Miguel Cotto says his career is far from finished after he stopped Yuri Foreman on Saturday to claim the WBA light-middleweight title.
Puerto Rican stops Foreman to claim fourth world title
Miguel Cotto says his career is far from finished after he stopped Yuri Foreman in the ninth round of their fight at New York's Yankee Stadium on Saturday to claim the WBA light-middleweight title.
The 29-year-old Puerto Rican, whose career was predicted to be on a downwards slope by many pundits after he lost to Manny Pacquiao last November, stopped the Israeli with a left hook to the body.
However, the decisive blow came only after a bizarre series of events that began in the seventh round when Foreman aggravated an old knee injury.
Cotto moved his professional record to 35-2 (28 KOs) and sent Foreman to the first defeat of his career in his 29th contest.
The win also enabled him to claim a fourth world title and his first at 154 pounds, having previously won belts at light-welterweight and welterweight.
Having lost to Antonio Margarito as well as Pacquiao in the last two years, Cotto was happy to set the record straight.
"I think I proved this night to everybody who said 'Cotto is finished' that everybody has failed," he said.
"I'm happy with my performance and we had worked on a lot of things we did tonight and I think it showed.
"Like (trainer) Emanuel (Steward) said to me straight after the fight, 'you're back'."
Cotto made the sharper start to the contest and took the first round having troubled Foreman with his jab. He did the same in the second, despite the Israeli getting his feet moving more.
Foreman continued to find his range in the fourth and used his superior speed and increased aggression to sting Cotto with darting assaults.
The Puerto Rican responded, however, with further left jabs and began doubling up with powerful rights behind them.
An intriguing contest was developing between Cotto's power and Foreman's speed, with both to the fore in the fifth and sixth rounds.
Turning point
The seventh round proved the real turning point though as Foreman fell to the floor after his right knee, which was padded with a support, appeared to give way.
The champion was now hampered by the injury but continued nevertheless, with Cotto catching him with a hook that knocked out the Israeli's mouthguard.
Foreman then waved away referee Arthur Mercante Jnr's offer of rest and made it through to the bell.
More confusion followed in the eighth when a towel flew into the ring from Foreman's corner.
Although the fight stopped for almost three minutes as the ring filled with cornermen and officials, Mercante ordered the fight to continue.
Foreman lasted out the round but when he went down in the ninth from a Cotto left hook to the ribs, Mercante finally called a halt to the contest.
Foreman later revealed that he had suffered the knee problem since falling off his bike as a 15-year-old but, unable to afford medical insurance until recently, he had never had it examined.
"It's an old injury that keeps reappearing and I've always worn a brace to try and prevent it," Foreman said. "Tonight was just the wrong time."
Of the strange series of events that followed his slip, he said: "I saw the towel come in but Arthur Mercante asked me if I was okay to continue and I said 'of course'.
"So he said 'let me clear out the ring'."
Serious injury
Foreman's trainer Joe Grier later defended his decision to try and stop the fight.
"I recognised it was a serious injury and started noticing he was starting to get hit more and more and he was no longer Yuri Foreman," Grier said.
"He continued to trade but not enough and that's when I decided it was basically enough and I threw the towel in.
"I realised it was a violation but three inspectors could not get the referee's attention and I said I've got to get this stopped.
"I don't know what else I was expected to do."
