Miguel Cotto: From Caguas to Four-Division Glory and a Farewell at the Garden

Miguel Cotto was born in New England but grew up in Caguas, Puerto Rico. He boxed at the Sydney Olympics, then spent sixteen years as a professional and won world titles at junior welterweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight. No Puerto Rican fighter had done that before him. His career took in a scandal-shadowed loss to Antonio Margarito, the rematch he won, defeats by the biggest names of his era, and a farewell at Madison Square Garden.

From Providence to Caguas: A Boxing Family

Cotto was born on October 29, 1980, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Puerto Rican parents. Before he was two, the family moved back to Caguas, a city in the interior of the island. His father, Miguel Cotto Sr., and his uncle, Evangelista Cotto, were both involved in the sport, and Evangelista later trained his nephew through the first eight years of his professional career.

As an amateur, Cotto fought at lightweight and light welterweight. He won a silver medal at the 1998 Junior World Championships in Buenos Aires, boxed at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, and made Puerto Rico's team for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. His Olympic run ended with a loss to Uzbekistan's Mahamadkadir Abdullayev. According to Wikipedia's account of his career, Cotto finished as an amateur with 125 wins and 23 losses.

Turning Pro and the First Belt, 2001 to 2006

Cotto made his professional debut on February 23, 2001. On September 11, 2004, in San Juan, he stopped Kelson Pinto in the sixth round to win the vacant WBO junior welterweight title. CBS Sports later noted that he defended that belt six times before he moved up in weight.

In June 2006 he outpointed Paulie Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden. It was the first of many big nights for him at that arena. Six months later, on December 2, 2006, in Atlantic City, Carlos Quintana retired on his stool after five rounds, and Cotto had the vacant WBA welterweight title. He was now a champion in two divisions.

Judah, Mosley and the Welterweight Peak

The 2007 season was probably the best of his career. On June 9 he stopped Zab Judah in the eleventh round. On November 10 he beat Shane Mosley by unanimous decision. The win put Cotto in the conversation about the best welterweights in the world.

July 2008: The Margarito Night

On July 26, 2008, Cotto defended the WBA belt against Antonio Margarito of Mexico at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Midway through the eleventh round, Margarito landed a run of uppercuts and right hands. Cotto took a knee, then went down again without being hit. His uncle Evangelista threw in the towel at 2:05 of the round. It was Cotto's first professional loss.

Six months later the result looked very different. Before Margarito's January 2009 fight with Shane Mosley in Los Angeles, California officials found a hard, plaster-like insert inside his hand wraps. On February 10, 2009, the California State Athletic Commission revoked the licenses of Margarito and his trainer for one year. Nobody ever proved what was inside Margarito's gloves in the Cotto fight, but Cotto and many observers came to view that loss with deep suspicion.

Pacquiao and a Third Division

Cotto recovered quickly. On February 21, 2009, he stopped Michael Jennings in five rounds at Madison Square Garden to win the vacant WBO welterweight title. That June he survived a hard fight with Joshua Clottey and won a split decision. His uncle's run as head trainer ended in April 2009, and the corner changed over the next few years. Emanuel Steward worked with him from 2010 to 2011, and Freddie Roach trained him from 2013 until he retired.

On November 14, 2009, at the MGM Grand, he faced Manny Pacquiao. The Filipino dropped him in the third round and again in the fourth, and the fight became steadily more one-sided. The referee stopped it 55 seconds into the twelfth round. Wikipedia's entry on the bout reports about 1.25 million pay-per-view buys.

Seven months later, on June 5, 2010, Cotto moved up to junior middleweight and stopped Yuri Foreman in the ninth round at Yankee Stadium. The WBA title made him a three-division champion.

December 2011: The Rematch at the Garden

The rematch with Margarito finally took place on December 3, 2011, at Madison Square Garden. The New York State Athletic Commission had first refused Margarito a license because of concerns about his right eye, which needed surgery after his own loss to Pacquiao. It approved him only after more examinations by a specialist the state chose.

Cotto aimed at that eye from the opening bell. By the middle rounds it was swelling shut. After the ninth, the ringside doctors ruled that Margarito could not continue, and referee Steve Smoger stopped the fight before the tenth began. Ringside physician Barry Jordan told reporters the eyelid had been fully closed for three rounds. Cotto made clear afterward that he felt no warmth toward his opponent. Reports quoted him saying he had wanted to look at Margarito and taste his victory.

Mayweather, Trout and Life With Freddie Roach

On May 5, 2012, Cotto put his WBA junior middleweight title on the line against Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand. He pressed behind the jab and gave Mayweather a bloody nose, which began bleeding late in the eighth round. Mayweather was sharper over the closing rounds and hurt Cotto with a left uppercut in the twelfth. The judges scored it 117-111, 117-111 and 118-110. In the ring afterward, according to the Associated Press report carried by The Spokesman-Review, Mayweather called Cotto the toughest man he had ever fought.

On December 1, 2012, he lost a unanimous decision to Austin Trout, his second straight defeat. He brought in Freddie Roach, and on October 5, 2013, he stopped Delvin Rodríguez in three rounds.

June 2014: Four Divisions Against Sergio Martínez

On June 7, 2014, a crowd of 21,090 filled Madison Square Garden as Cotto challenged Sergio Martínez for the WBC and lineal middleweight championship. Martínez was 39 years old. Cotto attacked from the start. Sources disagree on the exact count in the first round: the Associated Press reported two knockdowns, while Wikipedia records three in the first and another in the ninth. Martínez did not come out for the tenth.

The win made Cotto the first Puerto Rican to win world titles in four weight classes, and it raised his record at the Garden to 8-1. He told the AP the performance reflected ten or eleven weeks of hard work.

Canelo, Kamegai and the Last Night at the Garden

Cotto made one defense, stopping Daniel Geale in four rounds in June 2015. Before his November fight with Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, the WBC withdrew recognition of him as champion over a dispute about its sanctioning fees. The fight went ahead on November 21, 2015, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Álvarez landed the heavier right hands and uppercuts and won a unanimous decision. Wikipedia lists the cards as 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111, and some observers felt those margins were too wide for a competitive fight.

After almost two years away, Cotto returned on August 26, 2017, in Carson, California, and outpointed Yoshihiro Kamegai for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title. He announced that his next fight would be his last and that he wanted it at Madison Square Garden. On December 2, 2017, he faced Sadam Ali there. Ali won the last four rounds on every card and took a unanimous decision, 116-112, 115-113, 115-113. Wikipedia reports that Cotto tore his left biceps in the seventh round. He was 37, and his record stood at 41 wins, 33 by knockout, and 6 losses. He said he was retiring to spend his time at home with his family.

Canastota and the Legacy

In December 2021 the International Boxing Hall of Fame named Cotto to its Class of 2022, alongside Roy Jones Jr., James Toney, Holly Holm and Regina Halmich. The induction was held in Canastota, New York, in June 2022. Cotto's record has six losses, and they came against Margarito, Pacquiao, Mayweather, Trout, Álvarez and Ali. He went to the Garden as the main attraction again and again, he avenged the Margarito loss, and he finished in the arena where he had made his name.

Sources

• Miguel Cotto, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Cotto avenges Margarito defeat, Stabroek News (Reuters/AFP), December 5, 2011
• Miguel Cotto becomes first Puerto Rican to win world championships in four weight divisions, Fox News (Associated Press), June 2014
• Mayweather wins unanimous decision over Cotto, The Spokesman-Review (Associated Press), May 5, 2012
• HBO boxing results: Miguel Cotto loses by decision to Sadam Ali in farewell fight, CBS Sports, December 2017
• Roy Jones Jr., Miguel Cotto, Holly Holm headline 2022 International Boxing Hall of Fame class, CBS Sports, December 7, 2021