By Dr. Peter Edwards
The promoters called the bout "the future of boxing," because of the two, young undefeated junior welterweights that battled before a hot crowd at one of the most famous boxing arenas in the world, Madison Square Garden.
The “Mecca of Boxing," the nickname for MSG, was packed with Puerto Rican fans on the eve of New York’s annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade, to support Miguel Cotto (27-0, 22 KOs). The bout with Paulie Malignaggi (21-1, 5 KOs) was a fight most hardcore fans were salivating to see.
The bout was promoted as a battle of Miguel Cotto's power against Paulie Malignaggi's speed. There are times when speed is able to neutralize power, this was not one of those times. Cotto punished the very game Malignaggi with an assortment of power punches to the head and body, badly swelling the young Italian’s face.
In the second round, Malignaggi was dropped by a hard power shot. He was able to beat the count, but his jaw began to swell like a melon, possibly broken from Cotto’s hard shot. Malignaggi was able to get himself back in the fight by using his jab and stealing some of the early rounds, but Cotto took the fight back in the second half with punishing shots to the body and the head. Malignaggi was able to hang until the end of the fight as Cotto tried to go for a knockout.
The scores were 115-112, 116-111, 116-111, all for Cotto, as he retains his WBO junior welterweight title.
WBO jr welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (27-0, 22 KOs) won a hard-fought unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Paulie Malignaggi (21-1, 5 KOs) Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Cotto dropped Malignaggi in round two and appeared to possibly break Malignaggi's jaw. However, Malignaggi fought on bravely and took everything Cotto threw. Cotto continued to batter Malignaggi down the stretch, winning by scores of 115-112, 116-111, 116-111.
Cotto the more established of the two men, won his first world title on September 11, 2004, by way of a sixth-round TKO against previously undefeated Kelson Pinto. Miguel, far more experienced with a strong resume of opposition, by mauling through a variety of current/former world champions and top contenders, including DeMarcus Corley, Randall Bailey, Carlos Maussa, Cesar Bazan, Ricardo Torres, Muhammad Abdullaev, Kelson Pinto, Victoriano Sosa, Gianluca Branco and Lovemore Ndou.
The star power of Cotto is undeniable in his country, considered by Puerto Rican boxing fans as the man most likely to be Felix Trinidad's successor.
Malignaggi was the last bout at 140 pounds for Cotto, he made his intentions clear of moving up to the welterweight division to pursue another a title. Bouts against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Arturo Gatti, Carlos Baldomir are possible, and Cotto wants all of them. The likely fight would be against the winner of Baldomir-Gatti, in the final quarter of the year.
Malignaggi, a native New Yorker from Brooklyn, only began boxing at the age of 16 and made his pro-debut on July 7th, 2001. He was an outstanding amateur, with an overall amateur record of 40-9. Malignaggi won the 1998 and 2001 Golden Gloves championships, he was the 2001 United States Champion, the 2000 Empire State Champion, the 2000 Mayor’s Cup Champion and a bronze medal winner in the National P.A.L. Championship.
The career of Malignaggi had been plagued by a variety of hand injuries that required numerous surgeries and rehabilitation. Malignaggi did not possess a strong resume of wins, but he was known by many as not only being one of the fastest fighters 140 pounds, his jab was regarded by experts as one of the best in the business. Featured in several television appearances, his high paced boxing style and ability to trash talk, won over many fans.
Malignaggi showed plenty of heart in the loss to Cotto, and his stock should rise with his performance.
On the undercard,
In his professional debut, Notre Dame football player destroyed Robert Bell (2-3) in under a minute of the first round.
Middleweight prospect John Duddy (17-0, 15 KOs) demolished Freddie Cuevas (25-9-1, 17 KOs) over seven rounds on route to a stoppage win prior to the start of the eighth, due to Cuevas' corner stopping the fight.
Undefeated Julio Cesar Chavez (26-0-1, 18 KOs) scored a TKO win in two rounds, over Aaron Drake (10-2, 8 KOs).
Bobby Pacquiao (27-11-3, 12 KOs) stepped further away from his brother's shadow by stopping Kevin Kelley (58-7-2, 39 KOs) in four rounds. Kelley went down in the third round and in round four, where he was counted out.
Juan Lopez (12-0, 10 KOs) won a six-round decision over Sergio Mendez (5-1). The scores were 60-54 across the boards.
Undefeated light heavyweight Curtis Stevens (13-0, 11 KOs) stopped Eric Howard (11-12-1) at the end of the sixth and final round.
Peter Quillin (5-0, 4 KOs) stopped Ed O'Neal (8-13-1) in under a minute of the first round.