The oddsmakers had Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as the overwhelming favorite, but Miguel Cotto gave him a much tougher fight than most had anticipated.
Officially, Mayweather earned a unanimous decision win, taking 117-111, 117-111 and 118-110 on the judges’ scorecards. He also took Cotto’s WBC junior middleweight belt, thereby earning his eighth title in five weight classes. MMA Fighting scored the bout 116-112 for Mayweather.
Throughout most of the fight, Cotto’s plan appeared to be backing Mayweather into the ropes or the corner to stymie his movement. Mayweather was still able to avoid the majority of Cotto’s heavy punches, but not all of them. Many of the Puerto Rican’s combinations were able to sneak through over the course of the fight. In fact, Mayweather’s nose appeared bloodied by the fifth round, an issue Mayweather rarely faces.
Mayweather was able to take most of the rounds on volume punching even when Cotto was able to sneak a shot or two through. In the twelfth, however, Mayweather did his best work, landing a hard uppercut that wobbled Cotto and backed him up. Mayweather decided to not follow up aggressively, but it ensured he would take the frame in closely-contested affair.
By most observers’ accounts, though, Cotto fought a tactically smart fight even if he came up on the losing end.
After the bout, Mayweather told HBO commentators Jim Lampley and Emmanuel Steward that Cotto was one of his toughest bouts to date. “He’s one of the best fighters that I’ve ever fought,” said Mayweather. “I can’t take nothing away from Miguel Cotto.”
The new WBC junior middleweight also told HBO’s Jim Lampley that a fight with fellow welterweight star Manny Pacquiao should be next. “If you the best, take the test,” said Mayweather, alluding to his personal requirement that Pacquiao by subject to Olympic-style testing in order for Mayweather to accept a bout with him. “Let’s give the fans what they want to see: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.”
Before any fight, however, Mayweather is expected to report to county jail on June 1st per the terms of a 90-day sentencing for misdemeanor domestic violation conviction.