NEW YORK–Sadam Ali scored the biggest win of his career as he won the WBO Super Welterweight world title by taking a 12-round unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto in front of 12,391 fans at Madison Square Garden in a bout that Cotto announced would be his last.
The bout was an exciting fight as Ali came out looking to land power punches. He did so in round two by rocking the legendary fighter from Puerto Rico with a left hook in round two that made Cotto’s legs buckle. Cotto got himself together and was effective in the middle rounds by applying pressure and working his left hook.
With the momentum in Cotto’s favor, Ali started stemming the tide, and rocked Cotto several more times over the last three rounds. At the end of round eleven, Ali landed a perfect left hook that sent the mouthpiece of Cotto flying out of his mouth. Ali took the final stanza by landing some quick combinations, and won by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice.
Ali, 153 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 26-1. Cotto, 151.6 lbs end his illustrious career with a record of 41-6.
“I worked hard for it.” Said Sadam Ali. “I took advantage of this fight, and I made sure to make it count. I want to Thank God, and also thank team Cotto, They could have taken an easier fight if they wanted too. ”
“I had him hurt here or there in the first couple of rounds. I knew I had to do something, or he would have dug in. By the 11th, I thought the fight was close. Whatever GBP has next, I’ll take it. Good things happen to good people. I have been training since I was 8 years old, and I am glad I got this win at MSG, in my hometow
“Feeling good. Feeling good with the performance. Something happened to my left bicep, seventh round. I don’t want to make excuses, Sadam won the fight. It is my last fight. I am good, and I want to be happy in my home with my family.
“Thank you for all the fans, I am proud to call MSG my second home. I had the opportunity to provide the best for my family because of the sport.”
Rey Vargas defended the WBC Super Bantamweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Oscar Negrete in a battle of undefeated fighters.
Vargas dominated the action by using he height and advantage and he featured some vicious body punching.
In round seven, Vargas suffered a cut over his right eye. In round eight, it was the left eye that started to bleed on Vargas.
Vargas, 121.4 lbs of Mexico City won by scores of 120-108 and 119-109 twice to raise his perfect mark to 21-0. Negrete, 121.2 lbs of Los Angeles is 17-1.
“I am glad that we got the win, and I continue being unbeaten with my belt,” said Rey Vargas. “It was difficult finding my rhythm at the beginning of the fight, and the cuts did not help. I have the humility to say that I made my share of mistakes, but I feel that Negrete fought very dirty, and was not a very good boxer.”
Angel Acosta won the WBO Junior Flyweight title with a 10th round stoppage over Juan Alejo.
Acosta landed a big right that dropped Alejo in the 10th frame and the fight was stopeed at 1:33.
Alejo, 108 lbs of San Juan, PR is now 17-1 with 17 knockouts. Alejo, 107.8 lbs of Nuevo Leon, MX is 25-5-1.
“It’s taken me 5 years to get here, and I’m cherishing this moment for me and for Puerto Rico,” said Acosta. “I’ve learned a lot since my last fight for a world title against Kosei Tanaka, and this fight proves that I learned and fixed all I needed to win a world championship. My next steps will be up to my promoters, but I know I am in good hands.”
Former world title challenger Ronny Rios took a ten round unanimous decision over Deivis Julio in a featherweight bout.
Rios, 125.2 lbs of Santa Ana, CA won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 97-93, and is now 29-2. Julio, 125.8 lbs of Monteria, COL is 19-4.
“It was an ugly win, but we got to accomplish it on the undercard of Miguel Cotto,” said Ronny Rios. “He was a southpaw, with an awkward style. He was also a veteran, so he had his little tricks. Overall, this was a huge motivation, and I’m just glad to get back in my groove.”
Zachary Ochoa won a six-round unanimous decision over Erick Martinez in a welterweight bout.
Ochoa, 144.4 lbs of Brooklyn won by shutout margins of 60-54 on all cards and is now 18-1. Martinez, 145 lbs of Tijuana, MX is 14-10-1.
“This puts me in a great spot in my career,” said Zacary Ochoa. “I was shaking off a lot of dust since I haven’t been able to fight consistently, but this proves to me that I’m still worthy of the sport. I still have work to do, but when I was able to land my shots I was able to connect them crisp and effectively. I hope that I’ll be able to fight a lot more this year.”
