WBO junior welterweight champion Miguel Cotto used a 17 pound weight advantage to defeat the game DeMarcus Corley by 5th round TKO on a very premature stoppage. Corley came out fighting differently than he had in his fights with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Zab Judah. He was very active and stood toe to toe exchanging with Cotto, which may not have been the best of ideas. Cotto was able to knock down Corley in the first round with a grazing shot to the back of Corley's head. Cotto, who bloated up to 157 pounds before the fight had a big advantage over Corley who weighed in before the fight at 140, and the advantage showed throughout the fight.

     Corley shocked a lot of people in round three when he stunned Cotto with a great overhand right. It was really the first time in Cotto's career that he looked seriously shaken up. Like against Mayweather, Corley was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Cotto got his legs back in round four, and started to take control of the fight behind a barrage of head and body shots. It seemed Cotto's body work did the most damage on Corley. In round five, Cotto dropped Corley to a knee with a left hook on the belt line. At this point Corley had swelling on his cheek, and a cut under his eye. Cotto then cornered Corley and missed with two lunging shots, but Corley maybe sensing danger took a knee, and shockingly referee Ismael Quiñonez Falu stopped the fight. Corley had not even taken a shot when he took a knee, yet Quiñonez for some reason felt the fight should be stopped.

     Maybe this was a hometown referee stoppage, but Cotto's weight advantage and power were starting to take control of the fight and he likely would have eventually stopped Corley. But, with that being said Corley deserved the right to keep fighting, considering the competitiveness he displayed throughout the fight. Nonetheless, Cotto defends his WBO title and improves to 23-0. For Corley, it was an impressive and game performance, but it was evident that Cotto's size was just too much for him.

     This fight exposed a number of positives and negatives on the young Puerto Rican phenom. Cotto got hit a lot, and got hit by a number of good, hard, clean shots. If he was fighting someone closer to his size, or someone with a better punch, he may have been in serious trouble. Cotto got stunned badly by a decent power puncher, who was seventeen pounds lighter than himself, not a good sign. This makes one wonder what would happen against a fighter who is closer to his weight, or a fighter who has good power. Cotto at times seemed so intent on trying to become the first fighter to KO Corley that he left himself open to get hit and hurt.

    Now for the positives that Cotto displayed. Once again he showed his power, and Cotto also showed a good balance of going to the head and body with his punches. There was some roughhousing in this fight, including punches after the bell, and two low blows. Cotto seemed to show pretty good composure through it all, some young fighters can be affected mentally by this, but it didn't seem to get Cotto away from his game plan. This fight was another step up for Cotto, Corley is no chump. Cotto was able to hurt Corley, unlike any other fighter had been able to do, and Corley has been in with some tough fighters (i.e. Mayweather and Judah). Cotto displayed in this fight what is going to be his greatest strength and that is his power. Even though there were flaws in his game, his power could provide problems for anyone in the talent rich 140 pound division.

    Bottom line for Cotto in this fight is that he had some weaknesses exposed, but also showed that he will be a major player in the 140 pound division. He will be especially tough if he keeps weighing in as almost a middleweight for junior welterweight fights. For anyone who watched the fight and saw how the crowd was going nuts for Cotto, probably realized that Cotto has nearly attained Tito Trinidad status in Puerto Rico. If he keeps overpowering fighters like he did tonight,  he may reach Tito Trinidad status everywhere, not just in Puerto Rico. We will just have to wait and see on that one, but with Cotto's electrifying power he certainly seems on that track. Remember Mr. Trinidad has taken a punch or two over his career also. One thing is for sure, Cotto's style, like Trinidad's, will keep people watching him for a long time.

2-26-2005

 

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