Antonio Margarito ended Miguel Cotto's unbeaten record after a late stoppage in their WBA welterweight title contest in Las Vegas.
Mexican becomes three-time champion
Antonio Margarito has ended Miguel Cotto's unbeaten record after a late stoppage in their WBA welterweight title contest at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
On a dramatic night in Las Vegas, Margarito floored a bloodied Cotto twice and forced the Puerto Rican's corner to throw in the towel two minutes and five seconds into the 11th round.
Two judges had the Mexican ahead by a score of 96-94 at the time of the stoppage, while the third scored the fight even.
Cotto did hold a 280-267 advantage in punches landed but Margarito, known for his ability to withstand punishment, never seemed to be in serious trouble.
Having vacated the IBF welterweight title after refusing to make a mandatory defence against Joshua Clottey and instead taking on Cotto, Margarito now becomes a three-time welterweight champion.
"I trusted my preparation coming into the fight," he said. "Obviously Cotto is a great fighter but slowly the tornado rumbled and I told my corner I was going to knock him out - and I did."
Relentless
Cotto had nevertheless taken the early initiative, frequently landing a series of punches on his taller opponent during the early rounds whilst using his footwork to avoid danger.
However, Margarito was relentless in his pursuit of Cotto and eventually began to wear down his opponent's resistance by trapping him against the ropes.
Cotto was rattled in the seventh round after a pair of Margarito uppercuts found their mark and caused his nose to bleed.
Margarito continued to chase his opponent down and inflicted further damage towards the end of the 10th round - Cotto walking back to his corner looking exhausted.
The challenger then unleashed a flurry of punches at the start of the 11th, with Cotto against the ropes and, by now, bleeding profusely.
A hard combination from Margarito finally forced Cotto to his knee, with more blows coming in as his opponent staggered around the ring.
Cotto finally went down a second time as the towel flew in.
