Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley
The fight began with an excellent pace and a rowdy crowd. Both men traded combinations over the first four rounds. Cotto seemed to be getting the better of Mosley here and landing the harder shots. Mosley was sacrificing defense in order to get out on his counters quicker.
The pace slowed in the middle rounds as Mosley attempted to box more. He was mostly just bouncing on his toes and moving from side to side. His punch output dropped significantly while Cotto maintained his brawling style. Cotto bullied more in the middle rounds, perhaps trying to wear Mosley down. A bit more wrestling than I care to see in a boxing match, too.
Cotto seems to be hurt in the 9th because he isn’t throwing punches anymore. We later learned he was cut inside his mouth. The 10th round was wild and the best of the fight. It was a close fight coming down the stretch and it seemed like Mosley wanted it more in the championship rounds. He rallied late and may have done enough to take the fight away from Cotto. The judges did not agree as the unanimous decision was awarded to Miguel Cotto with scores of 115-113 twice and 116-113.
Mosley hinted at retirement after the fight but said he would be happy to come back for a rematch with Cotto.
Antonio Margarito vs. Golden Johnson
Johnson still has the best name in all of sports. Margarito went crazy and landed something like 60 of 110 punches in the first round. Johnson went down three times in the first round and the referee called it off before the first round could be completed. Margarito looked sharp and hopes to fight some big names in the welterweight division.
Joel Casamayor vs. Jose Armando Santa Cruz
Nothing more than a boring fight from these two. Even the only knockdown of the fight was boring. Santa Cruz hit Casamayor in the elbow and Casamayor went down in the first round. The announcers were unhappy with the split decision win for Casamayor and I can’t blame them. Casamayor spent most of the fight running.
Victor Ortiz vs. Carlos Maussa
This was a quick slaughter. Ortiz made quick work of Maussa, cutting him under his right eye and then knocking him out in less than two minutes. Ortiz is an impressive prospect but he wasn’t able to show much in this fight.
