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Sadam Ali upsets Miguel Cotto in his final fight

Written by Keeran Rajan on 3rd December 2017.

Miguel Cotto bid farewell to the sport of boxing last night. However, his career has ended on a sour note that not many expected.

Cotto was expected tor record a routine victory with relative ease. However, Cotto showed drastic signs of slippage in the fight, which makes his decision to call time on his career all that more understandable.

Cotto looked old and lethargic in the bout. Ali in comparison, was clearly the sharper, faster and more fluid fighter in Madison Square Garden last night.

The Puerto Rican 4-weight world champion surrendered his WBO jr middleweight world title to Ali. The scorecards at the end of the night read out a unanimous verdict. Tallies of 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112 were recorded, all three judges seeing fit to give the nod to Sadam Ali.

Few had given Ali a legitimate chance going into the fight. He was rising in weight for the biggest fight of his career to date. Ali’s only other appearance at world championship level boxing ended in a a knockout defeat at welterweight against Jesse Vargas.

Ali was knocked down twice en route to being stopped in the ninth round in that fight.

Many had expected Cotto’s power to prove a crucial factor in this fight. Furthermore, many suggested going into the bout that it would be a matter of when Cotto broke down Ali with his persistence, not if.

But Ali fought gamely and was brave in the way he approached the fight. Cotto’s persistence didn’t faze him and Ali gave as good as he got in the exchanges as both men were able to shake one another up with thudding blows.

The fight began on a cautious note, Miguel was looking to work behind a ramrod jab with Ali loo

The fight burst into life in the sixth round when Ali’s right eye was beginning to show signs of wear and tear following Cotto landing his signature left hook multiple times.

Cotto followed up by ending the round, with a hard right hand before following up with a barrage of blows on the inside and Ali was visibly shaken.

To his credit the New York native never gave up ground in the fight and was prepared to stand and trade with his vastly more experienced foe.

Ali took the fight to Cotto following the round where he injured his bicep and seemed to be finding his mark on an opponent who was becoming more and more stationary. Ali edged out a competitive ninth round before also claiming the tenth round after landing some venomous looking punches. A left hook, right hand combination the major action in the round.

Sensing the scorecards narrowing and Cotto’s energy levels beginning to deplete. Ali used his youth to outwork and edge out Cotto in the final two rounds as Cotto struggled to keep his younger foe at bay with his jab.

Ali went for broke in the final round and went after Cotto with an assortment of punches and it was apparent he had done enough to edge out a close encounter.

The fight however reached a fork in the road in the seventh round. Cotto suffered an injury to his bicep that seemed to allow Ali to seize a foothold of the fight as they prepared to head down the final stretch.

Cotto later explained, “Something happened to my left bicep, seventh round. I don’t want to make excuses. Sadam won the fight. It is my last fight. I am good, and I want to be happy in my home with my family.” It should be noted, Cotto was admitted into hospital following the bout for the bicep issue.

Following the fight, the victor shared, “Good things happen to good people. I took advantage of this fight, and I made sure to make it count. I want to thank Team Cotto, they could have taken an easier fight if they wanted to.”

Following the fight, Cotto was asked if the loss would make him want to prolong his career to end his career on a sweeter note. Cotto quashed those suggestions and stated the loss would not be a factor in altering his decision to retire.

“It is (my final fight),” he said. “I want to be happy in my home and enjoy my family.”

“Thank you for supporting me at every opportunity,” Cotto told his fans. “I’m so glad to call Madison Square Garden my home,” Cotto concluded.

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