I embarrassed myself. After that, I knew it was time. In , Roach trained Manny Pacquiao for his brutal demolition of Cotto. Did he feel badly about that, given his fondness for Miguel today? A trainer is lucky if one fighter like that comes his way in a lifetime. But this is a must-win fight for Miguel. At p. After returning, he chatted with Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz and Cotto Promotions vice president Hector Soto before leaving again, this time with New York State Athletic Commission inspector Joe Schaffer for his pre-fight physical examination and to give a urine sample.
He returned at , took off his pants, put on his boxing shoes, and handed his watch and necklace to Bryan Perez for safekeeping. And under NYSAC rules, he could only drink water provided by the promotion which, in this case, consisted of 24 bottles of Dasani on a table at the far end of the room. Miguel turned his attention to a large television monitor and stretched while watching an early preliminary fight.
When the wrapping was done, Cotto lay down on the blue-carpeted floor and Marvin stretched him out. Then Miguel put on his protective cup and trunks, shadowboxed for a while, and circled the room offering a kind word and physical gesture to everyone there.
They were followed by referee Charlie Fitch, who gave Cotto his pre-fight instructions. Shortly after p. Cotto hit the pads with Roach for five minutes, took a minute off, and did it for five minutes more. Miguel put on his robe, left the room, and walked to a boxing ring as an active professional fighter for the 47th time.
Miguel Cotto was touted as boxing royalty from early in his pro career. A run of successful title defenses and a move up to pounds followed. Miguel was never the same fighter again. Every fighter loses that ferocity little by little. Cotto turned pro in and moved quickly through the pound ranks before capturing the WBO crown with a knockout of Kelson Pinto.
A run of successful title defenses and natural evolution to welterweight followed. He was at his best fighting at or pounds, weights at which he was able to impose his size and physical strength on opponents. There were title-fight victories over Zab Judah, Shane Mosley , and others. Opponents said that his hook to the body felt like an iron wrecking ball. On the morning of July 26, , Cotto was as a pro with 26 knockouts.
On November 14, , he absorbed another beating at the hands of Manny Pacquiao. Thereafter, he fought sporadically, earning victories over Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga, and Margarito in a rematch before being outpointed in back-to-back losses to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout.
Then, on June 7, , he challenged Sergio Martinez for the middleweight championship of the world. Cotto knocked Martinez down three times in the first stanza. The fight was stopped after nine lopsided rounds. That was followed by an impressive fourth-round knockout of Daniel Geale. Cotto was now 37 years old. His record stood at 41 wins against five losses with 33 knockouts.
He had come a long way since , when he journeyed to Las Vegas to fight Randall Bailey. On that occasion, a security guard at Mandalay Bay had seen him walking around the casino, evaluated him as an undesirable, and asked him to leave the casino floor.
The storyline on December 2 was simple. Cotto had pledged that, win or lose, this would be his last fight. The opponent was Sadam Ali, a year-old former U. Olympian who had been unable to rise to the top as a pro. One year earlier, Ali had stepped up in class to fight Jesse Vargas for the vacant WBO welterweight title and been stopped in the ninth round. It would be better to see Miguel leave boxing on a victory over a lesser fighter than to exit in the manner of so many great champions who lost in the final bout of their ring career.
Cotto had more than boxing on his mind when he entered his dressing room at Madison Square Garden on the night of his last fight. But those thoughts would be put on hold in the hours ahead. The room was a large oval enclosure that housed the New York Rangers hockey team on game nights.
Locker stalls with a plaque bearing the name and uniform number of each Ranger player ringed the room. Former U. Olympian Sadam Ali, a huge underdog, came on strong in the second half of their round title bout before 12, pro-Cotto fans at Madison Square Garden, not far from Ali's Brooklyn home, and came away with a unanimous decision and, most important, Cotto's WBO junior middleweight belt.
It was the biggest victory of Ali's career by far as the Olympian improved to with 14 KOs. It was his second title shot and first world championship. Cotto, 37, from Caguas, Puerto Rico, whose family watched from ringside, finishes his career with a record of with 33 KOs. This was Cotto's 10th career fight at the Garden, which he considers his second home, and only his second loss there.
He lost to Austin Trout five years ago, almost to the day. Ali, who won by scores of twice and , looked to be the quicker and stronger fighter for much of the bout, and staggered and appeared to hurt Cotto several times. JES : At what weight will this fight take place?
I love training, and I am training in a manner to help me achieve the extra weight. JES : On what media outlets will this fight be shown? I imagine that you are involved in the promotion. What is the plan for distribution, and where will I be able to tune in to watch this fight?
JES : Tell us about your current training regimen. What is the difference between how you train now and how you prepared when you were active and a world champion? Nothing much has changed. The only difference is that we have to watch how we raise the level of training. We have to see how the body reacts when we increase activity level to avoid an injury. JES : You are 47 years old and fought for many years. As you stated earlier, the possibility exists, or it may be inevitable that this fight will heat up at some point.
What happens if a solid punch connects or someone suffers a cut? What happens then? JMM : It can happen. We are prepared for anything; we have many years of fighting experience, so we will know how to react.
You each have four world championships in four divisions. There are varying opinions about this fight. The issue is returning to the ring at such an advanced age and risking your health. JMM : Of course, we are taking all the necessary precautions. But we are not fighting with 8oz. The blow may not knock you out, but the heavier gloves can land heavier on the head because of the added weight. The rounds are only 2 minutes. The idea is to have fun and demonstrate what we can do in the ring.
Wait until the bell rings and we start to fight. We have to wait until the first punches are thrown. JES : I imagine that you will be sparring in preparation for this fight.
Have you bought in anyone, in particular, to help you get ready for this fight? We are going to pick the best from that group so we can have quality sparring sessions.
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