Canelo Defeats Cotto in a Close Fight (Photos)
By Ralph Rimpell
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 22 Nov 2015
I?ve been wearing glasses since the 2nd grade. Maybe it?s time to see my eye care provider because I can?t believe how lopsided the judges for the Cotto-Canelo fight had it scored. Yes, at the end of the fight if you look at Cotto?s face it seems as though he took the most punishment, but that was because he at time chose to stand and exchange with the younger, stronger, Canelo. Be that as it may, the decision did not reflect the fight. This is how the fight played out:
Round 1: Cotto boxed beautifully. Canelo looked to time Cotto to land a big right hand. Canelo was swinging for the fences! Round for Cotto.
Round 2: Canelo begins to connect with some of his punches. Close round for Canelo.
Round 3: Cotto uses good boxing skills and picks his shots well. Canelo lands a few good shots, but round goes to Cotto.
Round 4: Cotto again uses good boxing skill to land and score against Canelo. Canelo lands against Cotto but does not appear to hurt Cotto. Round for Cotto.
Round 5: More of the same action in round from round 4 in 5th. Round goes to Cotto.
Round 6: More of the same action from round 5. Round goes to Cotto.
Canelo is unable to close the gap against the elusive Cotto. Half way through the fight and the question that comes to mind is can Cotto keep is up for another 6 rounds?
Cotto throws his vaunted left at Canelo.
Round 7: Cotto is on his toes boxing. Canelo finally tries to hit Cotto to the body. Cotto defense is tight with both hands protecting his head. Cotto boxes well and avoids Canelo?s big shots. This a Cotto round.
Round 8: For the first 30 seconds of round 8 Cotto shocks the hell out of everyone in the crowd and goes toe to toe with Canelo! He boxes the remainder of the round. Round goes to Canelo.
Round 9: Canelo begins to find his target. Canelo lands many good punches. Cotto also lands, but it?s a Canelo Round.
Round 10: Cotto is back on his toes and boxes Canelo, but Canelo still has wins the round.
Round 11: Perhaps sensing some urgency, Canelo steps up the pace and is swinging wildly. Cotto showed no fear, continues to box, and surprisingly exchanges punches with Canelo. Canelo round.
Round 12: More of the same action in the final and 12th round. Round goes to Canelo.
Judges scored the fight unanimously for Canelo. 117-111, 119-109, and 110-118. Philboxing had 115-113 or 7 rounds- 5 rounds in favor of Cotto.
Undercard
In an appetizer before the main event, challenger and now newly crowned featherweight champion Francisco Vargas came out in a storm and legally assaulted now former Champion Takashi Miura almost knocking him out in the first round! By the second round it appeared that Miura had made some adjustments to avoid the same punches that hurt him in the first round.
By round 4 he was countering Vargas and took control of the fight with a vicious left hook that knocked Vargas to the canvas almost knocking him out. The momentum was then back in Miura?s hands literally with Vargas bleeding from an open cut to his right cheek and his right eye quickly swelling.
Vargas connects with a left on Miura.
At the end of the 8th round Vargas right eye was completely closed and Miura almost stopped Vargas near the end of the round. In between round 8 and 9 there appeared to be some concern in Vargas corner if he could continue. Then at the start of round 9 both fighters were fighting on heart and b***s. Then out of nowhere Vargas catches Miura with a beautiful right hand that hurts the true champion. Miura ties up Vargas in an effort to regain his bearings, but was out on his feet. Miura did his best to throw punches in retaliation but his legs were so wobbly he could not connect. Vargas then finishes Miura with a vicious combination and Miura is not defending himself. By then Referee Tony Weeks had seen enough and waves the fight off. Francisco
Vargas is the new WBC featherweight champion of the world. A well deserved victory! Takashi Miura showed he had the heart of a Lion, a great champion, but in the end it would be Vargas who would prevail on this night! This is one of the best fights this boxing writer has ever seen! Francisco Vargas ups his record to 23-0-1, 17KOs and is now ?The Man? in the featherweight division. Takashi Miura record now stands at 29-3-2, 22KOs. Would love to see a rematch!
Rigondeaux (R) throws a right on Francisco.
In a junior featherweight bout we saw the return of Guillermo Rigondeaux against Drian Francisco. Francisco showed he was not there to just be an opponent and gave Rigondeuex boxing fits. He boxed, gave angles, and used good foot work. Rigondeaux was able to connect with his punches, but not as much as he is used to with previous opponents. After 4 rounds, this writer had it scored 2 rounds for Rigondeux, 1 round for Francisco, and the other even for each fighter. From then on Rigondeux stayed on the defensive using his jab, good footwork, and experience to coast to victory. The crowd periodically expressed their displeasure with ?boos? during the fight, when the fight ended, and when the decision was announced in favor of Rigondeaux. Rigondeaux professional record now stands at 16-0, 10KOs. Drian Francisco drops to 28-4-1, 16 KOs.
In 10 round fight for the Vacant WBC Silver featherweight title, Ronny Rios won a close decision victory over Jayson Velez in spite of being deducted one point for a low blow earlier in the match. It was toe to toe action from the beginning of the fight to the end, but it would be Rios who was the more accurate fighter with his punches. Rios improved his record to 25-1, 10KOs, while Velez suffers his first loss and drops to 23-1-1, 16KOs.
In a scheduled 6 round lightweight bout Albert Machado of San Juan, Puerto Rico continues his ascent up the lightweight division by impressively making quick work of Tyrone Luckey in 2:44 of round 1. Machado improves to 12-0, 10KOs while Luckey drops to 8-5-2, 6KOs.
In an 8 round junior Bantamweight bout two undefeated fighters Jose Martinez of Puerto Rico and Oscar Mojica of Mexican descent fought toe to toe action with the momentum swing back and forth to each fighter. After six rounds this writer had the fight even, 3 rounds a piece for each fighter. With two rounds to go, it was anybody?s fight. Perhaps sensing the closeness of the fight, Martinez elected to box and use good footwork to outwork the capable Mojica for the 7th and 8th round. Martinez improves to 16-0, 9KOs preserving his undefeated record while Mojica drops to 8-1, 1KO.
In a 4 round Heavyweight bout Zhang Zhilei, Chinese Heavyweight, survived a last round knockdown from a game Juan Goode (6-3, 5KOs). In rounds 1-3, Zhilei was the more accurate fighter with his shots, while the shorter Goode tried to pick his shots and use good movement to evade the taller Zhilei. Goode finally was able to close the gap by landing a nice right hand in the last round, which caught an off balance Zhilei on the chin. Zhilei did not appear to be seriously hurt. He got off the canvas and did a good job of keeping Goode from landing a similar shot. Zhilei would go to earn the unanimous decision victory improving his record to 6-0,3KOs.
In the first bout of the night lightweight Hector Tanajara, Jr. improved his record to 4-0, 3KOs by stopping Jose Fabian Naranjo (3-2-1, 1KO) with an impressive body shot in the first round. Naranjo took a knee and shook his head and glove indicating he did not want to continue as the referee counted him out.
Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.
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