Welterweight champ Miguel Cotto returns to MSG

By ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)—In a corner of the South Bronx, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Angel Cotto stepped into an outdoor ring before hundreds of fans and a wave of adulation washed over him.

He stripped off his shirt and women swooned. He went through his drills— stretching, jumping rope and punching padded gloves—and onlookers shouted: “Pound for pound, baby!”

“He’s just an awesome fighter,” said 23-year-old Jose Centeno, whose dad is from Puerto Rico and who waited under a hot sun to get a photo of Cotto. “He’s our pride.”

This is Cotto Country. New York is a city where nearly 800,000 residents have Puerto Rican roots, and the hard-hitting Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) is much beloved here.

“We all want a champ,” said Alfredo Pimentel, who lives in Spanish Harlem near La Fonda Boricua, a restaurant Cotto frequents that is well known for serving authentic Puerto Rican food.

“We love him here. It’s one way for Puerto Ricans to express we have champions. We’re a small country but we got them. Everybody has natural resources but we have champions.”

The 28-year-old Cotto, one of the world’s top boxers, has not let them down. He’s never lost in five fights at Madison Square Garden. On Saturday, he’ll tangle at the Garden with 32-year-old Joshua Clottey of New York, a tough fighter who was born in Ghana and loves to come forward like Cotto.

Clottey is Cotto’s first real test since a questionable loss last year in a bloody slugfest to Mexican Antonio Margarito, who was found to have a plaster-like substance on his hand wraps before a subsequent defeat to Shane Mosley.

Cotto dismantled Michael Jennings in February at the Garden but that was a mismatch—Jennings never had a chance.

The Clottey bout takes place on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade and will lure many Cotto fans. Three of his previous five victories at the Garden have landed on the weekend of the parade, establishing him as genuine attraction, a sure ticket seller.

“There’s a natural hook between the area and his culture,” said Top Rank President Todd duBoef, Cotto’s promoter. Another Puerto Rican fighter, WBO junior flyweight Ivan Calderon (32-0, 6 KOs) of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico is also on the undercard. Cotto is from Caguas, which is about 20 miles south of San Juan.

Cotto’s previous fights at the Garden have drawn a total of nearly 52,000 people. Cotto has sold more tickets overall at the Garden than any other fighter in the last decade. He’s already sold more than 15,000 seats for the upcoming bout against Clottey (35-2, 20 KOs).

“I am a big fan of Puerto Rican weekend there in New York and to be a part of that would mean a lot for any person,” Cotto said in a conference call with reporters. “Now in my career it is like a tradition. Every year fighting in front of thousands of Puerto Rican people at Madison Square Garden means a lot to me.”

Nuyoricans, as they are known, always embrace their best fighters and in particular welterweights—including Wilfredo Gomez, Felix Trinidad, Hector Camacho and Jose “Chegui” Torres. All of them fought at the Garden. All of them were loved.

Cotto is the latest to stake his claim here, solidifying his popularity by doing what all boxing fans relish: winning in style and becoming a champ. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a had key victories in New York—taking out Mosley, a former pound-for-pound king at the Garden in 2007—and two Brooklyn fighters, Zab Judah and Paul Malignaggi.

At the exhibition last Saturday, Cotto didn’t just come to Bronx for a few minutes.

As a disk jockey played a mix of traditional Puerto Rican songs and pop music, he put on a lengthy show that didn’t cost his supporters a dime—an important gesture in a low-income neighborhood where not everybody can afford to see a fight at the Garden or on HBO.

“First, he’s Puerto Rican and we wears it with a badge of honor,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who was shaking hands with potential voters, piggy backing on Cotto’s popularity. “We love the fact that Cotto is here. They get to see him for free. Because of that, we respect him and love him.”

After arriving, the humble Cotto went about securing his fan base, endearing himself to many. He autographed pictures, speed bags and head gear. His handlers threw out Cotto headbands.

The Cotto crazies clamored for him.

In between workouts, Cotto smothered his children and wife with kisses. He winked and smiled.

Why wouldn’t Cotto be happy?

He was practically home.