By Mark Vester

According to Jose "Joey" Gomez, the downfall of Miguel Cotto were the bodyshots of Antonio Margarito, and the busted nose that continued to bleed throughout the fight. Gomez, one of Cotto's cornermen and a close friend since they were kids, said that a Margarito uppercut busted Cotto's nose and they were unable to stop the continous flow of blood in the corner. Margarito stopped Cotto in the eleventh-round to capture the WBA welterweight title last Saturday in Las Vegas.

"That punch produced a lot of blood, we tried to use medicine to stop it. It was affecting his breathing. He was forced to breathe through his mouth and he was being hit with a lot of bodyshots. We gave him specific instructions on what to do in the fight, he a lot of times he wasn't able to do it."

Therefore it had to breathe a lot by the mouth besides that caught many blows in the body.  In every moment Miguel indicated that was well, we gave him some specific instructions and he tried them, but many times did not he be able", Gomez told Primera Hora.

Gomez says that Cotto was told to stay off the ropes and to keep the fight in the center of the ring, but he couldn't stop Margarito from pressing forward.

"Margarito was all over him at all times. Miguel tried to get him off. The pace of the fight was tough and the body blows hurt him," Gomez said.

Evangelista Cotto, uncle and trainer of Miguel, threw in the towel to stop the fight after Miguel took a knee for the second time in the eleventh-round. The corner was already talking about a stoppage after the first knockdown.

"The first time that Miguel put a knee on the mat, there was already talk in the corner that perhaps we should stop the fight. When we saw that he was taking a lot of punches, Evangelista made the decision. There was no reason for him to take so many punches," Gomez said.

Cotto is expected to take some time off before making a decision on when he plans to make his return. More than likely, Cotto will not fight until 2009.

"Life continues. This is not the end for me, I will take some time off and make a decision on what to do next," Cotto would tell reporters.

Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com