By Manuel Perez: Miguel Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) stopped a badly overmatched Michael Jennings (34-2, 16 KOs) late in the 5th on Saturday night to capture the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title at the Madison Square Garden, in New York, New York. Cotto, 28, knocked Jennings down three times in the fight, twice in the 4th, and once late in the 5th.
After the third knockdown, a hard right hand to the head of Jennings as he stood with his back to the ropes, referee Benjy Esteves Jr. stopped the slaughter at 2:38 of the 5th. Jennings, 31, as it turned out, was never really a factor in the fight. He used a great deal of moment throughout the fight, but other than the first two rounds in which Cotto was having some minor issues catching up to him, his movement didn’t save him from taking punishment.
A lot of credit has to go to Cotto, who expertly cut of the ring on Jennings often, hitting him with powerful left hooks and right hand salvos. The left hooks were the telling factor in the fight, as Jennings had no defense for them and was hit repeatedly by them starting front the 3rd round on. Like in his loss to Young Mutley, a 12-round split decision, in 2006, Jennings had problems with getting hit with left hooks and didn’t know how to defend against them.
Jennings did reasonably well until the 4th, when he was dropped twice from left hooks to the midsection. His nose was bloodied in the 3rd from hard jabs and rights from Cotto, and he began to have a scared, hunted look as he dashed around the ring from side to side to try and keep the more powerful Cotto off him. Jennings was staggered late in the 4th with a left to the head.
A short while later, Jennings was dropped for the 2nd time in the round, again from a hard left to the body. He was taking tremendous punishment from Cotto as the round ended. Though Jennings probably shouldn’t have come out for the 5th round, he bravely did and gave it a go by jabbing often and moving in wide circles around the ring.
Cotto looked like a big cat, watching Jennings move with big eyes and waiting for a chance to pounce on him. The opportunity presented itself late in the round when Cotto landed a hard right to the head. Incredibly, Jennings took the shot without going down but his legs buckled slightly after he absorbed the shot.
Moments later, Cotto staggered Jennings with a hard left hook to the head, sending Jennings backing up to the ropes where he covered up. Cotto them moved in and nailed him with a short chopping right to the head, sending him to the canvas. He got up at the count of nine, but referee Benjy Esteves Jr. took one look at him and promptly stopped the fight at 2:38 of the 5th.
It was a good thing that he stopped it because Jennings would have been chopped own by something big from Cotto in the next few seconds if the fight had continued. Jennings stood no chance of doing much other than to continue to take a beating from Cotto.
“I just wanted to get back to the Miguel of the beginning,” Cotto said after the fight. “I worked to the body and head. He’s a real good fighter. He [Jennings] had a lot of strength and courage. Everyone saw it when he was in a bad situation. If Shane Mosley wins and wants a rematch, and Kelly Pavlik, wants a fight, I’m here. If Hatton or Pacquiao wants a fight, I’m ready,” said Cotto.
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