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Showtime Championship Boxing Results Antonio Margarito vs. Joshua Clottey Miguel Cotto vs. Carlos Quintana
December 2, 2006 Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey
WBO Welterweight Title Bout Antonio Margarito (34-4,1NC,24KOs) wins a unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey (30-2,1NC,20KOs)
WBA Welterweight Title Bout (vacant) Miguel Cotto (28-0, 23 KOs) wins by fifth round TKO over Carlos Quintana (23-1, 18 KOs)
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Cotto Stops Quintana After Five Margarito Works Unanimous Decision
welterweight doubleheader Saturday from Boardwalk Hall. In the main event, Miguel Cotto won the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) 147-pound crown by disposing of fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Quintana by technical knockout at the end of the fifth round. In the co-main event, dynamic power puncher Antonio Margarito retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) title with a unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey.
Bob Arum's Top Rank, Inc., in association with Northeast Promotions and Caesars Atlantic City, promoted the stellar night of boxing on SHOWTIME. The bouts aired at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Cotto and Quintana, both Puerto Rican, both unbeaten and ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively by the WBA, engaged in a fierce battle right from the opening bell. The opening rounds featured numerous, fast-paced exchanges with both fighters doing effective work.
In the fourth, Quintana delivered some body shots that slowed Cotto's attack momentarily. But the experience and relentless style of Cotto proved to be too much.
In the fifth, Cotto switched to southpaw and dominated the early part of the round with combinations to the head. Cotto's quick hands and precise delivery began to cause swelling on both of his opponent's eyes. Late in the round, Cotto delivered a hook to the liver. Quintana staggered, backed up and went down on one knee, reeling.
When he got to his feet, Cotto scored a second knockdown. Quintana again recovered and survived the final seconds to retreat to his corner.
Referee Steve Smoger stopped the contest between rounds on the advice of the ringside physician.
"I looked at Carlos and he was not responsive," said Smoger. "The corner was very brave in asking for another round, but the fight was over."
After the fight, Cotto spoke with SHOWTIME's Jim Gray in the ring. "The liver shot hurt him. I could feel it. That was the punch that finished the fight.
"I feel great, very comfortable at 147. Puerto Rico is the home of great champions. Felix Trinidad, Wilfredo Gomez, Carlos Ortiz. I dream to one day be like them and I am on my way."
Cotto remains undefeated at 28-0, 23 KO's while Quintana, failing in his first world title fight, falls to 23-1, 18 KO's.
In the opening bout on the telecast, Tijuana, Mexico's Margarito predicted a war in his bout with the tough and game African challenger. Clottey, of Bronx, N.Y., via Accra, Ghana, was 10-0 with one no-contest in his last 11 fights, and he showed why early on. Ripping short left hooks and jabs with tremendous hand speed, Clottey won the second, third and fourth rounds on two of three scorecards. In the third, he stunned Margarito with a right hand to the head and repeatedly landed four- and five-punch combinations.
But Margarito, traditionally a slow starter, took control in the fifth round. With Clottey covering up and hardly throwing any punches, Margarito began to punish Clottey with a barrage of powerful punches to the body and the head.
After the fourth, Clottey came to his corner complaining of pain in his left hand. From that point, his work rate slowed and he absorbed tremendous punishment for the remainder of the match.
"I hurt my hand in training about two weeks ago," said Clottey after the bout. "But I wanted to take the fight because I am a warrior. I felt it hurting with my jab. I have a very strong jab. I didn't want to quit. That is not my style. But once I broke my hand, I could not fight anymore."
"He showed true grit and heart against a murderous puncher in this fight," said SHOWTIME analyst Al Bernstein of Clottey, who drops to 30-2, 1 NC, 20 KOs. "It would be right for this young man to get another world title shot in the near future."
With a relentless, crowd-pleasing style, Margarito dominated the remaining rounds, except the last, on all three judges' cards.
By scores of 118-109 and 116-112 twice, Margarito improved to 34-4, 1 NC, 24 KO's.
"Margarito, always the puncher, showed some defensive and technical deficiencies in the fight, something that will not bode well for him in his next fight."
No doubt, Margarito's mandatory challenger Paul Williams was watching the bout somewhere on Saturday night.
The bouts will re-air this
week as follows: Monday, December 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on SHO EXTREME Tuesday, December 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOTOO Wednesday, December 6 at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING's Steve Albert and Al Bernstein called the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The executive producer of Saturday's SHOWTIME telecast was David Dinkins Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.
The next SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast is Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007, at Hollywood, Fla. In the main event, Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter and James "Lights Out" Toney will box a 12-round elimination bout to determine once and for all who is the mandatory challenger for World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Oleg Maskaev. It will air on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast. Peter (27-1, 22 KOs) won a controversial, unpopular 12-round split decision over Toney (69-5-3, 43 KOs) in their excellent, hard-fought first fight Sept. 2, 2006, on SHOWTIME.
For information on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and "ShoBox: The New Generation" telecasts, including complete fighter bios and records, related stories and more, please go the SHOWTIME website at sho.com/boxing.
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ABOUT SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING In March 1986, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING was born when "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler defeated John "The Beast" Mugabi in a spectacular and unforgettable 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas. Since that time, the network has aired some of the most historic and significant events in the sport including both Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson bouts.
Always at the forefront of boxing, SHOWTIME has set itself apart by telecasting "great fights, no rights" on the first Saturday of every month. SHOWTIME is the first network to regularly deliver live boxing in High Definition. In addition, SHOWTIME continues to be a pioneer in sports television with a number of interactive features across multiple platforms making SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts the most enjoyable, immersive viewing experience for the boxing audience.
- Press Release issued by Showtime with a little editing from us (color, highlights, etc...)
Subject to change
(12/2/06) |
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