Sadam Ali Stuns Miguel Cotto, Hands Him A Loss For Final Fight
*NEW YORK CITY (Dec. 2, 2017)* On a night that Madison Square Garden and
the boxing world bid farewell to a boxing legend in *Miguel Cotto *(41-6,
33 KOs), *Sadam “World Kid” Ali* (26-1, 14 KOs) stole the show, winning a
unanimous decision victory and the WBO Junior Middleweight World
Championship in front of 12,391 fans and televised live on HBO World
Championship Boxing. The final scores were 115-113 twice and 116-112.
Ali, a 2008 U.S. Olympian from Brooklyn, hurt Cotto twice in the early
rounds and used slick defense and solid counterpunching to keep Cotto at
bay throughout the 12-round bout.
“I worked hard for it,” Ali said. “I took advantage of this fight, and I
made sure to make it count. I want to Thank God, and also thank team Cotto,
They could have taken an easier fight if they wanted too. I had him hurt
here or there in the first couple of rounds. I knew I had to do something,
or he would have dug in. By the 11th round, I thought the fight was close.
Whatever Golden Boy Promotions has next, I’ll take it. Good things happen
to good people. I have been training since I was eight years old, and I am
glad I got this win at MSG, in my hometown.”
Cotto, a six-time, four-division world champion and the fighting pride of
Caguas, Puerto Rico confirmed his retirement after the bout.
“I am feeling good with the performance,” Cotto said. “Something happened
to my left bicep in the seventh round. I don’t want to make excuses, Sadam
won the fight. It is my last fight. I am good, and I want to be happy in my
home with my family. Thank you for all the fans. I am proud to call MSG my
second home. I had the opportunity to provide the best for my family
because of the sport.”
In the co-main event, despite suffering severe gashes over both eyes caused
by accidental headbutts, WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion *Rey
Vargas *(31-0,
22 KOs) defended his title a second time,rolling to a 12-round unanimous
decision victory over a very game *Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete *(17-1, 7
KOs). The scores were 119-109 twice and 120-108.
“I am glad that we got the win, and I continue being unbeaten with my
belt,” Vargas said. “It was difficult finding my rhythm at the beginning of
the fight, and the cuts did not help. I have the humility to say that I
made my share of mistakes, but I feel that Negrete fought very dirty, and
was not a very good boxer.”
In a battle pitting Puerto Rico against Mexico for the vacant WBO Junior
Flyweight World Championship, *Angel “Tito” Acosta *(17-1, 17 KOs) of San
Juan, Puerto Rico landed huge shots throughout the early and middle rounds
before knocking out Neuvo Leon, Mexico’s *Juan “Pinky” Alejo *(25-5-1, 15
KOs) with a vicious left hook in the 10th round of a scheduled 12.
“It’s taken me five years to get here, and I’m cherishing this moment for
me and for Puerto Rico,” Acosta said. “I’ve learned a lot since my last
fight for a world title against Kosei Tanaka, and this fight proves that I
learned and fixed all I needed to win a world championship. My next steps
will be up to my promoters, but I know I am in good hands.”
Santa Ana, California’s *Ronny Rios *(29-2, 13 KOs) used a combination of
left hooks to the body and right hands upstairs to dominate Monteria,
Colombia’s *Deivis Julio *(19-4, 11 KOs) over 10 rounds in a matchup of
featherweights. Rios took home a unanimous decision by the scores of
100-90, 99-91 and 97-93.
“It was an ugly win, but we got to accomplish it on the undercard of Miguel
Cotto,” Rios said. “He was a southpaw, with an awkward style. He was also a
veteran, so he had his little tricks. Overall, this was a huge motivation,
and I’m just glad to get back in my groove.”
In the opening fight of the evening, welterweight prospect and Brooklyn
native *Zachary “Zungry” Ochoa *(18-1, 7 KOs) landed early and often, en
route to a unanimous six-round shutout decision over Tijuana, Mexico’s *Erick
Martinez *(14-10-1, 8 KOs).
“This puts me in a great spot in my career,” Ochoa said. “I was shaking off
a lot of dust since I haven’t been able to fight consistently, but this
proves to me that I’m still worthy of the sport. I still have work to do,
but when I was able to land my shots I was able to connect them crisp and
effectively. I hope that I’ll be able to fight a lot more this year.”
*Cotto vs. Ali* was a 12-round fight for Cotto’s WBO World Junior
Middleweight Championship and was presented by Golden Boy Promotions and
Miguel Cotto Promotions. *Vargas vs. Negrete* was a 12-round fight for
Vargas’ WBC World Super Bantamweight Title and was presented by Golden Boy
Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions in association with Promociones del
Pueblo. The event was sponsored by *Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,”*
“*Hennessy: Never Stop. Never Settle,” *and Casa Mexico Tequila.
For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com
andwww.promocionesmiguelcotto.com
and www.hbo.com/boxing
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