By Mark Vester
Joshua Clottey is complaining of a robbery. He says the judges robbed him of a title-winning decision on Saturday night in New York’s Madison Square Garden. WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto was able to overcome a serious cut above his left eye to edge Clottey by way of a split-decision. Teddy Atlas, known trainer and television broadcaster for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights series, says it was Clottey who gave the fight away. He felt Clottey held victory in his hands and he let it slip through his grasp.
“I'll tell you who did not take the opportunity to win the fight, a guy named Clottey. He had an opportunity. He had a fighter who was bleeding. He had a fighter who looked like the ghost of Margarito was hovering over him. It looked like Cotto was doubting himself. It looked like Cotto in some way was psychologically suffering. And Clottey did not grab the fight like you want to see a fighter grab the fight,“ Atlas said.
“He stopped punching. He allowed Cotto to have moments to recover, to get himself together. He was able to steal rounds, Cotto was. Clottey did not grab the fight when I thought he had the opportunity on the scorecard. I had it 114-114 a draw. I had one round, the fourth round, an even round. But I made a mark that if I had to, I would have favored Cotto a little bit.”
Because he allowed Cotto to steal some of the late rounds, Atlas feels that Clottey lost his right to complain about a robbery. He says Clottey allowed the win to slip away with the same type of performance that Oscar De La Hoya displayed in the late rounds against Felix Trinidad a decade ago.
“I could have seen it a one point fight for Cotto but Clottey, and I hate to say this about a fighter because I respect all fighters, he lost his right to complain. If he's complaining about the decision, much like Oscar De La Hoya the way he behaved the last three rounds against Trinidad some years ago,“ Atlas said.
“If you remember that controversial fight. A lot of people thought technically that De La Hoya won that fight. But De La Hoya ran the last three rounds, did not behave like a fighter, did not try to win those rounds, just played it safe and he did not get the decision. And I said after that fight that he lost the right to complain, De La Hoya did, because of the way he behaved in those last three rounds. Well Clottey lost the right to complain about this decision. “
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