Miguel Cotto’s top 10 stoppage wins

Miguel Cotto has produced some memorable nights throughout his exciting career, picking up some emphatic stoppage wins along the way.

Ahead of his November 21 clash with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, we’ve listed Cotto’s top 10 stoppage wins. Click below to take a look.

10. W RSF 5 DeMarcus Corley (2005)

Defending his WBO world light-welterweight title for the second time, Cotto was boxing in his home country which, to many, would become a significant factor. A stiff right dropped Corley a minute into the fight, but the American was able to beat the count and survive the opening round. Cotto was deducted a point in the second for a low blow and was visibly wobbled in the next stanza when Corley connected with a right of his own. Cotto returned the favour in the fifth, pinning Corley on the ropes and dropping him with a sickening combination. Corley rose, only to be bludgeoned again and voluntarily took a knee. Instead of picking up a count, referee Ismael Quinones Falu waved the fight off, understandably angering Corley. Although slightly controversial, Cotto overcame a rough period to see off a man who had recently gone the distance with Floyd Mayweather.

(Photo: Boxing Bob Newman)

9. W RSF 6 Randall Bailey (2004)

The hard-hitting Bailey was a stiff test for Cotto’s first defence of his WBO world light-welterweight crown, but the Puerto Rican handled him with class. A sharp right sent Bailey to his hands and knees in the second round and the American took a knee in the third after a nasty cut opened under his eye. Eventually, the ringside doctor advised referee Norm Budden to stop the contest due to the excessive bleeding around Bailey’s eyes.

(Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank)

8. W RSF 3 Delvin Rodriguez (2013)

Cotto’s three round demolition of former two-time world title challenger Rodriguez marked the beginning of the Miguel-aissance. Having suffered back-to-back defeats to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout the previous year, Cotto teamed up with famed trainer Freddie Roach in an attempt to rejuvenate his career. While Rodriguez was always going to be a lamb to the slaughter, Cotto’s devastating performance – highlighted by the return of his destructive left hook – propelled him back into the top-tier. Rodriguez went on to draw with Joachim Alcine (who holds a win over David Lemieux) and then went the distance with Erislandy Lara.

(Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank)

7. W RSF 9 Yuri Foreman (2010)

Having suffered stoppage losses to Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao, Cotto moved to light-middleweight to take on unbeaten WBA king Foreman at the Yankee Stadium in New York. The fight was exciting for six rounds as the two fighters exchanged venomous blows, with Cotto bloodying the nose of the champion. In the seventh, Foreman slipped and apparently aggravated his already injured knee. Foreman met the canvas several more times, with Cotto landing plenty, and his trainer Joe Grier threw in the towel halfway through round eight. Although both teams swarmed the ring, referee Arthur Mercante Jnr allowed the fight to continue. A body shot from Cotto dropped Foreman seconds later, and the fight was stopped. Now a world champion in three weight divisions, Cotto had successfully bounced back from career-threatening defeats.

(Photo: Action Images/Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

6. W RTD 5 Carlos Quintana (2006)

In an all Puerto-Rican clash at the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Cotto dispatched Carlos Quintana in brutal fashion to win the WBA welterweight title. Questions were answered of Cotto about his capabilities at 147lbs, while Quintana’s unbeaten record was decimated. It was entertaining for four rounds, though Miguel looked much fresher by the start of the fifth. Sensing the end, he stormed out for the round, flooring Quintana with a brace of hooks to the body. The onslaught continued but Quintana bravely made it to the bell, only for referee Steve Smoger to end proceedings on the advice of the ringside doctor.

(Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank)

5. W RSF 4 Daniel Geale (2015)

Though Geale was significantly weight-drained, having agreed to a catchweight of 157lbs rather than the middleweight limit of 160lbs, Cotto’s destruction of the former two-time world champion was nothing short of emphatic. Outboxing Geale from the opening bell, Cotto countered every mistake Geale made. In the fourth, an explosive left hook flattened the Australian though he bravely rose to his feet. An accumulation of punishment sent him down again and he had no intention of continuing, so Tony Chiarantano rightly waved it off. The win set Cotto up for his mouth-watering clash with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on November 7.

(Photo: Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos/Roc Nation Sports)

4. W RSF 6 Kelson Pinto (2004)

Avenging a defeat to the Brazilian in the amateurs and winning his first world title in the process (the WBO world light-welter belt), Cotto blitzed the talented Pinto in front of a raucous Puerto Rican crowd. In the second, Cotto floored Pinto with a left hook. For the next few stanzas Pinto boxed at range but Cotto closed the distance in the fifth and forced another knockdown. He continued the assault in the sixth, ravaging Pinto with power punches until a body shot dropped the Brazilian for a second time, prompting referee Roberto Ramirez to stop the fight.

(Photo: Sumio Yamada)

3. W RSF 11 Zab Judah (2007)

A packed Madison Square Garden witnessed one of the best fights of 2007 when Cotto and Judah went to war, drawing blood from one another, resulting in the American’s demise in the 11^th. After taking a few rounds to figure out Judah’s southpaw style, Cotto began to impose his will as the fight progressed. Both men were hurt and cut – the seventh round was particularly violent – but in the later stages Judah began to wilt. He took a knee in the ninth and was wobbled in the 10^th before Cotto began bludgeoning him on the ropes in the 11^th, forcing referee Arthur Mercante to step in. It was Cotto’s biggest win at that point of his career and set him on a path to stardom.

(Photo: Action Images/Reuters/Teddy Blackburn)

2. W RTD 10 Sergio Martinez (2014)

Cotto made history when he outclassed lineal middleweight champion Martinez to become the first Puerto Rican to win world titles in four different weight classes. In hindsight, many say Martinez was too hampered by injury to have been a real threat, though plenty picked the Argentine to beat the smaller Cotto. Instead, Cotto dropped the champion three times in the opening round and went on to dominate throughout, and still looked spritely when forcing a count again in the 10^th. Sergio elected to pack it before the 11^th began, a smart move given the punishment he had received and he then went on to retire from the sport.

(Photo: Action Images/Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

1. W RTD 9 Antonio Margarito (2011)

This memorable contest is best summed up by one word – revenge. In 2008, Margarito had pulled off a stoppage win over Cotto, distorting his features and bludgeoning him into submission. In his fight with Shane Mosley after, Margarito was found to be wearing loaded handwraps – leading many to accuse him of having done the same against Cotto. While it was never proved, there was reportedly evidence that made it highly probable. Whatever the case, Cotto took things into his own hands the second time around. Controlling things from the outset, he outboxed and outgunned the Mexican, badly swelling his right eye in the fourth round, an eye Manny Pacquiao had previously injured. Cotto continued to slam vicious hooks and uppercuts, making Margarito’s faces more and more grotesque. Eventually, the ringside doctor advised the fight be stopped after the ninth round due to the injury to Margarito’s eye. At the time of the stoppage, Cotto rose from his stool and stared at Margarito from across the ring as the Madison Square Garden crowd fell into bedlam.

(Photo: Action Images/Reuters/Mike Segar)