Controversial Fight Series: Cotto-Clottey

by Dafs117, Siren1927 and Mentaldynamo

As part of The Boxing Tribune’s preview of Yuri Foreman’s maiden defence of his WBA junior middleweight title against Miguel Cotto, we revisit Miguel Cotto vs. Joshua Clottey in the Puerto Rican’s closest fight of his career.

At The Garden – WBO Welterweight Title
MIGUEL COTTO (33-1, 27 KO, WBO Titleholder)
vs.
JOSHUA CLOTTEY (36-3, 29 KO)
June 13, 2009 | Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

June 13th, 2009

This was Miguel Cotto’s first real comeback test since his devastating first career defeat to the hands of Antonio Margarito. Suspicions were raised when Shane Mosley’s camp found an illegal substance in Margaito’s handwraps, which led many to believe that his win against Cotto was not legit. The victory still stands, and Cotto had begun his comeback trek with a one-sided beatdown of Michael Jennings, stopping him in the fifth round.

Joshua Clottey was no Michael Jennings. Viewed to many as an underrated top-end welterweight, Clottey was going to be a much tougher opponent for Cotto to break down. In 2006, Clottey had gone the distance with Margarito, starting brightly before a hand injury forced him into retreat. The Ghanaian was coming off the most impressive victory of his career, a technical decision over Zab Judah to capture the vacant IBF welterweight title.

Clottey didn’t defend his IBF title and blamed Cotto for failing to file paperwork on time to make the contest a unification fight. This had no effect on the purse however, as the marketing was successful and the gate was huge, partly because it was held on the eve of the Puerto Rican Parade.

This was Miguel Cotto’s first fight without long-time trainer and uncle Evangelista Cotto, who were involved in several arguments in their fiery relationship. In front of a pro-Cotto crowd, Clottey’s defence frustrated Cotto early on, and it proved in the middle rounds as Cotto resulted into wild shots. Cotto was also cut in round three, the worst cut of the year. Was Cotto’s late surge enough for victory? Or did Clottey’s middle-round cleanout ensure an upset?

The Boxing Tribune have replaced the judges with our own set of scorers. The three judges will be Dafs117, Siren1927 and mentaldynamo. They will give their round-by-round opinion, with a quest to find if Cotto was on the right-end of a split decision at the Garden.

Round 1

Dafs117 – “Both fighters start well, not landing much but getting their punches off in bunches. Cotto begins to land a couple of body shots as he begins to stretch out a lead in the round, and very late on, he lands a left hook which catches an off-balance Clottey who touches down.” 10-9 Cotto [-1 knockdown for Clottey]

Siren1927 – “Great start to the fight, with both fighters jabbing well and both looking to attack the body early. Cotto is finding a home for his straight right already, and it’s a pretty even first round until Cotto drops Clottey, who to be fair looked off balanced.” 10-9 Cotto [-1 knockdown for Clottey]

Mentaldynamo – “High tempo start from both fighters, knockdown clinches it for Cotto.” 10-9 Cotto [-1 knockdown for Clottey]

Round 2

Dafs117 – “Clottey begins to land a couple more scoring shots this round, sweet uppercut and a nice right hand at the end of the round to win the round. The more accurate punches came from Clottey and probably the best defence.” 10-9 Clottey

Siren1927 – “Cotto is firing away nicely but he cannot break through the guard of Clottey. Clottey keeps on firing uppercuts which are mostly blocked too. Cotto is throwing a lot, but not landing. Clottey landed the most telling blows in this round for me.” 10-9 Clottey

Mentaldynamo – “Although Cotto looked more active, Clottey landed the cleaner, sharper blows.” 10-9 Clottey

Round 3

Dafs117 – “Clottey’s left hand can’t miss in the opening minute as he fires a hook followed by a handful of jabs onto Cotto’s chin. Cotto’s peek-a-boo style is ineffective, as Clottey finds his range to land left uppercuts. Cotto throws more punches, but they simply don’t find their target, and a nasty clash of heads causes blood to trickle above the Puerto Rican’s left eye. This round should separate the judges, Lederman gives it to Cotto for out-jabbing, but for me, he doesn’t land anything to compare to Clottey.” 10-9 Clottey

Siren1927 – “For the first minute, we have Cotto teeing off and landing one punch. Clottey is again landing clean, he’s found a home for that left to the body. Cotto uses the jab he forgot in the last round to actually catch Clottey twice, then he forgets it again. However he is starting to catch Clottey now and he takes the round on activity for me.” 10-9 Cotto

Mentaldynamo – “Clottey controlled the round with his jab, backing Cotto up and using it to land his right.” 10-9 Clottey

Round 4

Dafs117 – “Clottey again starts strongly, and his defence is just excellent. They trade heavy leather with Cotto going to the body and Clottey firing back. The cut is really bothering Cotto as he wipes the blood away. Kellerman suggests that Cotto can’t see the right hand coming, and he’s right. Cotto with a late flurry and Clottey tries to answer back. Brilliant round!” 10-9 Cotto

Siren1927 – “Both start the round on fire, throwing and connecting, though if I’m honest Cotto's head movement wins the early exchanges. Clottey then comes right back and Cotto, looks as though he is going to steal the round then acts like a clown and Cotto steals it right back.” 10-9 Cotto

Mentaldynamo – “Controlled the round with the jab, and again backed Cotto up with right hands. Clottey also blocked most of Cotto’s punches.” 10-9 Clottey

After 4 Rounds: Dafs117 – 38-37 Cotto; Siren1927 – 39-36 Cotto; 38-37 Clottey;

Round 5

Dafs117 – “Clottey blocks Cotto’s shots before landing a huge right hand. Another right hand lands from the Ghanaian, and another. Cotto keeps pawing at that cut and it’s really hurting him. Clottey comes in with another right and Cotto basically just slams him to the canvas. Clottey complains, and rightly so in my view, that was a cheap shot from Cotto. Poor officiating from Arthur Mercante Jr., who tells him to walk it off, and on the replay, Clottey slips more than I originally thought. This is getting feisty and Clottey complains about his knee.” 10-9 Clottey

Siren1927 – “Clottey starts this round really well and around the two minute mark lands a lovely double jab right hand combo. Cotto slams Clottey to the ground and special mention must go to the ref who simply tells Clottey be a man, be a champ and walk it off. Clottey wins the round but by God I wish I could take a point off for being a wimp.” 10-9 Clottey

Mentaldynamo – “Clottey blocks Cotto’s shots before landing his own right hands. Clottey wins because he lands the cleaner, more precise shots.” 10-9 Clottey

Round 6

Dafs117 – “Cotto presses and Clottey stands still and gets hit. Cotto traps him in the corner, digging at him punch by punch. Clottey counters with a straight left and they trade, before Clottey goes back into defence mode. Cotto keeps him in the corner landing heavy shots, but Clottey keeps on firing back. Clottey’s mobility is non-existent this round, maybe his knee is a problem. Big round for Cotto, but also a tough round for the Puerto Rican.” 10-9 Cotto

Siren1927 – “Cotto is on fire at the start of the round, throwing and landing multiple shots. Clottey’s mobility is clearly an issue here. Cotto traps him in the corner, but Clottey fires back and catches Cotto, but he’s still trapped in there. They trade leather at the end but Cotto kept him in that corner all round.” 10-9 Cotto

Mentaldynamo – “It looks like Clottey took a round off, getting his breath back after a high tempo start. Cotto dominates and wins the round easily on my card.” 10-9 Cotto

Round 7

Dafs117 – “Cotto really taking control of the fight right now, and I don’t know how much Clottey hurting from that slip/throw has to do with it. Cotto with four unanswered punches, two land. Clottey’s movement is better this round for sure, but getting outpunched. Clottey gets away a combo that ended with a nice right hand. Clottey hurting Miguel, but Cotto gets out of danger. Clottey is the one cranking up the pressure. Another big right, and he takes this round fairly handily. Cotto fires hard near the bell.” 10-9 Clottey

Siren1927 – “How else can you explain this round other than say Clottey just simply beats Cotto up. Cotto fires enough back to at least be competitive but Cotto has a massive target on that cut eye and Clottey’s right hand can’t miss.” 10-9 Clottey

Mentaldynamo – “Again, Clottey landed the cleaner shots and backed up Cotto with that lead left jab.” 10-9 Clottey

Round 8

Dafs117 – “Cotto goes back to pressure Clottey on the ropes again, but Clottey is still able to get his punches away. Cotto then backs himself onto the ropes, de ja vu to the Margarito fight. Clottey lambasts Cotto with rights, that uppercut is hurting Cotto as he grabs both eyes. Cotto now unloads in the corner. Clottey shakes his head like a badass. Clottey takes the round for me, but very close.” 10-9 Clottey

Siren1927 – “Before we even start the round, I’m wondering why the fight hasn’t been stopped, that eye is terrible and I’ve seen far less serious cuts stop fights. The actual round starts with Clottey still in his groove; he gets inside and lands some decent shots. Cotto backs him to the ropes before Clottey flurries out of it. Cotto is continually dabbing at his eye and Clottey is punishing him for it. The amount of right hands Clottey is landing is unreal. Cotto backs him back into the corner in an attempt to steal the round however, Clottey shakes his head and I shake mine.” 10-9 Clottey

Mentaldynamo – “Cotto’s exciting burst at the end of the round not enough to win it. His flurry of punches is not as good as the cleaner 1-2’s from Clottey.” 10-9 Clottey

After 8 Rounds: Dafs117 – 76-75 Clottey; Siren1927 – 76-75 Cotto; 77-74 Clottey;

Round 9

Dafs117 – “It’s Clottey’s turn to stalk early in the round as Cotto moves backwards, not doing much. Another Clottey right lands again. Cotto coming forward with 40 seconds left, but not finding much. Now he’s punching! Clottey resets at mid-ring and jabs Cotto. Cotto’s just not breaking the defence enough to win these rounds, in my humble opinion. Clottey landed the better shots this round.” 10-9 Clottey

Siren1927 – “Nothing of note in the first minute, seconds later Clottey lands a nice straight right then flurries almost straight afterwards. Both fighters are feeling the pace and are not doing much. Both fighters come to life in the last 30 seconds both landing roughly equal. It’s a tough round to score, but I’ve given it to Clottey based on accurate punching.” 10-9 Clottey

Mentaldynamo – “More effective punches came from Clottey in that round, and Cotto doesn’t seem to have anything left as his cut gets worse.” 10-9 Clottey

Round 10

Dafs117 – “Clottey chasing Miguel around again for the first half of the round and Cotto is just not in this fight right now. Lampley thinks Clottey is slowing, I agree, but Cotto is just staying away more than before. Cotto, like in the Margarito fight, has just stopped his work to the body and is head hunting albeit unsuccessfully. Round is winnable for either with 40 seconds to go. They trade leather, most punches miss. Another card-splitting round. I’m going with Cotto.” 10-9 Cotto

Siren1927 – “The first minute of the round is beautiful for Cotto, he doesn’t land much but his footwork and ring generalship are on display for everyone here. Cotto has found something here; he is bobbing and weaving, throwing a few and then moving out of range. It almost wins him the round, but Clottey lands around 12 punches in the last 40 seconds to steal it.” 10-9 Clottey

Mentaldynamo – “Not much action in round ten, but Clottey kept coming forward so I award the round to the Ghanaian on effective aggression.” 10-9 Clottey

Round 11

Dafs117 – “Everyone from HBO is excited. Cotto outworks Clottey, who has really slowed down now. The pace is getting to him, and Cotto picks and pecks. Good idea, he needs the rounds. Clottey lands a meaningful right, but it’s Cotto’s round.” 10-9 Cotto

Siren1927 – “Another close round, it’s now Cotto’s turn to throw the most of the punches and starts to fire back at Clottey. Both fighters have their moments and it’s another tough round to score. You have the sense that if Clottey had thrown a few more he would’ve taken the round hands down. He just about took it, but only just.” 10-9 Clottey

Mentaldynamo – “Much of the same as Clottey keeps coming forward and dictating the pace of the fight.” 10-9 Clottey

Round 12

Dafs117 – “Both come out to win the round and Cotto moves around the ring as Clottey pressures. Cotto lets his hands go, Clottey follows suit, nothing lands though. Cotto turns to southpaw and smacks Clottey in the back of the head. Good call from Mercante Jr., it looked an accident. Clottey tries to find time as he complains for a low blow, nothing given. Cotto with five punches, nothing coming back from Clottey. Left hand from Cotto, and a right from Clottey. Brilliant fight, a rough tussle.” 10-9 Cotto

Siren1927 – “Another tough round to score and unfortunately, more Joshua Clottey bad acting classes. Cotto is just much more active and his defence is actually better in this round. Cotto stole it for me. He didn’t so much as win the round; it was Clottey that lost it.” 10-9 Cotto

Mentaldynamo – “It was a close round, but Cotto just did enough to win it. Cotto had his moments, but that was it, just moments.” 10-9 Cotto

Official Scores: Don Trella – 116-111 Cotto; John McKaie – 115-112 Cotto; Tom Miller – 114-113 Clottey;

Miguel Cotto successfully defends his belt by split decision

BTBC Scorecards: Dafs117 – 114-113 Cotto; Siren1927 – 114-113 Clottey; Mentaldynamo – 116-111 Clottey;

Joshua Clottey wins via split decision

BTBC Combined Scorecard

Round 1 – 10-9 Cotto (3-0); [-1 knockdown for Clottey]
Round 2 – 10-9 Clottey (0-3);
Round 3 – 10-9 Clottey (1-2);
Round 4 – 10-9 Cotto (2-1);
Round 5 – 10-9 Clottey (0-3);
Round 6 – 10-9 Cotto (3-0);
Round 7 – 10-9 Clottey (0-3);
Round 8 – 10-9 Clottey (0-3);
Round 9 – 10-9 Clottey (0-3);
Round 10 – 10-9 Clottey (1-2);
Round 11 – 10-9 Clottey (1-2);
Round 12 – 10-9 Cotto (3-0);

Total – 115-112 Clottey;

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