It wasn’t the short night that both men predicted, but Miguel Cotto got the final laugh with a 12th round TKO over an in-shape, determined Ricardo Mayorga.
Cotto, showing patience with his second fight udner Emanuel Steward, easily outboxed Mayorga for most of the contest. Mayorga insulted Cotto several times and posted up in corners to reenact Ali’s Rope a Dope. In other isolated spots, Mayorga was able to score with wild hooks and uppercuts. The seventh saw Mayorga briefly stun Cotto with a hard right hand.
More often than not, it was Miguel Cotto inflicting the punishment with 3-5 punch combinations on the inside. Mayorga would take these punches and smile, goading Cotto to get more reckless and make a mistake. Cotto refused to grant that opportunity.
Mayorga charged Cotto with a barrage of power punches. Cotto returned fire and landed a vicious, head-snapping left hook. Mayorga staggered back in amazement, his gaze focused on his left glove before crumpling to the mat. He very gingerly beat the count, complaining of a broke hand before reluctantly opting to continue. El Matador took a few more blows before nodding to the ref to end the bout.
In the post-fight interview, Mayorga saluted Cotto and told him that all his pre-fight antics were entertainment and not personal. El Matador also disclosed that he planned to retire after this loss. If the announcement holds, Mayorga leaves the ring with a record of 29-8-1, 23 KOs after 18 years in the ring.
Miguel Cotto deferred to his Top Rank promoter Bob Arum when asked of his future plans. He did acknowledge his willingness to rematch Antonio Margarito, who was present in the crowd and booed by Cotto’s Puerto Rican fans.
“We always want the big names and Margarito is one of them,” Cotto said.
On the undercard, Baltimore Ravens cornerback turned heavyweight Tommy Zbikowski (2-0, 2 KOs) won a dubious first round KO over Richard Bryant (1-3, 1 KO). The replay showed that Bryant was downed by a shoulder block.
Yuri Foreman’s (28-2, 8 KOs) comeback stumbled further with an upset loss to Pawel Wolak (29-1, 19 KOs). Foreman couldn’t keep Wolak off him and was forced into an inside fight. Wolka dominated the exchanges and had Foreman stumbling around the ring at the end of the sixth. The studying rabbi’s corner stopped the fight before the seventh. Miguel Vazquez (28-3, 12 KOs) retained his IBF lightweight title with a pedestrian, 12 round decision over Lenny Zappavigna (25-1, 17 KOs).
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 