Clottey faced his own adversity when he appeared to injure his right knee or ankle when he got tossed to the ground by Cotto. Clottey also struggled with his footing throughout the fight as the canvas was obviously slick from the large, freshly painted Tecate logos all over the ring. It’s ridiculous how frequently this is an issue in big fights when it could so easily be avoided.
Cotto showed tremendous heart but it was actually Clottey who was the sharper, more accurate ring technician in most rounds. Clottey could have been a bit more active at times and certainly did not fight with sufficient urgency in the final round. Nevertheless, he did enough to come away with no less than a draw ... but this is boxing and Clottey was not going to win a decision against Cotto in front of a full house of Cotto supporters on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade. No shot. The scores were 115-112, 116-111 for Cotto, 114-113 for Clottey. The 116-111 turned in by judge Don Trella was way off the mark -- there’s no way Clottey only won four rounds.
Punch Stats: Total Punches: Cotto - 179 of 723 (25%); Clottey - 222 of 622 (36%).
After the fight, Clottey pleaded for a rematch but it’s more likely that Cotto will seek a big money bout with either Manny Pacquiao, who watch the fight from ringside, or Floyd Mayweather Jr..
