 TH WBO JW WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto TKO'd Gianluca Branco (36-1-1). A capacity crowd of around 15,000 started chanting, “Cotto…Cotto…” during the start of the undercard bouts and continued through the main event. Miguel gave a strong performance and dominated the fight. He outworked Branco, worked the body well, and steadily wore him down. Branco was cut on his scalp by a clash of heads in the 5 th round, and was swollen under his right eye and on the right side of his jaw in the 6th. Miguel landed a left hook to Branco's right shoulder in the 8th round, and Branco grabbed his shoulder in pain and turned away from the action. The referee stopped the fight at 0:49.

2005

SEPTEMBER 2005 - 4 TH WBO JW WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto TKO'd previously undefeated WBO No. 1 ranked contender Ricardo Torres (28-0). Miguel fought aggressively and started fast - he scored a knockdown midway through the 1st round, but Torres came back and staggered Miguel early in the 2nd, then scored a knockdown midway through the round. Miguel got up and Torres attacked furiously, but Miguel weathered the storm and staggered Torres late in the round. Miguel wore down Torres with a relentless body attack, and scored another knockdown in the 4th round, but Torres rallied again and staggered Miguel midway throught the 5th. Miguel recovered and scored a knockdown in the 6th , then scored another knockdown in the 7 th round. Torres got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:52.

JUNE 2005 - 3 RD WBO JW WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto TKO'd Muhammad Abdulaev (15-1). It was the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, and fans waved Puerto Rican flags and chanted Miguel's name. Abdulaev, who had beaten Miguel in his first fight at the 2000 Olympics and went on to win the gold medal, gave a strong effort and relentlessly pressed forward, but Miguel dominated the early rounds. He boxed and moved effectively, consistently outworked him, and won the first five rounds on all three scorecards. Abdulaev stepped up his pace and won the 6th round on one scorecard and the 8 th on all three; Miguel continued to score with sharp combinations, and Abdulaev, with his right eye completely shut, signalled the referee to stop the fight at 0:57 of the 9 th round.

FEBRUARY 2005 - 2 ND WBO JW WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto TKO'd former WBO jr. welterweight world champion and lefthander DeMarcus Corley (29-3-1). Miguel scored a knockdown with a left hook in the opening minute of the 1 st round, and staggered Corley later in the round, but Corley rallied late in the 2nd. Corley staggered Miguel early in the 3 rd with a right hook to the temple, but Miguel weathered the storm, recovered, and outworked Corley in the 4 th ; Miguel rocked Corley midway through the 5 th , then scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body. Corley got up, but Miguel pressured him, Corley went to one knee, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:45.

2004

DECEMBER 2004 - 1 ST WBO JW WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto TKO'd former WBO jr. welterweight worlrd champion Randall Bailey (28-4). The fight was co-featured with the Wladimir Klitschko-Danny Williams main event . Bailey started fast and landed two hard right hands in the 1 st round, but Miguel dominated the rest of the fight. He scored one knockdown with a right hand that dropped Bailey to his knees in the 2 nd round, and another with a right hand that dropped Bailey to one knee and cut him over his left eye in the 3rd. Miguel steadily wore down Bailey with hard body punches, and the referee stopped the fight on the advice of the ringside doctor at 1:39 of the 6 th.

SEPTEMBER 2004 - WON VACANT WBO JW WORLD TITLE - Cotto TKO'd previously undefeated Kelson Pinto (20-0). Pinto had beaten Miguel two times as an amateur. Miguel dominated the exciting battle. He staggered Pinto with a left hook in the 1 st round and scored a knockdown with a right hand-left hook conbination in the 2nd , but Pinto kept coming back and there were some fierce exchanges. Miguel staggered him again in the 3rd and 4 th rounds, then scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 5 th ; Miguel scored another knockdown with a series of punches in the 6 th , and Pinto's corner threw in the towel to stop the fight at 2:28.

MAY 2004 - 5 TH WBC INTERNATIONAL SL TITLE DEFENSE - Miguel won a 12 round unanimous decision against former world title challenger Lovemore Ndou (38-6-1). Miguel pressed the action in the early rounds - he outworked Ndou, consistently landed the harder punches, and buckled Ndou's knees in the 6 th ; Ndou gave a tremendous effort, kept fighting hard, and rallied in the late rounds, but Miguel boxed and moved effectively and won by scores of 117-111, 116-112, 115-113.

FEBRUARY 2004 - 4 TH WBC INTERNATIONAL SL TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto TKO'd former two-time world title challenger Victoriano Sosa (37-3-2). Sosa gave a strong effort and rocked Miguel late in the 2nd round, but Miguel scored a devastating TKO. He bloodied Sosa'a lip and staggered him with a left uppercut in the 3 rd round; Miguel scored three knockdowns in the 3 rd - the first with a left uppercut to the chin, the second with a left hook to the head, and the third with a left hook to the body - and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:51; after the fight, Miguel said, “Sosa's a good fighter, as he showed against Mayweather and Spadafora. He's the best I've fought. But my team thought he would be a good fight for me, and I won. I'm just trying to get better every time I go into the gym. I'm glad people think that I have.”

2003

3 RD WBC INTERNATIONAL SL TITLE DEFENSE - on 12-6-03 in Bayamon he TKO'd previously undefeated Carlos Maussa (16-0): the fight headlined at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez and drew an announced crowd of 10,000, and Miguel gave a sensational performance; Maussa is tall, awkward and very determined, and was coming off an impressive TKO win against unbeaten prospect Jeffrey Resto, but Miguel dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown in the 3 rd round and steadily wore down Maussa; Miguel staggered him in the 8 th round, and Maussa's corner stopped the fight at 2:02; after the fight, Miguel said, “The fights are won in the ring, not by talking or at the press conferences. He was tall and had long arms, and that's why it was difficult to attack his body. But little by little, I wore him down.”; Maussa went on to win the WBA super lightweight world title…

2 ND WBC INTERNATIONAL SL TITLE DEFENSE - WBA SL WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR - on 9-13-03 in Las Vegas he TKO'd former world title challenger Demetrio Ceballos (26-4): Ceballos gave a good effort and pressed forward, but Miguel dominated the fight. He boxed and moved effectively, consistently outworked Ceballos and landed the harder punches, then switched to the lefthanded stance in the 6th round and rocked Ceballos several times. He rocked Ceballos with a series of punches in the 7th and Ceballos's corner stopped the fight at 2:28.

JUNE 2003 - WBC INTERNATIONAL SL TITLE DEFENSE - Cotto knocked out former three-time world title challenger Rocky Martinez (38-8-1). Miguel was very impressive. He cut Martinez over his right eye in the 1st round, then scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 2nd and Martinez was counted out at 2:42…

APRIL 2003 - Cotto knocked out former world title challenger Joel Perez (34-5-2). Miguel was busier and sharper, scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 4th round and Perez was counted out at 1:29.

FEBRUARY 2003 - WON VACANT WBC INTERNATIONAL SL TITLE - Cotto TKO'd former WBC lightweight world champion Cesar Bazan (39-5-1). It was a step up in class for Miguel and his most impressive win. He dominated the fight. Miguel scored a knockdown in the 1st round and bloodied Bazan's nose in the 2nd. Miguel consistently kept a busier pace, landed the sharper punches, and wore him down. Bazan kept fighting back hard, but his right eye gradually swelled shut from repeated left hooks. Miguel rocked him in the 11 th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:16.

2002

NOVEMBER 2002 - Cotto TKO'd Ubaldo Hernandez (18-9-2): Hernandez gave a good effort, but Miguel steadily wore him down. He bloodied his nose in the 2nd round, then rocked him a couple of times and cut him under his right eye in the 4th. Miguel hurt Hernandez with a body punch in the 7th round, then scored a knockdown and Hernandez was counted out at 1:31…

SEPTEMBER 2002 - He won a 10-round unanimous decision against former four-time world title challenger John Brown (23-9). It was a step up in class of opposition for Miguel and the first time he went 10 full rounds; Miguel dominated the fight , scoring a knockdown in the 2nd round, and staggering Brown in the 8th .

2001

FEBRUARY 2001 - In his professional debut at age 20, Miguel TKO'd Jason Doucet.