I was among the great majority of fight followers that had Tszyu over Hatton - but then the opening bell, and still another surprise to go with countless past favorites being upended.

This Saturday, from NYC’s Madison Square Garden it’s WBO l/welter champ Miguel Cotto defending against Mohamed Abdullaev - but don’t look for a surprise  in this one.

What we have is a mismatch of major proportions - a no-brainer with the undefeated power punching Cotto from Caguas, Puerto Rico, in a tool honing while awaiting something much bigger down the pike.

The drum beating from the purveyors of pugilism point to Olympic year 2000 with Abdullaev besting Cotto for the gold - that bit of yesterday news translates to maybe, with luck, the challenger will survive the opening three stanzas.

While not big on resumes, on this one the paper shouts volumes; Cotto scalps taken over the past six outings include DeMarcus Corley (TKO5), Randall Bailey (TKO6), Kelson Pinto (TKO6), Lovemore N’Dou (UD), Victoriano Sosa (TKO4) - equally telling was the recovery he made in Corley fight, when stunned and on wobbly legs before halting the veteran southpaw.

So what we get in Cotto ( 23-0, 19 KO), is a proven entity at age 24, one that performs like a seasoned veteran with exceptional qualities.

In Abdullaev (15-1, 12 KO) the assessment goes this way - age 31, has kept 16 appointments with 15 wins and one loss - clearly hampered by a late pro start that embarked on April 6, 2001.

Biggest name on the Uzbek hit list is Australian Philip Holiday who went quietly in stanza 4 - more revealing is the KO loss Mohamed suffered in the Emmanuel Clottey bout when starched in stanza ten.

The expectations here says Cotto by KO - likely around the halfway point of stanza six.    

GEL

6-5-2005

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