Miguel Cotto vs. Sergio Martinez Results: Boxing Play-by-Play & Live Updates

Undercard Results

Rising contender John Jackson, son of former world champion Julian Jackson -- was having an easy time against veteran Andy Lee. Jackson scored a knockdown in the first round courtesy of a loopy overhand right, and Lee was behind the eight ball. Lee had difficulty in dealing with Jackson’s speed and it seemed like a matter of time before the young fighter would score the biggest win of his career.

Jackson almost closed the show in the fifth when he rocked his opponent with a right uppercut. Jackson followed Lee with a swarm of shots but even though most of them landed, Lee was still upright. The Irish fighter backed away from harm and into the ropes, but Jackson simply stalked him, gunning for the kill. But when Jackson opened his guard to land more damaging blows, Lee was already unfurling a perfect counter right hand. Once the punch connected, Jackson was out cold and fell flat on his face, his right arm trapped under his body. Referee Benji Esteves waived off the count, officially ending the contest at 1:07 of the fifth.

Junior middleweight Jorge Melendez, who is promoted by Miguel Cotto, was expected to walk right through late replacement Javier Maciel. The Puerto Rican bomber originally was to face Yuri Foreman, but as late as three weeks ago, Foreman abruptly retired from boxing, thus prompting the organizers to track down Maciel. What transpired inside the ring was nothing short of remarkable as Maciel not only proved his worth, he outright stole the show.

Maciel sucked his opponent into a back-and-forth slugfest almost immediately and controlled the pace for the majority of the contest. Melendez stood his ground throughout, much to the delight of the capacity crowd in New York. Both fighters tore into each other with reckless abandon in every round, but it was the Argentinean who was a bit sharper. Maciel landed the harder, more telling blows, but Melendez was right there with him every step of the way.

The full ten rounds were about as close as they come and the fight was hanging in the balance going into the final two rounds. But Melendez had already dug himself a sizable hole going into the final frames and likely needed a knockout to win. Melendez was deducted a point in the fourth for repeated low blows; that infraction exacerbated when he was knocked off his feet from a right hand moments later.

Melendez knew he had to go for broke in the final stanza and let everything go, but Maciel tore into his body, slowing down the attrition. In the end, Melendez couldn’t take him out and Maciel was awarded the victory via majority decision. The official scores were 94-94, 96-92 and 97-91, allowing Maciel to improve to 29-3 with 20 KOs. Melendez fell to 28-4-1 with 26 KOs.

Four years ago, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. was an unbeaten title holder on a fast track to stardom. But before his ascension was thwarted by three losses, he clobbered a young Filipino fighter named Marvin Sonsona. Within four rounds, Sonsona was out and it seemed as though the two paths of the fighters would taper off in opposite directions. What wasn’t known at the time was that the two would meet again but the loser of the first bout -- via knockout -- would be the heavy favorite in the rematch.

Sonsona almost ended the contest in the opening round with a vicious hook to the body, dropping the Bayamon, Puerto Rico, fighter to his knees. Vazquez barely beat the count but when he was allowed to continue, he was met with a hellacious storm. Vazquez was able to clear his head enough to fight back and survive the round, but that knockdown, coupled with Vazquez’ personal issues, made it seem like the fight wouldn’t last much longer. Vazquez had other plans, however, and turned it into a grueling battle, one that Sonsona might not have wanted.

Vazquez (23-4-1, 19 KOs) and Sonsona struggled to keep the fight clean throughout its entirety. Referee Steve Willis had his hands full as he had to pull the two apart dozens of times, had to dust off each combatant’s gloves for stumbling and wrestling to the ground, and deducted a point from Sonsona for hitting after the break. They clashed heads on a few occasions and low blows were scattered throughout the fight.

But the two featherweights landed plenty of hard, clean punches and the fight’s outcome was hanging in the balance going into the final round. Both men gunned for a dramatic finish, but fatigue prevented either from being able to dole out the sort of fight-ending punch each needed. In the end, Sonsona (19-1-1, 15 KOs) was awarded with a split decision win via tallies of 92-96 and 96-92 (twice).

Sergio Martinez vs. Miguel Cotto

Round 1

Martinez comes out firing a right jab but it misses. Cotto answers with a big right hand. Both men jumping around, getting into a groove. Nice left jab by Cotto. Martinez misses a right hook. Jab/right by Cotto but Martinez hits him with a right. Big left hook rocks Martinez! He stumbles across the ring and is in serious trouble! He tries to hold on but Cotto fires off a combo. A right to the head floors Martinez! He is up but very hurt. Cotto goes to the body, then the head. To the body again for the body. The Puerto Rican superstar connects with a right hand and Martinez is down again! He’s up and his right knee looks like it’s torn. Martinez hobbles forward and is knocked down again. Big left hook by Cotto. Martinez somehow survives the round but he is limping badly. He can barely walk to his corner. Huge round for Cotto.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-6 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-6 Cotto

Round 2

Cotto is very calm to begin the second. Martinez is limping still and backing away. Cotto fires a left jab that snaps the head back. Martinez is bleeding from behind the right ear. Nice right jab by Martinez but Cotto answers with a jab of his own. Nice left hook by Cotto. Martinez lands a decent right hand. Cotto connects with a left and Martinez is down. The ref rules it a slip. It’s obvious that Martinez’ knee is shot. Hard left to the body by Cotto. Martinez tries to clinch but Cotto reverses him and tosses him into the ropes. Good straight right hand by Martinez late. Cotto misses with two left hooks but cracks him with a left at the bell.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-9 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-9 Cotto

Round 3

Martinez bouncing and backing away to start the round. Cotto is patient but very fierce. Nice right by Martinez but Cotto connects with a left hook. Jab by Martinez. Hard left to the body by Cotto and they clash heads in the corner. Left/right by Martinez but they are blocked. Left hook by Cotto backs Martinez up. Right to the head, left to the body by Cotto. They clinch but Cotto is able to get off a short left on the inside. Left jab to the body by Cotto. Martinez is trying to box away but Cotto is cutting the ring of perfectly. Cotto lands a slick right hand. Another. Left to the body by Cotto. Martinez answers with a right jab. Another. Cotto’s mouth appears to be bloody. Hard right uppercut by Cotto as he charged inside. Big left hook at the bell by Cotto, but it was a glancing blow.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-9 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-9 Martinez

Round 4

Martinez is backing away early in the round. He is still limping but not as badly. Cotto is simply stalking him down, taking his time. Cotto misses two left hooks. Martinez fires off a jab. Stiff left jab by Cotto snaps Martinez’ head back. Martinez is having a hard time getting into a rhythm. Cotto lands another left hook and Martinez is rocked again! Another left by Cotto. Martinez dares him to come in and lands a right. Cotto crashes another left on his jaw but it’s partially blocked. Martinez’ head is clear now. Martinez misses a wild left hook. Cotto misses with a right uppercut. Nice, short left hand by Cotto. Martinez lands a decent left at the bell.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-9 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-9 Cotto

Round 5

Martinez throws a meager jab to start the round. Left hand by Cotto rocks Martinez again. Martinez misses two right jabs. Thudding left to the body by the Caguas native. Cotto digs a right to the body. Martinez misses a right to the head but lands a left to the body. Sergio lands a decent right hook midway but Cotto shakes it off. Cotto goes downstairs again. Cotto just misses with a nasty straight right hand. Hard right jab by the Argentinean. Triple jab/left hand by Martinez falls short. Hard body shot by Martinez. Another. Cotto answers with one of his own at the bell.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-9 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-9 Cotto

Round 6

There appears to be some desperation in Martinez’ corner between rounds. Cotto’s corner is very relaxed. Martinez rattles off two jabs to start the sixth. Sweeping left hook by Cotto rakes Martinez. Martinez triples up the jab and fires a straight left. Cotto digs a right and left to the body but misses the left to the head. Nice right/left by Martinez but Cotto catches him with another left hook. Martinez took it well but eats another. Maravilla lands a right hook but Cotto is unfazed. Martinez lands a right hand just as Cotto clips him with a left. Martinez is moving well and starting to find a groove. Jab-jab-jab by Martinez. Cotto digs a vicious right hook to the body, which visibly hurts Martinez. Martinez cracks him with a left and right. Cotto answers with a left up top. Close round.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-9 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-9 Cotto

Round 7

Double jab by Martinez starts the round. Martinez just misses a big straight left hand. Martinez fires off two jabs, but they fall short. Hard right and left to the body by Cotto. Cotto lands a left upstairs again. Martinez took it well. Cotto is very patient, looking for an opening but Martinez is backing away and jabbing. Hard right to the gut by Cotto. Maravilla misses a huge left and right to the head by a foot. Good left hook to the head followed by a right/left to the body. Right/left to the ribs again for Cotto. The Boriqua lands a right to the face. Again, Cotto is in complete control, though Martinez hits him with a right at the bell.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-9 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-10

Round 8

Martinez ducks under a right hand and unloads a furious right/left, but Cotto avoids both. Jab by Martinez. Nice stiff left jab by Cotto. Martinez misses a straight left and eats a right to in return. Cotto is bouncing up and down, moving in and out; Martinez has no answer for it. Double jab by Cotto. Straight right hand by the Caguas fighter. Martinez lands a right of his own. Good right by Martinez and Cotto shakes his head “No.” Quick left hook by Cotto as he comes in and out. Another. Cotto comes in with a left but eats a big right jab. Left hand by Maravilla but it’s blocked. Left/right by Cotto at the bell.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-9 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-9 Cotto

Round 9

Cotto storms out and fires a right/left to the head but they both miss their mark. Cotto lands a glancing left hook. Nice left jab by Cotto snaps his head back. Martinez is looking very tired and frustrated. Hard uppercut by Cotto on the inside buckles Martinez’ knees. He backs away and Cotto kicks it into the next gear. Right hand by Cotto. A left. Cotto is dominating him again. Martinez is hurt and in survival mode. Martinez jabs his way out. Hard left to the body by Cotto. Martinez misses a right hook. Cotto barely misses a massive right uppercut. Nice jab by cotto again. Left hook hurts Martinez and he drops to his knee for a second and it’s ruled a knockdown. Martinez is up quickly but he is clearly hurt.

Sherdog Scores

Mike Sloan scores the round 10-8 Cotto
Gary Randall scores the round 10-8 Cotto

Round 10

Martinez is begging his corner not to stop the fight but they are yelling at him that his knee is not working. He is begging for one more round. He gets it. No! His corner stops it just as the tenth round begins! Cotto wins via TKO in what was by far the greatest performance of his brilliant career.

The official time is :06 into the 10th round, awarding Cotto with the undisputed middleweight championship, giving him a world title in a fourth different weight class.

The Official Result

Miguel Cotto Def. Sergio Martinez TKO (Corner Stoppage) R10 0:06