Cotto Bounces Back!
Stops Jennings in 5th to Capture WBO Title!
February 21, 2008 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Ringside Report:
Matt Richardson and
Mariano A. Agmi at Ringside
Photos:
Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
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Miguel Cotto made a triumphant return to the ring in his home away from home at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night when he stopped Michael Jennings in the fifth round of a scheduled twelve to win the vacant WBO welterweight title. In front of 11,120 mostly partisan Cotto fans, the Puerto Rican dominated Jennings, knocking him down twice in the fourth and another time in the fifth before referee Benji Esteves mercifully called a halt. The time of the stoppage was 2:36.
Cotto (35-1, 17 KO's), sporting a slew of new tattoos (not to mention a ton of advertising on his trunks) did his best to distance himself from his loss last summer to Antonio Margarito. That was made easier to do by Jennings' mainly defensive posture.
Neither man did much in the opening round, though Cotto came forward and fought more aggressively as Jennings (34-2, 16 KO's) backpedaled behind his jab. Jennings landed an accurate left-right combination down the middle in the second but Cotto returned fire towards the end with a body shot.
Cotto continued to stalk Jennings in the third, landing left hooks to the body and again to the head towards the end of the frame. A huge left hook to the head in the third made Jennings' legs turn to Jell-O and a follow up left hook to the body put Jennings down. He rose inside the count and tried to back away from Cotto's offensive onslaught but to no success. Another left hook to the head/left hook to the body combination dropped Jennings again, this time in the corner opposite of where had been dropped previously. He appeared flustered when he rose but made little attempt to hold Cotto to slow the former champion down.
Jennings survived the final seconds of the fourth but the ending was predictable. A right to the head in the fifth hurt Jennings in the corner and as Cotto went to throw another combination, Jennings took his third knee of the fight. As his corner made motions for Jennings to rise slowly, the fight had been drained out of Jennings. He rose at 9 but Esteves waved it off with a small wave of his hands, placing his hand over Jennings torso as he led the beaten fighter to his corner. -- Matt Richardson
Cotto vs Jennings Photos
Duddy Uses Improved Defense, Patience in Win over Vanda!
In what looked on paper to be the fight of the night between all-action brawlers, Ireland's John Duddy improved to 26-0 (17 KOs) by out working Matt "The Predator" Vanda (39-9, 22 KOs), of St. Paul, Minn., over 10 rounds.
Instead, the crowd witnessed Duddy surprisingly use defense and patience to outbox "The Predator," who just did not let his hands go enough to win more than 3 rounds on the judges' scorecards.
Vanda's activity arguably won him the opening round. In round 2, Duddy landed left hooks to Vanda's head and body behind an improved defense, thanks to the hiring of respected trainer Pat Burns. It was apparent that Burns, who originally led Jermain Taylor to middleweight championship wins over Bernard Hopkins, is working on altering Duddy's style from a face-first brawler into more of a boxer-puncher.
Burns' fingerprints were evident throughout the bout, as "The Derry Destroyer" won round 3 using steady jabs while patiently waiting for openings. The 30-year-old Vanda, who gave Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. all he could handle in a pair of bouts last year, responded with a few sharp left hooks, but it was usually too little, too late to make a difference in the round.
The bout was fought in center of the ring during the middle rounds, with Duddy displaying good hand speed as he landed double jabs followed by right hands and occasional hooks. It seems as though Vanda's over 100 rounds of sparring for this bout hurt him, as his anemic output consisted of one or two punches at a time.
Vanda finally came alive in round 7, as he charged Duddy at the start of the round, landing powerful left hooks to his 29-year-old opponent's body. It became apparent that Vanda could be so much more competitive if he let his hands go.
Vanda proved that point in the 10th and final round, as he landed a constant flow of left hooks and right hands, forcing Duddy to retreat for the first time in the bout. Duddy did not appear in danger, but he was hit flush repeatedly as Vanda made one final stand.
The Predator's final charge was not enough to alter the fight, however, as judges Julie Lederman and Robin Taylor scored the bout 99-91 for Duddy, while John Signorelli had it 97-93 for the popular Irish import. Fightnews agreed with Signorelli, handing Vanda the 1st, 7th and 10th frames. Compubox counts were consistent with the scoring, as Duddy landed 254 of 703 punches thrown (36%), while Vanda landed 190 of 474 (40%).
With the win, Duddy finds himself in the middle of a career transition. Not only is he taking steps to improve his defense, which is essential if he is to enjoy a long and successful career, but he is also working to move down to 154lbs, as the WBC already ranks him #3 for Vernon Forrest's version of the Jr. Middleweight title. -- Mariano A. Agmi
Duddy vs Vanda Photos
Late Right Keeps Korobov KO Rate Intact!
On the televised opener of the night, blue-chip prospect Matt Korobov improved to 4-0 (4 KOs) as he delivered a highlight reel right hand with 8 seconds left in the bout to knockout Cory Jones (4-4, 1 KO) of Brooklyn, NY.
The 26-year-old Russian Olympian used body punching and a long left hand to win round 1. In round 2, Korobov added a sharp right uppercut in close as he continually countered Jones.
Just as it seemed that Jones was going to extend Korobov the distance for the first time in his young career, Korobov delivered a hellacious right hand at the end of an exchange in round 4, dropping Jones face-first immediately after the 10-second warning. Jones was in no condition to continue, and the bout was stopped at 2:59 of the fourth and final round.
-- Mariano A. Agmi
Korobov vs Jones Photos
Shea Shocked by Malpartida!
A huge upset in women's boxing occurred when local New York prospect Maureen Shea was stopped in the tenth round by Australia's own Kina Malpartida.
Malpartida (9-3, 1 KO) was briefly knocked down in the first but then appeared to gain steam as the bout progressed. Shea (13-1, 7 KO's) only won a combined two other rounds on all three judges' scorecards after winning the first.
Malpartida fought well from the outside, pumping a jab Shea couldn't avoid. Malpartida did especially well in the ninth when she snapped Shea's head back with two straight rights in the rounds final 30 seconds. With her face red and puffy, Shea came out aggressively in the tenth but to little success. A hard right dropped Shea on her side and she had difficulty rising. She got to her feet inside the count but was clearly on shaky legs, prompting referee Eddie Cotton to correctly call a halt with just 87 seconds left in the fight.
At the time of the stoppage Malpartida was way ahead on the scorecards (88-81, 87-83, twice). With the win, she also gained the vacant women's NABA junior lightweight belt.
-- Matt Richardson
Malpartida vs Shea Photos
Wolak Blasts Bravo!
Middleweight Pawel Wolak made easy work out of former "Contender" participant Norberto Bravo, stopping him inside three one-sided rounds. Wolak (23-1, 16 KO's) seemed to hurt Bravo in every round. A flurry of punches along the ropes stumbled Bravo in the third. After absorbing a few flush rights the referee stepped in to call a halt with Bravo still on his feet. Time of the stoppage was 1:35. Bravo, a semi-finalist on the second season of "The Contender" is now 27-17-3 (15 KO's) and should probably consider a career change. -- Matt Richardson
Wolak vs Bravo Photos
Other Results!
Jersey City's Jorge Diaz (7-0, 5 KOs) defeated Lante Addy (6-4, 4 KOs) of Accra, Ghana by scores of 59-55 (2x) and 58-56 over 4 rounds. The Mike Red-trained Diaz employed a constant body attack throughout the fight while landing heavy left hooks to his opponent's head and body.
Addy, from the boxing-rich nation of Ghana, only won the third round on this writer's scorecard, as he was able to effectively counter Diaz with left hooks and a nice combination at the end of that round.
Angel Rodriguez and Hector Marengo fought to a four round majority draw (scores were 38-38 twice, overruling a 40-36 score in Marengo's favor). The Evangelista Cotto-trained Marengo seemed to possess the better all-around skills, but Rodriguez won a few rounds of his own on toughness and tenacity.
In the opening bout, Lenroy Thomas of St. Petersburg, FL (11-1, 7 KOs), battered Terrell "The Baby Bull" Nelson (8-8, 5 KOs) over 4 rounds in a Heavyweight contest. This was Nelson's second fight in New York City in 2 weeks, as he knocked out Wes Taylor in two rounds on Friday, February 13th. -- Mariano A. Agmi
