Miguel Cotto sealed a recent win against a very tough Joshua Clottey retaining the World Boxing Organization welterweight title. It was a split decision that closed the deal of a very hard fought battle. A few expected that it would come to the judges’ decision when Cotto knocked down the former IBF champion Clottey with a firm left at the end of first round but the latter stood up just in time. Both men exchanged hooks and uppercuts that landed to the body and head.
At the end of Round 3, a head clash between the two boxers opened a gash on Cotton’s left eye that bled continuously throughout the match. Manny Pacquiao sat ringside with Arum and saw how the bleeding blocked the Puerto Rican’s vision, which left him vulnerable to Clottey’s commanding blows. Cotto didn’t let the bleeding affect his game and steered a strategy of throwing quick punches and then breaking out of the battlefield before Clottey can counterpunch. But vision was not the only problem of the match. During the fifth round, Clottey slipped and hurt a knee. He winced in pain when the referee urged him to stand.
It was a long and tiring battle for the two but Cotto emerged the victorious as only one judge scored it in favor of Clottey. The fan went crazy over the Puerto Rican’s win that reminded Pacquiao of Hatton’s tremendous support from the Brits. Impressed by the amount of fan support Miguel Cotto gathered at Madison Square Garden, Pacquiao gave Bob Arum the green light to arrange a fight between the two stars. The bout became more likely after Floyd Mayweather Jr. suffered a rib injury that postponed his returning fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was targeting Mayweather as his next opponent if the latter wins over Marquez. Or a third winner takes all bout between the Filipino champ and Marquez can brew if the win were the other way around.
The target date for the Pacquiao-Cotto face-off is November 14, 2009.
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