‘Cotto toughest guy I ever fought’ - Mayweather

Get short URL

Published time: May 06, 2012 07:30
Edited time: May 06, 2012 11:30

Floyd Mayweather Jr. dominated throughout to beat Miguel Cotto in one of his toughest fights ever and retain his impressive unbeaten run as a pro.

The American veteran was fighting just four weeks before he enters a county jail to serve a three-month sentence for domestic abuse. And he found himself in an uncompromising battle against a tough opponent who never stopped moving forward. But he was faster and more accurate than the Puerto Rican and seemed to suppress him late in the Las Vegas bout.

In the last round, Mayweather landed his best punch of the night, a left uppercut that seemed to hurt Cotto. Several flurries to the head followed as Mayweather wrapped up an convincing win. The judges scored unanimously in his favor -116-112, 117-111 and 118-110.

“You're a hell of a champion,” Mayweather, his nose bloodied, told Cotto in the ring afterward. “You're the toughest guy I ever fought.”

Consequently, Mayweather added Cotto's 69.9-kilogram title to his belt collection, as he remains unbeaten in 43 fights. He was guaranteed a record of $32 million for the bout, but worked for the sum in full as he fought every minute of all 12 rounds.

“When you fight on pay-per-view you have to give the fans what they want, and that's excitement,” Mayweather said.