Ricardo Mayorga did not get the memo as the 10-1 underdog who by most experts opinons was supposed to be fodder, made Miguel Cotto work very hard to earn a twelfth round round knockout to retain the WBA Super Welterweight title in an entertaining scrap at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Cotto was very proficient with his jab and boxing skills as the he was easy to land on the bar brawling Mayorga. Mayorga made it dificult at times for Cotto as some of wild but hard swing got through and even looked like he wobbled Cotto on one occasion. The two engaged in wild exchanges throughout the affair with the challenger giving as good as he received and begged Cotto to fight him in the corner a couple times during the fight.

Cotto was very consistent but had a tough round seven as it seemed like Mayorga was making his last stand and drilled Cotto with a big right in the corner. Cotto got back to jabbing and landing effective body punches over the next few round and it seemed that Mayorga was falling behind on the cards.

In the final round, Cotto and Mayorga both threw huge left hooks with Cotto catching Mayorga flush on the jaw that caused a delayed reaction knockdown scored for Cotto. Mayorga went down holding his hand but got up. Cotto landed a couple of shots and Mayorga just spread his arms out in the corner and summoned referee Robert Byrd fifty-three seconds into round twelve.

Cotto, 154 lbs of Caguas, PR will now look for a summer showdown rematch with Antonio Margarito as Cotto now sports a record of 36-2 with twenty-nine knockouts. Mayorga, 154 lbs of Managua, Nicaragua is now 29-8-1.

“I tried to finish the final round but the pain in my hand was too much,” said Mayorga. “I don’t care about my thumb; I didn’t want it to end like that.”

After the fight, the humble Pride of Puerto Rico complemented his opponent, “[Mayorga] has pretty strong hands and he could beat anyone.”

Mayorga showed a rare bit of respect in return, “As a man, I have to admit when I do well and when I do not. Give Cotto credit,” said Mayorga. “He hits hard and is a great champion.”

Jr. Middleweight Pawel Wolak scored the most significant win of his career by scoring a stoppage victory over former world champion Yuri Foreman after Foreman quit on his stool after round six of their scheduled ten round bout.

Wolak was relentless with his pressure as he continuously drilled Foreman with right hands. Foreman did not handle the all out pressure of Wolak as he landed shots at will. Foreman was not able to box and move like is his nature as Wolak would not let Foreman feel comfortable at all during the eighteen minutes of action.

Wolak, 154 lbs of Mt. Arlington, NJ is now 29-1 with nineteen knockouts. Foreman lost his second in a row and is now 28-2.

“I didn’t feel like myself tonight,” said Foreman. “From the long layoff, I didn’t feel sharp. I felt mushy.”

Baltimore Ravens safety Tommy Zbikowski scored a body punch knockout over Rich Bryant in round one of a scheduled four round Heavyweight bout.

Zbikowski landed a left hook to the chest that sent Bryant down after a delayed reaction. After he got to his feet, referee Russell Mora stopped the fight at 1:45.

Zbikowski, 193 lbs of Chicago is 2-0 with two knockouts. Bryant is 1-3.

Miguel Vazquez retained the IBF Lightweight championship with a twelve round unanimous decision over mandatory contender Lenny Zappavigna.

Vazquez boxed well using an effective jab and occasional right hand. Vazquez opened up cuts over both eyes of the challanger. Zappavigna had a little success when he tried to push the action. Vazquez closed the show by boxing as he did in the early rounds.

Scores were 118-110; 118-110; and 117-111 for Vazquez, 135 lbs of Guadalajara, Mexico and is now 28-3. Zappavigna, 135 lbs of Sydney, AUS is now 25-1.

Middleweight prospect Matt Korobov scored a first round knockout over Michael Walker in a scheduled eight bout.

Korobov landed a perfect straight left that sent Walker down and out.

Korobov of St. Petersburg, FL is 14-0 with nine knockouts. Walker of Chicago is now 19-7-2.

In a competitive Super Bantamweight bout, Jesus Rojas scored a six round unanimous decision over Isaac Hidalgo.

Rojas, 122 lbs of Caguas, PR is now 17-1 after winning by scores of 59-55; 59-55 and 58-56. Hidalgo, 122 lbs of Tuscon, AZ is now 8-7-2.

Heavyweight Eric Molina scored a sixth round knockout over Joseph Rabotte in a scheduled round bout.

Molina dropped Rabotte from a big right in round two and once again in the fifth. Clearly beaten, Rabotte was saved by referee Kenny Bayless in round six after a series of punches.

Molina, 227 lbs of Lifort, TX is now 17-1 with thirteen knockouts. Rabotte, 255 lbs of Myrtle Beach, SC is now 9-16-1.

Lightweight Juan Gonzalez remained undefeated by stopping Jeremy McLaurin in round one in a scheduled eight round bout.

Gonzlaez of Caguas, Puerto Rico is 11-0 with ten knockouts. McLaurin of Coon Rapids, MN is now 8-2.

Photo by Chris Farina/ Top Rank

Miami FL – Undefeated Cuban Olympic heavyweight gold medalist Odlanier “La Sombra” Solis (17-0, 12 KOs) earned the right to face WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko at American Airlines Arena in Miami when he won by disqualification over World Boxing Council No. 1-ranked Ray “The Rainman” Austin (28-5-4, 18 KOs). Solis fought the fight in a defensive come forward counterpunching style that edged the 6’6” Austin. Solis rocked the giant in round five with a brutal uppercut and an onslaught of punches that put him down to the chants of Solis by the Cuban contingency. Austin rose to the count partly due to referee Tommy Kimmons taking a couple extra seconds to direct the excited Solis to the neutral corner. Austin slowly started to fight his way back in the following rounds staying on the outside and landing uppercuts. Then the fight got real excited and bizarre in the 10th round when Austin threw Solis down after an exchange in which he was deducted a point. The two fighters met in the center of the ring, Austin clearly out of gas and threw bombs on each other with Solis getting the better of the two. The fighters tangled up against the ropes with Solis back to the ropes when Austin then leaned on him causing the Cuban to be bent over the top rope with both fighters nearly falling out of the ring over the top rope. Ringside officials tried to hole the two huge fighters back from falling out all the while with Austin holding on to a rope securing the position, in what appeared to be a bid to buy time. When Referee Tommy Kimmons finally got the two giants off of the ropes while the bell rang, Austin then punched the Cuban on the final break prompting the referee to raise Solis hand in victory and awarding him the right to Klitschko. After the fight Austin said “Solis will beat Klitschko, he is accurate and has great defense, if there is any doubt it would be his chin.” Austin was actually winning on one of the cards and tied on another. The official time was 2:59 of the 10th.

Scores at the time of the disqualification:
Judge: Rocky Young, Fla. 94-93 S After 9th: 86-84 Austin
Judge: Ged O’Conner, Fla. 95-93 S After 9th: 85-85
Judge: Mike Ross, Fla. 98-90 S After 9th: 88-82 Solis

Undefeated IBF Light Heavyweight champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud 22-0(18KO) looked sharp while defending his strap in a great fight versus the tough and tested iron chinned Colombian Fulgencio Zuniga 24-5(21KO). Cloud controlled the fight with sharp and heavy punches and winning the exchanges but not without taking shots himself. Zuniga had a decent fourth round catching the champ. Zuniga was knocked down in round five with a big right hand and Cloud poured it on to finish the round with Zuniga still standing but on unsteady legs. After taking off round six Cloud answered the bell of round seven by ringing Zuniga’s bell with a brutal right hand that was easily heard in the three hundred section of the Miami Arena. Cloud built on his lead round by round by often staggering the tough Colombian with crushing right hands and double and triple left hooks. Cloud dropped Zuniga in round twelve with a brutal left uppercut but once again the resilient Colombian survived the onslaught of the rugged Floridian Cloud. This was a great fight that left both fighters faces bloodied and beaten. As the final bell rings with both fighters swinging for the fences the great crowd in the Miami Arena went wild. The cards read 116-109 117-108 118-108. Previous to this fight, Cloud faced the stiffest test of his career in his last fight on Aug. 7 in St. Louis against Glen “Road Warrior” Johnson, the former IBF light heavyweight champion and 2004 Fighter of the Year. Cloud won the vacant IBF title from Clinton Woods at the Seminole Hard Rock on Aug. 28, 2009. Woods, always a consummate boxer, had held the IBF crown from 2004 to 2008. He held his own against Cloud, but it wasn’t enough as Cloud won the decision. Zuniga’s most notable wins came against rugged contender Antwun Echols and against a tough Mexican veteran, Jose Luis Zertuche. Zuniga has fought in world championship matches at 154 pounds, 160 pounds and 168 pounds. Last year he moved to the 175-pound limit and has notched two wins.

Former three-time world champion Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KOs) from Managua, Nicaragua, returned to the ring at middleweight to stop Michael “Midnight Stalker” Walker (19-6-2, 12KOs), from Chicago. Mayorga landed huge frequent shots from the opening bell and often fought inside taking unnecessary shots from Walker while maintaining his usual ring play tactics of taunting and playing to the crowd who was entertained by the 37 year old Mayorga. Round five was a good round for Walker and for the fans as the two brawled often and Mayorga inviting walker into the corner just to be met with a barrage of heavy shots. Walker hurt Mayorga in an entertaining round six with a huge overhand right where the Nicaraguan had to hold on to get his senses and feet back, and had momentum. Mayorga came back at the end of the round right after lying on the rope playing to the crowd and opened with heavy shots that dazed Walker. In round 9 Mayorga dropped walker but hit him while he was down and was deducted 2 points. After the deduction Mayorga hurt him with a huge uppercut that back the Chicago fighter into a corner and bombarded him with shot prompting the referee to step in at 1:09 of the ninth round.

The New York State Heavyweight Champion Darrel “King David” Madison 16-1(4KO) won a WBC elimination bout over Mike “The Sunshine State Brawler” Marrone 19-2(14KO). It was a very close first round where Marrone worked his jab well following up with an occasional combination and Madison landed with a couple nice straight lefts. As the fight wore on, it totally favored Madison who was more active and accurate leaving Marrone a bit flat footed, hesitant, and standing right in front of Madison’s punches. Madison, a slick southpaw had no problem hitting Marrone as he could not seem to reach the slick Kind David. Some great jawjacking before the fight proved to be nothing more than smack when Marrone said he was going to rename Madison from “King David” to “Burger King “when in the end… Madison served up a happy meal, as he said he would. Madison won by unanimous decision with the cards reading 100-90 98-92 99-91.

In an exciting female bout Eileen “The Hawaiian Mongoose” Olszewski 7-2-2 retained the WIBA flyweight title and gained the GBU strap with a dominate unanimous decision win over Anastasia Touktalova 13-11(2KO) from Russia fighting out of Tampa. Throughout the bout, Olszewski beat Toktoulova to the punch and counterpunched great often landing nice power shots. Olszewski controlled the center of the ring with sharp punches and when inside used great footwork to quickly get out. During her three year reign in the amateurs, Olszewski dominated the 112 lb. division, with a record of 28-0 (7 TKO’s) in the national level amateur competition and a 3-4 (2 TKO) record at the international level. All three judges 80-72

Undefeated lightweight prospect Angelo “La Cobra” Santana (10-0, 7 KOs), from Cuba and now fighting out of Miami, was impressive while he stopped John David “J.D.” Charles (6-2, 1 KO), from Corpus Christi, Texas in the third round. The official time as 2:59 of round three.

Heavyweight Erkan Teper 3-0(3KO) easily outmatched Donato DeMartiis 2-1(1KO) with a knockout win at 1:49 of round one.

In the first fight of the night on the undercard of Don Kings “A Tribute to Freedom” Cruiserweight Pedro “Machine Gun” Rodriguez 4-0(4KO) stopped Thomas “TJ” Cook 1-1(1KO). Rodriguez overwhelmed Cook at the end of the second with the referee stepping in to stop the bout at 2:59 of the second round.

Post-Fight Ring Quotes

Odlanier Solis: “I wanted to make Austin suffer for the things he said at the press conferences leading up to the fight. I didn’t like it when he said that when he was done with me, they were going to send me back to Cuba. Now I sent him back to Cleveland where all they have are cows.

“I wasn’t tired at all. It was my strategy to fight the way I did tonight. What’s the worst thing that could have happened? I could have knocked him out or made him look ridiculous, which I did.”

At the post-fight press conference: “I don’t think I’m fat. What I would like to do is slap around some of the newspaper writers that say I’m fat.”

Ray Austin: “Solis will beat Vitali Klitschko. He’s accurate and has a good defense. He rests and recovers well, too. The only downside I see might be his chin.

“He showed a lot. I see him being the next WBC heavyweight champion. He’s good.”

Tavoris Cloud: “I got hit with a headbutt in the second round that caused a cut over my left eye, but Zuniga was a tough guy. I knew I had better skills but he came into this fight in good shape.

“I only give my performance a “B” tonight. I will tell you I took this man seriously because I knew he would come to fight.

“I want the winner of Pascal-Hopkins tomorrow night, or Chad Dawson if he ever decides he wants to fight me.”

Fulgencio Zuniga: “Both times I went down were from headbutts. I thought I did enough to win.

“Cloud was a strong guy, a champion and a hard puncher. But I was still proud of my performance.”

Ricardo Mayorga: “I showed tonight that I can still fight. [Michael] Walker thought he had something for me, but the outcome was never in doubt. El Matador is back.”