By Rick Reeno
 
The theme of this fight is repeat or redemption. Miguel Cotto (23-0-19K) looks to avenge the loss he suffered at the hands of Mohamad Abdullaev (15-1-12K) in the 2000 Summer Games. Cotto is coming off a 5th round TKO victory over DeMarcus Corley. The victory saw Cotto overcome adversity as he was badly stunned in the bout by a Corley right hand in the third round. Cotto was out on his feet, but was able to make it out of the round and eventually stop Corley two rounds later. The main reason most writers made a big deal over Cotto getting hurt in the fight is because he was hurt by a light punching fighter that he outweighed by almost 20 pounds.
 
Abdullaev wants to prove in the fight that he is still the hot prospect that caught the eyes of boxing writers in 2003. Abdullaev was a strong undefeated warrior, until he met Emmanuel Clottey on June 3, 2003. Abdullaev was well on his way to victory when Clottey caught Abdullaev with a big punch in the last round. Abdullaev took a voluntary knee to give himself some time to recover from the shot. Abdullaev does not understand any English and as result, there was miscommunication between Abdullaev and his corner as to when he should get up. Abdullaev did not understand the ref's count, he stayed down too long and as a result, he was counted out and Clottey was awarded the win by knockout.
The staff of BoxingScene drop their picks for the upcoming bout between Miguel Cotto and Mohamad Abdullaev.
 
Matteo Alderson - Everybody has been critizsizing Miguel Cotto since he got hurt by DeMarcus Corley, but I throw that performance out the window. Miguel was fighting in front of a hometown crowd, got caught up in the moment and attacked with reckless abandonment. Corley is a good fighter, he had respectful performances against Floyd Mayweather and Zab Judah so I don?t think Cotto?s performance was that bad, he just got caught.
 
Cotto's performance against Lovemore N?Dou was worse; he struggled in the fight against a mid-level contender. As for Abdulaev, he?s a good fighter and I really think he could have gotten up in the Clottey fight if it wasn?t for the confusion. It kind of reminded me a little bit of when Rafael Ruelas got knocked out by Mauro Gutierrez. Joe Goosen told Ruelas to stay down in order to recover his senses, Ruelas got confused with the count and the referee counted him out.
 
Anyway I?m expecting a good competitive scrap, maybe even a war, but in the end I think that Cotto?s experience against better fighters will see him through it with a victory. I still think it?s premature to label Miguel the next Felix Trinidad. Tito won the Welterweight title at the age of 20. Enough said.
 
Eric Rineer - Miguel Cotto and Mohamad Abdullaev are two very good fighters but I think Cotto is the stronger of the two. I think Cotto will outwork him on the road to a late round stoppage. Cotto by TKO in 9 rounds.
 
Dr. Peter Edwards - Very tough fight to call. I was very high on Abdullaev two years ago and I think he is still the stronger man. I know he saw Cotto's bout with the light punching Corley. The Corley bout will fuel Abdullaev to seek and knockout. I see Abdullaev checking the chin of Cotto and stopping him in the late rounds to gain the upset win.
 
Damien Picariello - Abdullaev catches Cotto early, but Cotto begins to dial in as the fight goes on. Cotto ultimately proves he is the more versatile professional. Miguel Cotto TKO 7 Muhammad Abdullaev
 
Ron Gallegos - Without a doubt Cotto will win handily. I don't think it will be a quick flash knockout, but rather a compilation of both body and head shots that will eventually push Abdullaev into submission. That's not an easy task because this fighter is one who can take and give a lot of punishment, but in the end Cotto will prevail and continue his quest for the world crown.
 
Christopher Cook - Cotto by late rounds TKO. The undefeated Puerto Rican will be too much for the German-based Abdullaev. Nothing against Abdullaev, he has put a nice winning streak together, but he was KO'ed by Emmanuel Clottey in the tenth round of their bout two years ago. Clottey is not known for his knockout ability. This is a good match-up between two tough prospects and should be entertaining.
 
Mike Indri - Fighting the main event at Madison Square Garden over the Puerto Rican Day parade weekend - this is Miquel Cotto's stage to shine and prove that he is ready to be become boxing's next "superstar". The young, former Puerto Rican National amateur champion will show he is worthy of all the acclaim by beating Abdullaev; avenging his 2000 Olypmic loss to the tough and capable Uzbekistan fighter, who eventually took home the gold medal.
 
Abdullaev, a solid fighter in his own right, hasn't progressed professionally at the meteoric pace of his arch-rival and will do all he can to keep the fight competitive before Cotto lowers the boom around the 7th or 8th round to the delight of the predominately Puerto Rican fight crowd - rooting on their new hero! Miguel Cotto via knockout over Muhammad Abdullaev.
 
Robert Padilla - Cotto vs. Abdullaev is very good fight where Abdullaev appears to be the stronger of the two and his desire to be champion may make the difference. Abdullaev does not have the same pressure on him as compared to Cotto. The Puerto Rican fans expect him to be the next sensation out of the island since the failure of Felix Trinidad to comply in his last fight. Abdullaev by decision.
 
Lucian Parfitt - The pros are different from the amateurs, just how different we will see Saturday night. Abdullaev has a high punch output but doesnt hit hard enough to discourage Cotto. Expect Cotto to pick him apart with hard counters. Cotto KO5 Abdullaev.
 
Tom Donelson - Before his fight with Emmanuel Clottey, Mohamad Abdullaev was the next great thing to hit the junior welterweights. An Olympic star, Abdullaev was on the fast track and as he entered the 10th Round, he was just three minutes away from his twelfth victory in a row. Easily winning the fight, Abdullaev got clocked and then he rose at the count of 11, which in boxing is 1 count too late. After winning the first 28 minutes of the fight, he failed to finish the show and since then, he disappeared.
 
Meanwhile his Olympic rival, Miguel Cotto has been moving up on the fast track and is now one of the 140-pound division elite. The WBO junior welterweight champion has a chance to avenge an Olympic loss when he takes on Abdullaev. This fight features two knock out artists and both fighters will be in front of each other as they wing punches.
 
Cotto is the stronger fighter and is close to some big money fights. For Abdullaev, this fight is needed to restart his career as a serious contender. For both fighters, there is much on the line. For Cotto, a loss derails some big money fights with the winner of Mayweather-Gatti and new champion Ricky Hatton. Abdullaev loses and he continues to toil into boxing purgatory. Cotto wins by an early KO.
 
Pedro Fernandez - Cotto is one of the toughest young fighters wearing boxing gloves today. And after being rocked to his core by DeMarcus Corley in his last fight, Cotto will be more relaxed this time around. Cotto is now fully aware that he can be hurt. Cotto avenges loss to Mohamad Abdullaev with a KO inside of seven!
 
T.K. Stewart - I think Cotto will ultimately prevail over Abdullaev. Since Abdullaev lost to Emmanuel Clottey, he has been relatively inactive and his opponents equal out to a less than impressive combined record of 39-13-3. My gauge as to whether a guy is even a "novice pro" is when he has at least 100 rounds of professional experience. Abdullaev has only 73 rounds of pro experience and only 16 fights. Cotto on the other hand has 118 rounds of pro experience in 23 fights. Cotto has also fought the much better opposition. I think Cotto was beginning to become complacent but the scare against Chop Chop Corley has probably awakened him and made him realize every fight is important and every opponent needs to be taken seriously. I look for Cotto to be impressive and win decisively.
 
James Blears - Miguel Cotto has come a long way since his defeat by Mohamad Abullaev in the amateurs. Cotto has matured, developed and shown more potential than Mohammad. It should be a very hard fight as oddles of pride are at stake. Unanimous points win for Miguel after some real trench warfare. Style wise it won't be pretty, but it could be very thrilling to watch.
 
Jim Amato - I have go with Cotto in this one. The young fighter from Puerto Rico is on a roll. Abdullaev is a dangerous opponent but if Cotto stays poised and fights his fight, he should not have a problem. I look for Cotto to keep his win streak alive by way of a late round KO.
 
Rick Reeno - Abdullaev has the power to give Cotto fits, but he has to be able to land the big punches. I don't see Cotto giving him the chance to land big in the fight, especially after his scare against Corley. Both men have been hurt by fighters in the past that were not known for their power. The fight is going to come down to which fighter wants the win more. I look for Abdullaev to test Cotto at the start, with Cotto coming back to stop Abdullaev midway through the fight.