If ever the old adage, ?The bigger they are, the harder they fall? had meaning, it was when Cotto destroyed Geale in Brooklyn? Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, successfully defended his WBC middleweight title by stopping Daniel Geale (31-4, 16 KOs), from Mt. Annan, New South Wales, Australia, via TKO at 1:28 of round four.
Fighting out of the blue corner in sky blue trunks with red trim, Cotto fought like a fighter reborn. His signature left hook to the body landed early and often, but Cotto no more neglected to use his right hand than he neglected Geale?s head.
Geale, fighting out of the black corner (an indication of how times have changed) in blue trunks with red and white trim, entered the ring weighing 180 lbs., 20 lbs. over the middleweight limit. But if ever the old adage, ?The bigger they are, the harder they fall? had meaning, it was when Cotto destroyed Geale in Brooklyn.
Round one set the tone for the rest of the fight. At the bell to start the fight, Cotto landed a left hook to the body. Geale countered with a right to the head. Cotto countered the counter with another left hook to body. The hostilities had begun with bang. Just to keep things interesting, Cotto landed a short left hook to Geale?s face. The Aussie connected with a sweet three-punch combination. Cotto landed another body shot at the bell to take the round 10-9.
According to CompuBox, Cotto landed 13 punches to Geale?s 9.
Between rounds, Freddie Roach told Cotto, ?That a boy. Do not let him come to you. Do not let him get off first.?
Geale started round two with a right hand that found the mark. Cotto, embracing the notion that if ain?t broke don?t fix it, landed a left hook to the body, followed by a three-punch combination. He fired off a jab. He connected with another hook downstairs. Cotto landed a 1-2. Geale landed a 1-2 of his own. But Cotto, who was already on fire, was turning up the heat.
Cotto landed 18 of 54 punches thrown to 8 of 37 for Geale.
Cotto landed a power jab to Geale?s head to start round three. He followed that up with a jab to the body, which set up Cotto?s money punch, another delectable left hook downstairs. Geale landed a right. By way of thanks, Cotto landed two more hooks to the body. Geale connected with his best punch of the night, a right to Cotto?s face. But he might as well have punched a brick wall for all the good it did. Cotto landed a left-right-left combination with Geale on the ropes at the bell.
Between rounds three and four, Roach told Cotto, ?More combination again. Don?t get lazy and stay in front of him.?
In the opposite corner, Geale?s trainer, Graham Shaw, had much the same advice for his fighter. ?A little more aggressive,? he said. ?Throw more combinations. You can win this thing.?
Whatever chance Geale had of winning this thing was upended a half minute into round four. The many punches Cotto had landed during the first three rounds had Geale wary of the champ and what he could do. The Pride of Puerto Rico, smelling blood, pushed Geale to the ropes, where he landed an accidental headbutt to the face, followed by a right and dynamite left hook to the head that dropped Geale to the canvas. He got to his feet at the count of nine?and Cotto jumped on his man. Throwing any and every punch in his arsenal, a right to the forehead put Geale down a second time. Again he beat the count. But when referee Harvey Dock asked Geale if he wanted to continue, the Real Deal shook his head no.
The final CompuBox numbers suggest that the fight was a slaughter, albeit an entertaining slaughter. Of total punches, Cotto landed 68 of 183 (37%) to Geale?s 33 of 127 (26%). In the power punch department, Cotto landed 43 of 110 (39%) to 22 of 50 (44%) for Geale.
When it was over, rather than strut around the ring or climb the turnbuckle to sneer and pound his chest, Cotto fought his way into Geale?s corner to make sure he was okay and congratulate him for fighting the good fight.
During the post-fight interview, Cotto didn?t praise his opponent. He didn?t even praise himself. Instead, he lauded his trainer Freddie Roach.
?I feel like the Miguel Cotto from the 2000s, from 2010, 2004,? he said. ?Freddie is the best thing that ever happened to my career. I mean it. He?s the best thing that ever happened to my career. Freddie is a humble, simple guy who always came with his best, trying to get the best from you, and having got that from him just made me be better every day. Freddie just wants me to give more and more. That?s his style, and that?s what I like about him. Freddie Roach makes me feel like never before.?
