Cotto completed part one of the equation defeating Daniel Geale by knockout 1:28 into the fourth round to retain the WBC middleweight championship. The questions people wanted answered after the fight were whether he was fighting Alvarez next and whether he beats Canelo and Golovkin.
“I had 44 fights in my whole career,” Cotto told HBO’s Max Kellerman in the post-fight interview. “Canelo is going to be just another one. A new chapter in my career. “After that, if Gennady is available and if he wants to fight, I’m available, too.”
At the opening bell Cotto came out guns blazing going right at Geale, connecting with his patented left hook to the body. As the round went on, Cotto landed a couple more left hooks to the body and to the head.
In between rounds one and two, trainer Freddie Roach told Cotto to be more aggressive. Cotto listened to Roach, continuing to land vicious body shots, using jab and his quickness advantage to get away from any possible danger from Geale.
In the fourth round, Geale tried to be the aggressor but Cotto took advantage by landing a vicious left hook to send the Australian down under the ropes. Geale got up at nine. Cotto, sensing blood put Geale against the ropes and started ripping shots to the body. Moments later, Cotto dropped Geale with a right hook and referee Harvey Dock put a stop to the action.
Steven Muehlhausen is a boxing and MMA writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
