Referee Ends Bout Prematurely, Cotto Wins Via TKO
By David P. Greisman
This Saturday, everyone at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón,
The fighters, too, were ready to explode, setting off in a five round war that, had it gone on longer, could’ve been a contender for fight of the year. But it was all cut short by the itchiest finger of them all, that of referee Enrique Quinones Falu, who dubiously halted the fight with fifteen seconds remaining in the fifth round, disqualifying a game DeMarcus Corley in what seemed to be a blatant hometown stoppage.
Coming into tonight’s match, it seemed fairly obvious that DeMarcus Corley (now
And by the time the bell signaled the end of the first round, all expectations had been met. Cotto (23-0, 19 KOs), who weighed in unofficially tonight on HBO’s scales at a whopping 157 pounds, had a seventeen pound advantage over his opponent, adding insult to the injurious blows that the WBO champion rained down on the resident of Washington, DC.
Corley’s relative power deficiency showed in round one, as Cotto rumbled out to a quick beginning, hoping to give a show to the more than ten thousand of his fellow countrymen who were present in the building. Just thirty seconds in, Corley was the victim of a flash knockdown, the result of a Cotto right to the body and a left to the top of the head that essentially pushed Chop-Chop to the canvass. Down early, Corley felt the need to trade, a decision that seemed foolish at the time as Cotto painted him with powerful shots, including plenty of overhand rights plus some good bodywork. The two traded punches on a break near the end of the round, and again after the bell.
In round two, though, Cotto threw a left hand to the body that was ruled a low blow by the third man in the ring, and surprisingly, plus without any prior warnings, referee Falu took a point away forom the undefeated champion. With just less than two minutes remaining in the round, Corley took his allotted rest time and then came back with an effective arsenal of left and right hooks that landed flush on Cotto’s chin, reminiscent of some of the shots that Lovemore N’Dou had been able to hit Cotto with as the Puerto Rican tired late in their May 2004 bout. After a 10-8 first round in favor of Cotto, and with the referee’s deduction, it was possible to have scored the second round 10-8 in favor of Corley.
Corley, who formerly held the same belt that Cotto now carries with pride, came close to shocking the boxing world in the third round, all thanks to a right hook that slammed into Cotto’s left ear. That blow came just thirty-six seconds in, as Corley threw a counter right hook before a Cotto left, leaving Cotto wobbling and attempting to hold onto Chop-Chop for dear life. He wobbled back to the ropes, and Corley initiated some brutal bodywork of his own, enthused at the opportunity to lob offense without much need to worry about the incoming artillery. Somehow, Cotto made it out of the round, although not without dropping another 10-8 to Corley, the extra deduction coming from Chop-Chop’s dominance and Cotto’s impotence.
Round four got underway with less brawling and more boxing, as Corley continued to land right hooks to Cotto’s ear while Cotto stalked, landing the occasional punch that Chop-Chop was unable to slip. And then, because seemingly tonight a normal 10-9 round was taboo, Corley threw a quality shot to Cotto’s cup, causing Falu to deduct a point from the American. With one minute to go, Cotto began to throw combinations, including an effective five-punch medley in the final seconds that gave him his second 10-8 round, evening up the fight at 36-36 on this writer’s scorecard.
Cotto’s offense became more patient and deliberate in round five, and although Corley was still able to land, Cotto’s shots were harder and more frequent, and included his trademark body punching and left hooks upstairs. With forty-five seconds remaining, Cotto had Corley up against the ropes, setting him up for a left hook to the body that would cause Chop-Chop to take a knee. Cut under both eyes, Corley arose at the count of eight, only to be backed up against the ropes while he ducked two wide hooks from Cotto, taking a knee out of self-preservation with twenty seconds to go.
Amazingly, the referee waved off the bout, and an upset Corley walked back to his corner while the crowd cheered. Corley had not taken too much punishment, nor was he uncompetitive, but Falu stopped the bout anyways, even though Chop-Chop had surprised many spectators with his efficiency and determination to this point.
Although HBO’s ringside announcers first decried Falu’s stoppage for the blatant hometown favoritism, they quickly decided that the fate of the bout was set for a Cotto victory. Although Corley said in a post-fight interview that he has been promised a rematch, it is doubtful that it would fit into the plans of Cotto’s handlers in building their superstar. And although Cotto is being groomed to take on the best in the junior welterweight division, it is clear that he is not yet ready.
Miguel Cotto has added another name to his ledger in DeMarcus Corley, joining pugilists like Kelson Pinto, N’Dou, Randall Bailey and Victoriano Sosa, but his excellence has only come against bloated natural lightweights or B and C-level junior welterweights. Against N’Dou and Corley, Cotto has been caught cleanly by hard shots, surviving on his way to earning a victory in a manner that would not be so assured against 140 pound champion emeritus Kostya Tszyu.
Cotto may well have knocked Corley off the island and into the
As legendary trainer Emanuel Steward commented afterwards on the possibility of Cotto fighting his charge, Vivian Harris, this writer and his father, both watching the match, yelled out cries of “Conflict of interest!” that fell deafly upon the television screen. Cotto will likely move on against Harris, the WBA champion who has long truly deserved to get more attention and money. Steward speculated that the fight could come as soon as June and take place in
