Post by Trini1791 on Jun 10, 2007 0:42:03 GMT -5
Cotto Brutalizes Judah Mentally and Physically Recommend this page Printable version
By Sammy Rozenberg
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
The Mecca of Boxing, New York's Madison Square Garden, was completely sold out with a ruckus crowd of Puerto Rican fans that saw Miguel Cotto (30-0, 25KOs) successfully defend his WBA welterweight title by knocking out Zab Judah (38-5, 25KOs) in the eleventh round. For the third year in a row, Cotto headlines at Madison Square Garden and wins on the eve of New York's Puerto Rican Day parade. Top Rank reported that an estimated record crowd of 20,600 came out to see Cotto defeat Judah.
It was advertised as the toughest opponent of Cotto's career and it surpassed expectations. As many insiders expected, Judah came out strong in the first four rounds by rocking Cotto with power punches in the first three rounds as both men exchanged hard shots. Judah took some bad low blows in the first and third round, falling down to the mat in pain. Cotto was penalized a point for the low blow in the third. By the fourth, Judah was bleeding from the outside of his right eye and Cotto was bleeding heavy from his mouth.
Cotto began to take over the fight by the fifth round as Judah began to bleed from his nose. A clash of heads in the sixth round saw a cut open up above the right eye. The signature body punishment of Cotto began to break down Judah in the next few rounds as the former champion was on the run. In the ninth, Judah was broken down physically and mentally. His right eye was practically swollen shut and he took a voluntary knee to give himself some time to recover from the damage he was receiving.
In the eleventh, within moments a hard right that was followed by a combination sent Judah down. He barely got to his feet on very shaky legs. Cotto immediately went for the kill as the referee jumped in to save Judah from further punishment. At the time of the stoppage, all three judges had Cotto up 97-91.
The welterweight division is by far the richest division in the entire sport of boxing. Cotto has enough choices to last him for the next two years. The agreement prior to the event had the winner of Cotto-Judah taking on the winner of Antonio Margarito's upcoming defense of the WBO welterweight title against undefeated Paul Williams, which takes place on July 14.
The agreement was more tailored towards Margarito, who is under contract with Top Rank, and the original June 9 opponent for Cotto. Margarito passed on the Cotto bout and decided to take a fight with Williams due to the bigger payday and the WBO had threatened to strip him of his crown if he bypassed his mandatory, Williams.
Williams is under contract with Goossen Tutor and there is nothing set in stone for Cotto to fight him next, although Bob Arum of Top Rank had promised to work towards matching the winner of Cotto-Judah against Williams as well.
Shane Mosley, possibly the biggest name in the division, has not locked down an opponent. He was rallying in the last few weeks to lure Floyd Mayweather, Jr. back in the ring, but he's been far from successful in his mission. Unfortunately, the ongoing legal war between Top Rank, and Golden Boy Promotions, where Mosley is a partner, will certainly roadblock a fight between him and Cotto.
Mayweather, technically the WBC welterweight and junior welterweight champion, is not going to be an easy opponent to land. After making over $20 million dollars for his May 5th clash with Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd is looking almost an unrealistic amount of money to fight again. The only fighter that can bring Mayweather such high purse number is De La Hoya, and few fans would pay to see them fight again. If Mayweather comes down on his financial demands, a bout with Cotto would make a lot of money because Cotto is one of the few fighters in the sport with a superstar following. The pay-per-view numbers of Cotto-Judah will be the telling sign if a Mayweather bout is in the near future.
IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron is another possibility. He returns to the ring on the July 14 undercard to Arturo Gatti vs. Alfonso Gomez and defends his title against mandatory Walter Dario Matthysse.
The June 23 junior welterweight battle between Ricky Hatton and Jose Luis Castillo could open the door for a possible future opponent. The money would have to be significant for either of them to move up in weight to take such a dangerous fight, but at one point Top Rank had planned to match Cotto and Castillo.
Credit: boxingscene
By Sammy Rozenberg
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
The Mecca of Boxing, New York's Madison Square Garden, was completely sold out with a ruckus crowd of Puerto Rican fans that saw Miguel Cotto (30-0, 25KOs) successfully defend his WBA welterweight title by knocking out Zab Judah (38-5, 25KOs) in the eleventh round. For the third year in a row, Cotto headlines at Madison Square Garden and wins on the eve of New York's Puerto Rican Day parade. Top Rank reported that an estimated record crowd of 20,600 came out to see Cotto defeat Judah.
It was advertised as the toughest opponent of Cotto's career and it surpassed expectations. As many insiders expected, Judah came out strong in the first four rounds by rocking Cotto with power punches in the first three rounds as both men exchanged hard shots. Judah took some bad low blows in the first and third round, falling down to the mat in pain. Cotto was penalized a point for the low blow in the third. By the fourth, Judah was bleeding from the outside of his right eye and Cotto was bleeding heavy from his mouth.
Cotto began to take over the fight by the fifth round as Judah began to bleed from his nose. A clash of heads in the sixth round saw a cut open up above the right eye. The signature body punishment of Cotto began to break down Judah in the next few rounds as the former champion was on the run. In the ninth, Judah was broken down physically and mentally. His right eye was practically swollen shut and he took a voluntary knee to give himself some time to recover from the damage he was receiving.
In the eleventh, within moments a hard right that was followed by a combination sent Judah down. He barely got to his feet on very shaky legs. Cotto immediately went for the kill as the referee jumped in to save Judah from further punishment. At the time of the stoppage, all three judges had Cotto up 97-91.
The welterweight division is by far the richest division in the entire sport of boxing. Cotto has enough choices to last him for the next two years. The agreement prior to the event had the winner of Cotto-Judah taking on the winner of Antonio Margarito's upcoming defense of the WBO welterweight title against undefeated Paul Williams, which takes place on July 14.
The agreement was more tailored towards Margarito, who is under contract with Top Rank, and the original June 9 opponent for Cotto. Margarito passed on the Cotto bout and decided to take a fight with Williams due to the bigger payday and the WBO had threatened to strip him of his crown if he bypassed his mandatory, Williams.
Williams is under contract with Goossen Tutor and there is nothing set in stone for Cotto to fight him next, although Bob Arum of Top Rank had promised to work towards matching the winner of Cotto-Judah against Williams as well.
Shane Mosley, possibly the biggest name in the division, has not locked down an opponent. He was rallying in the last few weeks to lure Floyd Mayweather, Jr. back in the ring, but he's been far from successful in his mission. Unfortunately, the ongoing legal war between Top Rank, and Golden Boy Promotions, where Mosley is a partner, will certainly roadblock a fight between him and Cotto.
Mayweather, technically the WBC welterweight and junior welterweight champion, is not going to be an easy opponent to land. After making over $20 million dollars for his May 5th clash with Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd is looking almost an unrealistic amount of money to fight again. The only fighter that can bring Mayweather such high purse number is De La Hoya, and few fans would pay to see them fight again. If Mayweather comes down on his financial demands, a bout with Cotto would make a lot of money because Cotto is one of the few fighters in the sport with a superstar following. The pay-per-view numbers of Cotto-Judah will be the telling sign if a Mayweather bout is in the near future.
IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron is another possibility. He returns to the ring on the July 14 undercard to Arturo Gatti vs. Alfonso Gomez and defends his title against mandatory Walter Dario Matthysse.
The June 23 junior welterweight battle between Ricky Hatton and Jose Luis Castillo could open the door for a possible future opponent. The money would have to be significant for either of them to move up in weight to take such a dangerous fight, but at one point Top Rank had planned to match Cotto and Castillo.
Credit: boxingscene
