In a middleweight bout between the current WBC middleweight title holder, Miguel Cotto, and former unified and three-time middleweight champion, Daniel Geale, Cotto was dominating in this display with a fourth-round knockout over the strong Australian fighter.
In a fight that looked to be a trap for Cotto before a highly speculated fight with Canelo Alvarez , Cotto showed that no such trap had been set as he won in very impressive fashion. Another boxer hoping for a fight with Cotto sat ringside eyeing the title belt that he covets. This fighter was fan favorite Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
Cotto, who was born to Puerto Rican parents, had the home crowd on his side as cheers erupted during his introduction. Daniel Geale was introduced to mutual boos from the Brooklyn spectators.
Daniel Geale weighed-in Saturday, just hours before the fight began, at 182 pounds in street clothes, 22 over the maximum.
According to the Denver Post, Miguel Cotto spoke about the weight discrepancies before the fight.
“I think that people are making a big issue where there does not need to be a big issue with catch weights,” Cotto said. “Catch weights were our main point to make this fight happen. Daniel and his team agreed to going down to 157.”
Geale was not thrilled at the prospect of getting so thin considering he is a natural middleweight fighter. However, Daniel Geale knew he had to do what was necessary to make weight, no matter the circumstances, according to ESPN.
“There was no thought in mind about not making the weight,” Geale, 34, after the weigh-in “You do it. It’s a lot harder and that’s it, but you do it. I made it smart. I had a good team around me and we worked very hard. I was very focused. This is a huge opportunity for me, and I was not going to let it slip by and give him a way out of the fight.”
While Geale had the size advantage, he had great trouble landing punches. Cotto had no trouble landing powerful punches, knocking down Geale in the fourth round after being worn down in the first three.
Miguel Cotto knocked down Daniel Geale one more time in the fourth round before the referee stepped in and ended the fight as Geale could barely stand. When Geale began to fight back, he left himself open for more powerful punches, which was the case for the knockout blow.
Miguel Cotto was trained for this fight by famed trainer Freddie Roach. Freddie Roach is the longtime trainer of Filipino welterweight Manny Pacquiao. Freddie Roach is known for his severe Parkinson’s, but has been able to overcome it to become one of the greatest trainers in boxing history.
A fight between Cotto and Canelo Alvarez would be a very lucrative bout, due to the extent of each fighter’s fan base, it has been speculated that the fight may be broadcast as a pay-per-view. No matter how it is viewed, the fight will be highly-anticipated.
[Image Source: Rich Schultz/Getty Images]