By Cliff Rold

Miguel Cotto (33-1, 27 KO) has tasted defeat.  Clearly, it disagreed with him.  With Terminator-like precision, the 28-year old Puerto Rican superstar calmly walked down 31-year old Michael Jennings (34-2, 16 KO) of the United Kingdom over five rounds on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, capturing the vacant WBO Welterweight crown in the process.  Cotto immediately re-enters the crowded top of the best division in boxing. 

Clearly, he never left.

Both men weighed in below the division limit, Cotto at 146 and Jennings at 146 ½.

After a stirring rendition of the U.S. National anthem by a lovely Christine Vaskas, and a raucous welcome by the Garden faithful, Cotto came out with his trademark solemn aggression, stalking the lankier Jennings to put the memory of  his July 2008 stoppage loss to Antonio Margarito behind him.  The posture was intense but the action wasn’t until the final minute that a hard punch, a left to the body for Cotto, landed.  Jennings stayed at a distance with his jab and circled away for most of the round, occasionally flirting with a straight right hand.

While still a chess match, each man had their moments in the second.  Cotto has more of them, mixing up hard single shots to the body and peppering Jennings with left hooks in close.  Late in the round, Jennings caught the tucked chin of Cotto with a straight right, still working the perimeter of the ring and making Cotto chase.  The tempo picked up in the third as Jennings slowed down, planting his feet more often and throwing with more authority.  Cotto took the opportunity to land with more authority.

Jennings just missed a right in the early moments of the fourth while Cotto began to pile on the punishment with lefts to the body.  An exchange of rights near the minute mark gave Jennings a brief glimmer of hope only for the left of Cotto to eliminate it seconds later.  A wicked hook to the chin buckled Jennings who stumbled to the ropes where another left, to the gut, forced him to a knee.  Rising to take the mandatory eight, Jennings was pursued into the opposite corner and dropped from another body assault.  Again, Jennings rose, and he weathered to find the bell.

With alert eyes, Jennings stepped out towards a confident Cotto in the fifth.  It was too much to ask for him to step through the full three minutes.  While never abandoning his right hand, Jennings continued to be pummeled by the left of Cotto before, finally, a Cotto right hand to the temple swerved him into the corner and found Jennings again on his knees.  Jennings bravely rose at the count of nine but referee Benjy Esteves wisely chose the dream of another day for the U.K. product, halting the bout at 2:36 of the fifth.

Cotto complimented the heart of Jennings.  “He’s got a lot of strength, a lot of courage in the ring.”  Asked about the future, Cotto broke tradition and actually named some opponent possibilities.  “If (WBA Welterweight titlist) Shane Mosley wants the rematch, if (WBC titlist Andre) Berto wants to fight...if (IBF titlist Joshua Clottey) if the winner of Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton wants to fight, I’m here.  I’m always facing the best fighters in the world and I’m here for them.” 

Mosley-Cotto II would be the most significant fight in determining the king at 147 lbs.  The two squared off for the WBA crown in November 2007 with Cotto winning a narrow decision.  Mosley one-upped Cotto by memorably stopping Margarito, both in the ring and out of it by way of Margarito’s current suspension over foul hand wraps, just a month ago. 

Cotto wasn’t the only crowd favorite on the night.

Popular as a ticket seller in the American northeast, 29-year old Middleweight John Duddy (26-0, 17 KO), an Irish contender fighting out of New York, showed off improved headwork and refined quickness in what many think was a stage rehearsal for a shot at the Middleweight crown.  Whether defeating 30-year old Matt Vanda (39-9, 22 KO) of St. Paul, Minnesota, even by dominant decision, will prepare Duddy for the best at Middleweight remains to be seen.

Duddy, 162, began intense behind hard left jabs and combinations of lead left hooks, showing quickness and fluidity throughout the first round.  Vanda, 162, circled but could get off little more than his jab as Duddy fired counter shots over the left.

Vanda continued to be forced onto his back foot in the second, reacting to Duddy’s offense as much as trying to set up his own.  Vanda was able to make it work to his momentary advantage, landing a hard left hook in the final minute but taking three flush shots to get it there.  It was a price which seemed bound to increase as the fight wore on.  Duddy continued to pressure and dominate with volume in the third behind a drum beating jab, but much of the best of his work was blocked as Vanda became more relaxed in his defense.

The pace played out tactically in the fourth until the final minute when a short lead right for Vanda and hard left to the body for Duddy landed seconds apart.  While still using his gloves and arms effectively in defense, Vanda again found himself sinking on the scorecards, unable to muster any sustained offense.

Duddy’s shots landed cleaner in the early going of the fifth, the right hand and left hook both knocking Vanda off balance.  A right hook to the body at the midway point was married to a left on the flank ten seconds later.  Vanda responded with a right at the minute mark but took another sweeping left to the body.  Vanda responded late in the round with a left of his own to the ribs but took a right hand upstairs for his trouble.  It would take until late in the sixth for any noticeable change in the disposition of the fight with Vanda becoming aggressive late.

The realization of how far behind he might be falling saw Vanda stay aggressive in the seventh, making his best mark of the evening in the final minute with a counter left hook set up by some body work.  Duddy was undeterred, stepping around and jabbing before finishing with two powerful rights.  Vanda continued to look for left hooks in the eighth and continued to be improved from the opening rounds but Duddy responded intelligently, boxing and countering to extend his lead.

A Duddy right hand sent sweat flying from Vanda’s head early in the ninth.  A left hook at the end of a flurry just past the halfway point did as well, bringing a wobble to Vanda’s legs.  Entering the final round with a formidable lead, Duddy was fully tested in the final three minutes.  An offensive explosion from Vanda rocked Duddy but the Irishman responded with a wise clinch and then return fire to close strong to the sounds of a “Duddy” chant in the crowd.  Duddy won by lopsided scores of 97-93 and 99-91 twice. 

The referee was Arthur Mercante Jr. 

In the televised opener, 26-year old former World Amateur champion Matt Korobov (4-0, 4 KO), 160 ½, of Russia had some early trouble finding his range but ultimately figured out 31-year old Brooklyn native Cory Jones (4-5, 1 KO), 157, finishing him with a right hook in the final second of the fourth of four scheduled rounds.

The card was televised via pay-per-view and promoted by Top Rank.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com