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Miguel Cotto's Biography

Most commonly known to many as: Miguel Cotto
Birth Name: Miguel Angel Cotto

Character Information
Alias: Junito
Born: October 29, 1980
Birthplace: Caguas, Puerto Rico
Nationality: Puerto Rico
Hometown: Caguas, Puerto Rico

Boxing Record: 39 wins - 32 of which by knockouts
4 losses - 2 of which by Technical Knockouts (TKO) and 2 by Unanimous Decisions (UD)
0 draw
0 No Contest (NC)
Total fights = 43 - total rounds boxed = 305
Knockout Wins % = 74.42%
Knockout Loss % = 4.65%
Winning % = 90.7%
Losing % = 9.3%
Draw % = 0%
No Contest % = 0%
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5’7” / 170cm
Reach: 67" / 170cm

Trainers: Evangelista Cotto (2001-2009)
Joe Santiago (2009)
Emanuel Steward (2010)
Freddie Roach (2013 - present)

Medals = 5
  • Gold - 1997 PanAmerican Championship Lightweight held in Medellin, Colombia
  • Silver - 1998 PanAmerican Junior Championships held in Toluca, Mexico
  • Silver - 1998 Junior World Championships held in Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Silver - 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games held in Maracaibo, Venezuela
  • Gold - 2000 Central American and Caribbean Championships as a Light Welterweight held in Caracas, Venezuela

Total Titles Held (regional, minor and world) = 10
  • WBC International Light Welterweight Title (2003-02-01)
  • WBO NABO Light Welterweight Title (2003-06-28)
  • WBA Fedelatin Light Welterweight Title (2004-05-08)
  • WBO World Light Welterweight Title (2004-09-11)
  • WBA World Welterweight Title (2006-12-02)
  • WBO World Welterweight Title (2009-02-21)
  • WBA Super World Light Middleweight Title (2010-06-05)
  • WBB Light Middleweight Title (2011-03-12)
  • WBC Middleweight Title (2014-06-07)
  • The Ring Magazine Middleweight Title (2014-06-07)

Total Weight Division Titles = 4
  • 140lbs, 63.5kg = Light Welterweight, also known as Junior Welterweight and Super Lightweight
  • 147lbs, 66.68kg = Welterweight
  • 154lbs, 69.85kg = Light Middleweight, also known as Junior Middleweight and Super Welterweight
  • 160lbs, 72.57kg = Middleweight

Miguel Cotto's Biography Contents

»Name And Full Name
»Character Information
»Boxing Record
»Trainers
»Medals
»Total Titles Held
»Total Weight Division Titles
»Introduction
»Boxing Family Background
»Amateur Career
»Professional Career
»Miguel Cotto Vs Antonio Margarito Controversy
»Miguel Cotto Vs Yuri Foreman Controversy
»Related Topics
»Other Topics

Miguel Angel Cotto (Miguel Cotto) was born on October 29, 1980 in Caguas, Puerto Rico, with several figures linked to boxing in his family, including his late father Miguel Cotto Sr., his brother Jose Miguel Cotto, his second cousin Abner Cotto and his uncle and boxing trainer Evangelista Cotto. He is married to Melissa Guzmán with whom he has two children, Alondra and Miguel Cotto III.  Cotto has a daughter outside of this marriage with another woman, who was born in November 2006.  On May 29, 2007, Cotto solicited a Protection Order against the mother of his child.  The order was granted and it prevented her from gaining access to Cotto's house in the "Valle del Turabo" sector of Caguas, Puerto Rico and the Bairoa Gym, where he usually trains.  The case was dropped on June 14, 2007, when Cotto attended a citation and asked judge Bernardo Solá to lift the Protection Order.
     Outside of his involvement as an active boxer, Cotto also owns and presides a boxing promotion named "Promociónes Miguel Cotto", which organizes fight cards in Puerto Rico.  Similarly he founded "El Ángel", a non-profit organization that promotes physical activity and measures against infant obesity.  Marc Ecko, fashion designer and owner of Ecko, selected Cotto when promoting the brand within the sport, citing the boxer's "fearless" demeanor as one of the main reasons behind this agreement. Product of this partnership, Ecko produced boxing gear for him as well as mainstream clothing accessories for the general public.

Miguel Cotto’s boxing family background
     Miguel Cotto came from a boxing family both boxers and trainers.
Abner Cotto (2nd cousin of Miguel Cotto)
Born: August 10, 1987
Birthplace: Puerto Rico
Nationality: Puerto Rican
Hometown: Caguas, Puerto Rico
Boxing Record: won 8 (KO 4)  + lost 0 (KO 0)  + drawn 0  = 8
                       rounds boxed 28 KO% 50

Jose Miguel Cotto (older brother of Miguel Cotto)
Birth Name: Jose Miguel Cotto Vazquez
Born: June 22, 1977
Nationality: Puerto Rican
Hometown: Caguas, Puerto Rico
Boxing Record: won 31 (KO 23)  + lost 2 (KO 1)  + drawn 1  = 34
                       rounds boxed 159 KO% 67.65
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5' 5½?   /   167cm
Reach: 68?   /   173cm
Trainer: Evangelista Cotto

Evangelsita Cotto (uncle and trainer of Miguel Cotto)
     On April 9, 2009 the Associated Press reported that Puerto Rican police were investing an incident in which Evangelista came to blows with his nephew WBO Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto. Following the fight, Evangelista reportedly threw a cement block through the passenger window of the champion's Jaguar. The argument allegedly occurred over the site of Cotto's training in his hometown of Caguas. Of note, neither man filed a complaint with the police department.
     He change his trainer to Joe Santiago then later on to Emanuel Steward.  Miguel Cotto and Emanuel Steward 1st title fight as a team was on June 5, 2010.  They defeated Yuri Foreman with a no lose record (28-wins 8 by KO, 0-lost, 0-draw).  They captured Yuri Foreman’s WBA World light middleweight title by TKO in the 9th round.

Amateur Career
·    1997 won the PanAmerican Championship as a Lightweight in Medellin, Colombia. Beat Javier Osvaldo Alvarez of Argentina in the final.
·    1998 2nd place at the PanAmerican Junior Championships in Toluca, Mexico. Lost the final to Dana Laframboise of Canada.
·    1998 2nd place at Junior World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Results were:
     o    Defeated Andrey Kolevin (Ukraine) PTS (15-3)
     o    Defeated Dana Laframboise (Canada) PTS (6-1)
     o    Defeated Darius Jasevicius (Lithuania) PTS (9-5)
     o    Lost to Anton Solopov (Russia) PTS (8-9)
·    1998 2nd place at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Results were:
     o    Defeated Luis Antonio Arceo Santos (Mexico) PTS (+25-25)
     o    Defeated Carlos Castro (Dominican Republic) PTS (12-4)
     o    Lost to Mario Kindelan (Cuba) PTS (2-20)
·    1999 competed at the PanAmerican Games in Winnipeg, Canada. Results were:
     o    Lost to Dana Laframboise (Canada) PTS (2-5)
·    1999 competed at the World Championships in Houston, USA. Results was:
     o    Lost to Robertas Nomeikas (Lithuania) PTS
·    2000 won the Central American and Caribbean Championships as a Light Welterweight in Caracas, Venezuela. Beat Ismaikel Perez of Cuba in the final on points (16-6)
·    2000 represented Puerto Rico as a Light Welterweight at 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Result was:
     o    Lost to Mahamadkadir Abdullayev (Uzbekistan) 7-17
Former WBO super lightweight champion with six title defenses. Beat Mohamad Abdulaev on cuts to revenge his Olympic loss. Early in his amateur career he dropped a decision to current strawweight king Ivan Calderon.

Professional Career
     After 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Miguel Cotto decided to turn professional.  His debut fight was in February 23, 2001 that he won by TKO over Jason Doucet in the 1st round.  The same year, Cotto suffered a dangerous injury that threatened his boxing career. As he was driving to the gymnasium at 5 a.m. in the morning, he apparently fell asleep and crashed, breaking his arm and requiring hospitalization.
     The accident didn’t stop him from boxing.  After his recovery and some fights he achieved a total of 7 titles (regional, minor and world) in 3 different weight divisions.

Miguel Cotto Vs Antonio Margarito Controversy
     Cotto lost his WBA World Welterweight Title to Antonio Margarito on July 26, 2008 by TKO on the 11th round.  But Antonio Margarito was suspended along with his trainer Javier Capetillo because they put plaster of Paris to wrap Margarito's hands.  This is illegal in boxing, because the only substances that you can use as a wrapper on a boxer's hands are gauze and tape.  Antonio Margarito and trainer Javier Capetillo tried to slip plaster of Paris to Margarito's hands before Margarito's fight with Shane Mosley last January 24, 2009. But Shane Mosley and his trainer Nazim Richardson noticed a white substance that is on Margarito's knuckles. They ask for it to be removed.  Then an investigation was conducted and it was a plaster of Paris, which is the same substance used in casts.
     On November 2009, it emerged that the red stains on the hand wraps of Antonio Margarito used in his fight with Miguel Cotto were similar to the stains on the inserts seized before the Antonio Margarito vs Shane Mosley fight.  Both were plaster of Paris.  This has raised suspicions that Margarito's gloves were loaded for that fight, and possibly others as well.  (click here for full story Antonio Margarito And Trainer Suspended In Boxing)

Miguel Cotto Vs Yuri Foreman Controversy
·    Yuri Foreman 28-0 (8 KOs)
·    Miguel Cotto 34-2 (27 KOs)
·    Foreman, a 1.5/1 betting underdog, entered ranked as the # 6 junior-middleweight in the world according to The Ring Magazine. Cotto, who was making his first appearance above 147 pounds, was ranked as the # 5 welterweight by the same publication.
·    Cotto earned $2 million for the fight and Foreman a career-high $750,000, according to promoter Bob Arum.
·    It was the first fight for Cotto under new trainer Emanuel Steward.
·    Fight was part of the first boxing card to be held at the new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. The old Yankee Stadium hosted 46 boxing events over 53 years, but none since the 3rd meeting of Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton in 1976.
·    Attendance for the bout was 20,272.
     Foreman went down from a slip in the 7th round when his already braced, right knee buckled. He got back to his feet and continued fighting despite heavily favoring the knee. After a few more falls from the knee giving out and Cotto beginning to land his punches, Foreman's trainer Joe Grier threw in the towel midway through the 8th round. Naturally, the ring filled with both camps and officials. Cotto and Foreman even embraced, believing it was over. Feeling that Foreman was in no immediate danger, however, Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. asked him if he wanted to continue, and he did. While the crowd was not sure what was happening, the ring was cleared after a delay of a couple of minutes and the fight resumed with about half the round remaining. Cotto landed a left hook to the body and Foreman went down 42 seconds into the 9th Round, seemingly as much from the blow as from his inability to put weight on the leg, Mercante called off the fight.
     Referee Arthur Mercante Jr said: "The towel came in the heat of the battle. They had a good exchange going. I felt it wasn't necessary to stop it. I didn't know where it (the towel) came from. There was no need to stop the fight. They were in the middle of a great fight. That's what the fans came to see. I felt I did the right thing to let it continue.





Sources:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=016680&cat=boxer
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=14180&cat=boxer
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=23664&cat=boxer
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=33535&cat=boxer
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=4459&cat=boxer
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=490126&cat=boxer
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=7798&cat=boxer
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Evangelista_Cotto
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/NABO
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:1489530
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:601085
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:11677
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:16680
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:33535
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Margarito
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Cotto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaster_of_Paris#Gypsum_plaster
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2510/4168905840_e0bdf09db1.jpg