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HBO World Championship Boxing Recap

 

June 13, 2009

Madison Square Garden-New York City, New York

 

 

This is the eve of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. Top Rank Promotions has made an annual tradition of putting on a big boxing event on the eve of the parade at MSG headlined by Miguel Cotto. In 2007 on the eve of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Cotto vs. Zab Judah drew the largest crowd that had been at this version of the Garden to see a boxing match in history with a paid attendance of 20,658. This event tonight has drawn an outstanding crowd of 17,734.

 

 

 

WBO Welterweight (147 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Miguel Cotto (33-1, 27 KO's, 146 pounds) (c) vs. Joshua Clottey (35-2, 1 NC, 20 KO's, 147 pounds)

 

Cotto won this title in his last match when it was vacant via technical knockout at 2:38 of round 5 over Michael Jennings on February 21, 2009 at Madison Square Garden. This match had to air as part of a Top Rank Promotions split-site pay-per-view, because HBO would not pay to carry the match. The Puerto Rican is making his first defense of this title that was vacated by Paul Williams, because he (Williams) was unable to get a big name match at 147 pounds with Cotto, among others.

 

The champion had a strong amateur boxing career that culminated when he represented his native Puerto Rico at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics in the 140 pound division.

 

Cotto has headlined at MSG every year on the eve of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade every year since 2005 with 1 exception. That exception was last year, and it is Cotto's only professional loss. In 2008, Cotto opted out of his annual appearance at MSG to main event a PPV against Antonio Margarito on July 26 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cotto started fast in the match and was ahead on all of the official judges' scorecards after 6 rounds by the same score of 58-56. However, Cotto said he had never felt punches as powerful as Margarito was throwing in that match. Margarito turned the momentum of the match around with a left hook in round 7. Margarito who appeared to have bricks for hands in that match, would eventually force a badly bloodied Cotto to voluntarily take a knee twice in round 11. That forced Cotto's corner to throw in the towel to stop the savage beating their charge was taking. In January, Margarito attempted to enter the ring for a match with Shane Mosley with plaster in his hand wraps. Cotto's corner never checked Margarito's hand wraps before their match, only the New York Sate Athletic Commission. The California State Athletic Commission had already approved one of Margarito's hand wraps and missed the fact that it had plaster inside. Mosley's trainer caught on that something was wrong with the wraps. It is likely that the New York inspector made the same mistake as the California inspector and Margarito did have illegally loaded hand wraps against Cotto. In a fair match, Cotto probably would have not worn down and defeated Margarito. Cotto's promoter, Bob Arum, also promotes Margarito and Arum's irrational defense of Margarito is probably going to have Cotto changing promoters at the end of this year. Cotto described what Margarito did to opponents by using loaded hand wraps as placing them in a "slaughterhouse". A full recap of Cotto-Margarito can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2009/1/23/recap-of-antonio-margarito-vs-miguel-cotto.html

 

The Puerto Rican was forced to change trainers prior to this match, but not because Cotto's trainer failed to inspect Maragrito's hand wraps. Cotto had been trained by his uncle Evangelista Cotto since he began boxing, but their relationship had been deteriorating for years. In April, the Cottos decided to enter the Mayweather level of dysfunctional families. Miguel and Evangelista got in an argument at Evangelista's gym over where the training camp for this match should be. Miguel wanted it in Florida, away from the distractions of Puerto Rico. Evangelista wanted it to remain in Puerto Rico, where he trains several other boxers. This argument culminated with Evangelista punching Miguel in the nose. The boxer was cut on the bridge of his nose, but decided not to fight back. Instead, Miguel drove back home so things did not get out of hand. Evangelista then showed up at Miguel's house a few hours later, ready for round 2. The enraged trainer eventually threw a cement cinder block at the boxer's head. Miguel dodged, but his 2009 Jaguar did not. Since, Evangelista had now attempted to kill him and done over $10,000 worth of damage to his car, Miguel finally decided to fight back. That resulted in Evangelista having to go to the emergency room for various minor injuries. The police looked into filing charges against Evangelista, but Miguel did not want to prosecute his uncle. Therefore, Miguel was trained for this match by Evangelista's former chief assistant Joe Santiago in Tampa, Florida.

 

Cotto is The Ring magazine's number 2 contender to their vacant championship at 147 pounds and ranked by the magazine as the number 7 boxer in the world, pound-for-pound.

 

Clottey can make roughly the same claim to being undefeated as a professional as Cotto. Clottey's first professional loss came via controversial disqualification in round 11 to Carlos Baldomir on November 29, 1999 at The Arena in London, England. With a comfortable lead on all of the official judges' scorecards entering round 11, Clottey was first docked 2 points for what was ruled an intentional head butt. Clottey would then be disqualified a few seconds later for being ruled to have used his head in a reckless manner.

 

The other loss on Clottey's record came via unanimous decision to "Hand Wraps of Plaster" Antonio Margarito on December 2, 2006 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As is the story in most Margarito matches, Margarito's opponent, Clottey, was winning the first few rounds. Then in round 4, Clottey broke his left hand. In round 5, Clottey injured his right hand. Then as is the story in so many other Margarito matches, the Tijuana resident pulled away on the scorecards late to win a narrow decision. In a fair match, Clottey would have probably won.

 

Clottey's last match was a somewhat controversial unanimous decision over Zab Judah on August 2, 2008 at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The match had to be stopped during round 9, because Judah said his vision was impaired to the point he could not continue. Replays clearly showed Judah was cut by a punch, which should have made Clottey the winner by technical knockout. Unfortunately, the referee ruled the cut was caused by an unintentional clash of heads, and that sent the match to the scorecards. The unified rules of boxing, which were in effect for that match, require judges to score a partial round in that case. The match had been even on 2 of the judges' scorecards entering round 9. All of the official judges scored abbreviated round for Clottey putting him ahead by 1-point on the 2 deciding scorecards. Clottey picked up the vacant IBF 147-pound title in that match. It was the belt Margarito had to vacate to face Cotto 1-week earlier. This match actually aired as the second part of an HBO Boxing After Dark event with the replay of Cotto-Margarito. That title is not on the line in this match, though. This match was originally scheduled to be a title unification match, but Clottey has been forced to vacate his belt. That is because Cotto missed a deadline to file some paperwork with the IBF to challenge for the title. Cotto's paperwork error would have forced Clottey to pull out of this match and take a much less lucrative mandatory title defense. The recap of Clottey winning the IBF 147-pound title can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2009/6/11/recap-of-joshua-clottey-vs-zab-judah.html

 

Clottey is The Ring's number 4 contender at 147 pounds.

 

At 28-years old, Cotto is 4 years younger then the 32-year-old Clottey. Both boxers officially stand 5' 8" tall, but Cotto appeared taller at the official weigh-ins. Clottey has the reach advantage with a 24" arm length measured from the armpit to the end of the fist, compared to the 23.5" arm length of Cotto. There are no unofficial weights available for boxers approaching match time in the state of New York. However, Clottey has historically entered the ring much heavier then Cotto. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance, even though Cotto is naturally left-handed. According to HBO.com, Cotto is the 3-to-1 favorite 2 days before the match.

 

The unified rules of boxing are in effect for this match. The official judges keeping score of this match from ringside are from New York, Ohio and Connecticut. The referee is Arthur Mercante, Jr. Harold Lederman will be keeping HBO's unofficial scorecard tonight.

 

With under 5 seconds to go in round 1, a quick left jab from the naturally left-handed Cotto sends Clottey to the canvas. Clottey easily answers the count and the bell sounds before any more punches can be thrown in the round. The native of Ghana was going to win round 1, because he had landed several good left jabs. Instead, the knockdown gives Cotto round 1, 10-8. The champion takes round 1 on the Lederman scorecard, 10-8. Cotto's superior work rate wins round 2, 10-9. Lederman scores round 2 for the more accurate Clottey, 10-9. With around 15 seconds to go in round 3, the boxers' heads collide during a clinch. That results in Cotto being cut severely over his left eye. Cotto bleeds frequently, and should not be that encumbered by boxing with blood in his eyes. However, when Cotto changed trainers he also changed his cutman. That could effect the boxer more then the cut itself. Clottey lands the more effective punches to take round 3, 10-9, but after 3 rounds Cotto leads on my scorecard, 29-27. Cotto wins round 3 on the Lederman scorecard, 10-9, and is ahead on Lederman's scorecard after 3 rounds, 29-27. A close up shot in the corner shows that Cotto's cut could lead to a premature stoppage. It is directly above the boxer's left eye and slightly in the eyebrow line. The cut is already moderately wide and streaming plasma.

 

The doctor examined Cotto's cut prior to round 4 and ruled the boxer fit to continue. However, the doctor is going to be checking the cut frequently to see if Cotto can safely continue. Round 4 is very good, but it should be the last of the match. Cotto boxed with a sense of urgency as he continually tried to wipe the blood out of his left eye. It became clear in the middle of round 4 that Cotto had no vision out of his left eye and could not see the right hands or uppercuts coming from Clottey. In the last minute of the round, Cotto stopped trying to wipe the blood out of his eye and accepted his status as a partially blinded boxer. Cotto then became very aggressive and counted on his footwork and anticipation to move him out of the way of Clottey's punches, rather then his eyesight to block any incoming punches. After 4 rounds, a match stopped due to a cut caused by an unintentional foul goes to the scorecards. The punches Clottey was able to land that Cotto could not see give the challenger round 4, 10-9. Cotto would still win the match on my scorecard if it were stopped here. After round 4, the referee follows Cotto back to his corner to examine the cut. It is becoming wider and Cotto's left eye is very red from all the blood that has dripped into it. Lederman scores round 4 for Cotto, 10-9. With 1:04 to go in round 5, Clottey tries to hold onto Cotto in the corner. Cotto refused to be held and violently tossed Clottey face first onto the mat. This caused the largely Puerto Rican crowd to erupt in cheers. Clottey is not getting up quickly. While lying sprawled on the canvas, the challenger is indicating that his right knee is hurt. The referee is telling Clottey to get up and walk it off. (This is the same referee that kept telling Judah to walk it off after twice being hammered with uppercuts to the groin to the point of tears by Cotto.) It is important to note that what Cotto did was not a foul or illegal. Clottey attempted to hold, which is mildly against the rules. Cotto refused to be held in an aggressive manner which is within the rules. With 40 seconds to go in the round, time is finally called and the referee is giving Clottey some time to walk it off. The referee does not have to do that in this instance, because Clottey was not injured from a foul. Were Clottey to be unable to continue, he would lose by technical knockout. If Clottey were unable to continue due to an intentional foul, he would win by disqualification. Only if the referee ruled Clottey were unable to continue due to an accidental foul, would the match be sent to the scorecard. Since Clottey did not go down due to a foul, the challenger must continue or he will lose via technical knockout. After using less then 1 minute of his 5 minutes to recover, Clottey is largely recovered. This is a miraculous recovery on par with when soccer players leave the field in agony on a stretcher, then return to the game running at full speed 30 seconds later. Clottey landed numerous straight right hands on the blinded Cotto to win round 5, 10-9. Lederman scores round 5 for Clottey, 10-9. There is more then a 15 second delay in starting round 6 to wipe up some spilled water in Clottey's corner. The clock did not stop for much of that delay, meaning this round will really be 2:44 long. Cotto won an exciting round huge 6 by having Clottey trapped in a corner for nearly 2 minutes of the round, 10-9. Round 6 exemplifies the reasons many people love to watch Cotto box. After 6 rounds, the knockdown in round 1 has Cotto leading on my scorecard, 57-56. Cotto went back to his corner after round 6 with the cut above his left eye streaming blood down his face. That cut looks very bad and is probably inhibiting Cotto's vision as much as in earlier rounds. However, with Cotto doing so well in round 6 it makes it unlikely the doctor will stop it soon. Cotto wins round 6 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9, and the champion is ahead after 6 rounds on Lederman's scorecard, 58-55.

 

Clottey wins round 7 in dominating fashion on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. The challenger takes round 8 by landing numerous hard right-hands, 10-9. Cotto's eye is worsened to the point the doctor is going to have to stop it. The Puerto Rican clearly cannot see the right hands coming. Cotto is trying to wipe the blood away several times every round. In addition, the cut is pouring so much blood from above Cotto's eye that it is running down into the boxer's mouth and obstructing the boxer's breathing. Lederman scores round 8 for Clottey, 10-9. It appears that when the doctor asked Cotto if the boxer could see in the corner after round 8, the boxer said, "A little bit." That is boxing kayfabe for no, but that he wants to keep going. In round 9, Clottey appears to out-land Cotto to win the round, 10-9, and after 9 rounds Clottey leads on my scorecard, 86-84. Clottey wins round 9 on the Lederman scorecard, 10-9, and after 9 rounds that makes the match a draw on Lederman's scorecard, 85-85. Through 9 rounds, Cotto has landed 136 of the 578 total punches he has thrown, for a 24% total connect percentage. Through 9 rounds, Clottey has landed 168 of the 479 total punches he has thrown, for a 35% total connect percentage.

 

Cotto becomes more active and more elusive to comeback and win round 10, 10-9. Lederman scores round 10 for Cotto, 10-9. Round 11 is very close, and Clottey may have won it with a few combinations at the end of the round, 10-9. Both boxers landed 19 total punches in round 11. Clottey wins round 11 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. Entering round 12, Lederman has the match a draw, 104-104. Going into round 12, Clottey leads on my scorecard, 105-103. The judging panel tonight is relatively inexperienced. That means they could be swayed by the huge pro-Cotto crowd and turn in some very strange scorecards. In Cotto's corner before round 12 they are imploring their charge that he must win round 12. Cotto nodded repeatedly in silent agreement. The champion knows he must at least win the last round and is going to give it everything he has to retain his title. With 1:57 to go in round 12, there is a brief pause to deal with some loose tape on Clottey's right glove. The referee is actually caring a pair of scissors and has the situation taken care of in literally 3 seconds. That allows the action to quickly resume. With 1:16 to go in round 12, Cotto spins around Clottey and punches the challenger squarely in the back of the head. The referee calls timeout with around 1:12 to go in the last round. Clottey sells the punch like a soccer player looking for a yellow card. The referee is not taking a point or allowing Clottey much time to recover. This referee loathes to take points and will not take one at the end of this close of a match. Less then 10 seconds after the clock was stopped the action is going to resume. With 1:04 to go in the final round, Clottey was hit with a grazing low blow. This was such an insignificant punch that Bernard Hopkins would be embarrassed asking for time to recover from it. However, it caused Clottey to walk away and refuse to box for around 20 seconds. Cotto solidly wins round 12 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. Clottey did almost no punching in round 12 and a lot of whining convinced he was well ahead on the scorecards. That may have been a terrible mistake. Clottey still wins the match on my scorecard, 114-113. However, Cotto wins the match on Lederman's scorecard, 114-113.

 

It is taking a very long time for the scores to be added up, which makes sense in this case. However, as a rule the longer it takes for scorecards to be added up, the more likely it is that something bad is going to happen. The official decision courtesy of the legendary Michael Buffer is that the judges have scored the match: 116-111 (Cotto), 114-113 (Clottey), 115-112 for the winner by split decision and still WBO Welterweight Champion of the World, Miguel Angel Cotto. The win moves Cotto to 34-1 with 27 wins coming by way of knockout.

 

The final CompuBox numbers have Cotto landing 179 of the 723 total punches he threw, for a 25% total connect percentage. Clottey landed 222 of the 622 total punches he threw, for a 36% total connect percentage.

 

Cotto said in his post match interview that this is the greatest victory of his career. The champion said he wanted to rest for several weeks and is not anxious for another match, even against Manny Pacquiao.

 

In Clottey's post match interview, the vanquished challenger said he was sure he won. Clottey said he thought he was in trouble when it took a long time to add up the scorecards. Of course, Clottey wants a rematch.

 

Cotto was tremendous in this match. The champion was impaired to the point a veteran corner probably would have worked to get the match stopped after round 4 The cut made Cotto blind to Clottey's incoming right-hands almost the entire night, but still Cotto wanted to keep boxing. Cotto apparently had limited vision until round 9, when the cut worsened to the point that he had no sight out of the left eye at all for the remainder of the match. This is the type of performance that makes fans want to pay to see a boxer. Any damage that could have been done to Cotto's reputation by the match with Margarito were erased tonight. Cotto should be the top ranked active boxer at 147 pounds. There is talk of Cotto facing Pacquiao in October. The Puerto Rican is a relatively small 147-pounder. Pacquiao's trainer say they will not take a match above 142 pounds. Cotto could make that weight, but would probably end up like Oscar De La Hoya, completely drawn trying to get down in weight to face Pacquiao. Also, after this grueling match an October turn around could be a bit quick for Cotto. He might be better served to rematch Shane Mosley in mid-November to determine a new Ring Champion at 147 pounds. The winner of that would be in line to face Floyd Mayweather, Jr. sometime in 2010.

 

Clottey was very good in this match. The boxer believes he was robbed by this decision. In reality, Clottey has only himself to blame for this loss. Clottey gave away the match. He got knocked down by a jab in round 1, otherwise he would have won that round. Clottey then gave away round 12 with his inactivity. That is a 5 point swing in the match and the reason Clottey lost. After the match, Clottey threatened to retire. That is not going to happen. It is also very unlikely that Clottey is going to get a rematch anytime soon. There is very little chance Andre Berto who holds another belt at 147 pounds would face Clottey following this performance. Clottey is too much risk with too little reward to get a match with Mosley. Arum, who also promotes Clottey, is talking about matching the native of Ghana up with Paul Williams next. Williams would arguably be the top ranked boxer at 147 pounds had he not officially vacated his title in this weight class. If Arum is serious, Williams would probably jump at the chance to face Clottey as the dangerous giant is desperate to find opponents.

 

 

 

This was a great show. People should work to catch this replay.