Cotto stops Mayorga in 12th round

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

Ricardo Mayorga wanted to brawl all night long. Miguel Cotto saved his big punching for the final round.

Cotto fought with discipline for 11 rounds before unleashing a vicious left hook in the 12th round Saturday night that put an exclamation point on his successful defense of his 154-pound title against the wild-swinging Mayorga.

The hook dropped Mayorga to the canvas and he quit a few seconds later, ending an entertaining bout between two boxers trying to resurrect their careers.

“It was a really good fight with an amazing finish,” Cotto said.

Cotto was ahead by five points on all three ringside scorecards entering the final round and seemingly headed to a win by decision. But he caught Mayorga in an exchange early in the round and, though Mayorga got up, he told referee Robert Byrd when action resumed that he couldn’t go on.

Mayorga said it wasn’t the effects of the left hook that made him quit, but an injury to his thumb during the exchange.

“I hate the way this fight ended,” Mayorga said. “I tried to finish the final round but the pain in my hand was too much.”

Cotto made Mayorga fight on his terms much of the night, frustrating the Nicaraguan and piling up points. The fight had plenty of action, but Cotto landed the cleaner and more effective punches as he stuck to his boxing style despite Mayorga begging him to brawl on several occasions.

Cotto, continuing to rebound from a beating at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, improved his record in title fights to 17-2 in the first defense of the title he won from Yuri Foreman last June.