 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Cotto batters Malignaggi to retain WBO titleWritten by Ozzie Gonzalez, Latinosportslegends.com
On the eve of the NY Puerto Rican Day Parade, Cotto (27-0, 22 KOs) cruised to a unanimous decision, battering Malignaggi with left hooks and body shots in front of a packed house of 14,369 fans. From the start of the fight, Cotto made his presence known that he was the bigger, stronger fighter. Malignaggi (21-1, 5 KOs) suffered a cut above his left eye in the first round and was then floored with a solid left-hand counter in the second. By the 5th round, Malignaggi face began to swell especially around his right cheek which looked like he might had suffered a broken jaw or cheek bone. Malignaggi went down again in the 8th, but it was more like a slip instead of a knockdown. The Italian-American, Malignaggi, showed great heart and continued to fight valiantly for 12 rounds landing quick combination, but nothing he landed staggered or hurt Cotto. "He is the hardest puncher I ever fought," said Malignaggi after the fight. "I take nothing away from Cotto, he's a great champion." All three judges scored the fight in favor of Cotto, 115-112 and 116-111 twice. Malignaggi was taken to nearby Roosevelt Hospital to take care of what was believed to be a fractured cheekbone. Cotto stated that his plans is to move up to the welterweight division because it is "getting harder and harder to make 140." Possible opponents would be Ricky Hatton, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Arturo Gatti or Carlos Baldomir.
|
June
11, 2006
-- Puerto Rican boxer, Miguel Cotto battered Paulie Malignaggi for
12 rounds last night at "The Mecca" Madison Square Garden to successfully
defended his WBO Jr. Welterweight title.
|
|
