Trout Ends Cotto's Unbeaten Streak At Garden

Austin "No Doubt" Trout (26-0, 14 KO's) retained his WBA World Light Middleweight title, capturing a twelve-round unanimous decision versus Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KO's). Official scores were 119-109 and 117-111 twice. It was Trout's fourth successful defense of his title since defeating Rigoberto Alvarez via twelve-round unanimous decision in 2011. The defeat was Cotto's first (7-1, 4 KO's) at Madison Square Garden.

Trout, a 27-year-old southpaw from Las Cruces, New Mexico, performed sensationally behind a consistent right jab. Cotto, 32, who started his professional career as a junior welterweight, had a tremendous amount of trouble dealing with the naturally bigger Trout. 

In the first round, Cotto attacked Trout's body efficiently, although Trout's maneuvering confused the Puerto Rican warrior. 

Trout began to settle in round two, beating Cotto to the punch with sharp combinations. 

Cotto stepped up his assault in round three, smothering Trout's shots and applying constant pressure.

During round four, Cotto continued to work diligently. Yet, it was apparent Trout presented an crucial edge in hand speed.

Trout struck Cotto with a hard low blow in round five. Cotto bounced back from the low, straight left and kept fighting at a high level.

In round six, Trout methodically backed Cotto up using his size advantage, along with a busy right jab.

The seventh round became the turning point of the fight. Trout really controlled the ebb and flow, while Cotto's punch output slightly decreased. Trout also created more angles, keeping Cotto off-balance.

As Cotto came on in round nine, Trout hit him with another low blow, although it appeared to land on the belt line. From this point, Trout's punches caused additional swelling to Cotto's face.

Trout tagged Cotto with a sharp left uppercut in the eleventh round, momentarily slowing the challenger. Cotto's plan of suppressing Trout's offense did not have the anticipated results due to the champion's size. Cotto's punches simply did not have the same effect on a bigger man.

Cotto fought valiantly in the twelfth round, but Trout had him in danger whenever he threw multiple punches. 

Cotto gave a tremendous effort given the size disadvantage he encountered, in conjunction with facing a superior ring technician.

Jayson Velez (20-0, 15 KO's) put on a brilliant performance, dismantling Salvador Sanchez II (30-5-3, 18 KO's) in just three rounds in a featherweight match-up. Prior to the fight, Sanchez, 27, was never kayoed, and had amassed an 11-fight win streak. 

Making his second appearance at Madison Square Garden, the 24-year old Velez owned a decisive edge in hand speed. Velez was very fluid with his punches, hammering Sanchez repeatedly with crisp combinations. Early in round two, Velez wobbled Sanchez after landing a left hook, followed by two right crosses in succession. Near the end of the round, Velez floored Sanchez after connecting with a vicious left uppercut to the head. 

Ten seconds into round three, Velez put Sanchez on the canvas with a scintillating right uppercut. After landing another overhand right, referee Harvey Dock stopped the fight. Time of the stoppage was :38.

Velez is tentatively scheduled to face Mexico's hard-hitting Daniel Ponce De Leon (44-4, 35 KO's) next for De Leon's WBC Featherweight championship.

Danny "The Miracle Man" Jacobs (24-1, 21 KO's) forced Chris "The Irish Ghost" Fitzpatrick (15-3, 6 KO's) to quit on his stool after five, one-sided rounds in a middleweight contest. Jacobs has now accumulated four straight victories since being TKO'd in five rounds by Dmitry Pirog in 2010. On the other hand, Fitzpatrick has dropped three of his last four bouts. 

Jacobs, 25, started very slowly, but picked up the pace quickly in round three after an accidental headbutt left Fitzpatrick with a wide gash on top of his head. Seeing Fitzpatrick bleeding, Jacobs overwhelmed him with a barrage of swift combinations. Fitzpatrick stayed in Jacobs' face, although he could not compete with the Brooklyn fighter's arsenal.

In round five, Jacobs continued with his onslaught, peppering Fitzpatrick with sweeping right-hand shots and deadly left hooks to the head and body.

Jacobs is targeting February 9, 2013 as his next appearance in the ring. It is a phenomenon that Jacobs is even walking, let alone boxing. 19 months ago, Jacobs suffered from thoracic spinal cancer and was paralyzed from the waist down. Following six hours of surgery to remove a gigantic tumor that wrapped around his spinal column, as well as completing extensive physical therapy, Jacobs is back and ready to claim a world title.

Other Results

Featherweight 126 lbs. - Jorge Diaz (17-1, 10 KO's) W6 vs. Victor Sanchez (3-5-1)

Middleweight 160 lbs. - John Thompson (10-0, 3 KO's) W6 vs. Elie Augustama (6-6, 3 KO's)

Junior Middleweight 154 lbs. - Eddie Gomez (12-0, 8 KO's) W6 vs. Luis Hernandez (10-1, 6 KO's)

Junior Lightweight 130 lbs. - Jeffrey Fontanez (10-0, 9 KO's) TKO 2 vs. Pedro Arcos (8-4, 6 KO's)

Junior Middleweight 154 lbs. - Jorge Melendez (25-2-1, 24 KO's) TKO 4 vs. James Winchester (15-7, 5 KO's)

Lightweight 135 lbs. - Michael Perez (18-1-1, 10 KO's) W8 vs. Fernando Carcamo (10-5, 7 KO's)

Spadafora Wins Again, Eyes Title Shot

Paul "The Pittsburgh Kid" Spadafora (47-0-1, 19 KO's) won his second fight this year, securing a ten-round unanimous decision against rugged Solomon Egberime (22-4-1, 11 KO's) in a welterweight battle. Spadafora won by scores of 98-91, 97-94 and 100-90.

Spadafora, 37, utilized terrific feints and worked behind a reliable right jab to dictate the pace of the fight. At times, Egberime landed some firm right-hand shots. Yet, Spadafora's peerless reflexes allowed him to roll with Egberime's punches to avoid the full effect.

Both men battled blow-for-blow in round four. Spadafora remained poised, and ripped off a series of methodical combinations. Spadafora's right jab really made it difficult for the 34-year-old to get into a groove.

Although Spadafora was decisively putting rounds in the bank, Egberime undoubtedly made him work.

In the eighth and ninth rounds, Spadafora's punch volume dropped and Egberime took full advantage, connecting with blistering right-hand shots to the body and head. Spadafora acquired a small cut under his right eye. However, Spadafora stepped up the pace in round ten, nailing Egberime with an accumulation of punishing shots off the right jab to close the show strong.

With the victory, Spadafora may have cemented a clash against Brooklyn's Paul Malignaggi for Malignaggi's WBA World Welterweight title in the near future.


In the co-main event, lightweight Monty Meza-Clay (34-3, 21 KO's) defeated Emmanuel Lucero (26-13-1, 14 KO's) by an eight-round, unanimous decision in their second meeting via scores of 77-75 twice and 80-72. Lucero has now lost seven fights in a row. Previously, Meza-Clay captured an eight-round, majority decision versus Lucero on July 14, 2012.

Meza-Clay, 31, and Lucero, 34, battled in close quarters, striking each other with brutal body shots the entire fight. Both fighters displayed similar styles, which enabled them to engage in a fan-friendly slugfest.


Peter Oluoch (12-6-2, 6 KO's), 34, of Nairobi, Kenya, handed Jake "The Bull" Giuriceo, 27, of Youngstown, Ohio, (16-2-1, 3 KO's) his second consecutive loss, winning a five-round, split decision in a highly-competitive, junior welterweight showdown.

Oluoch's stiff left jab, along with a distinct height and reach advantage kept Giuriceo off-balance in the first two rounds. Giuriceo attempted to close the distance, but ate many punches in his effort doing so because he lacked a steady jab. However, Giuriceo began to find his rhythm in round three, unleashing a higher punch output.

In round four, Oluoch successfully connected with countless, flush right crosses to Giuriceo's head.

During the early moments of the fifth round, Oluoch discharged a vicious right uppercut, snapping Giuriceo's head back. Giuriceo continued to employ a relentless attack, but Oluoch was much more consistent finding the target.

At the end of the round, the ringside physician deemed Giuriceo unable to continue due to a cut sustained from an accidental clash of heads. Official scores were 49-46 and 48-47 in favor of Oluoch, and 48-47 for Giuriceo.


Morgan "Big Chief" Fitch (8-0, 4 KO's) remained unbeaten, stopping Cameron Allen (4-12, 2 KO's) in the first round of a super middleweight contest. Fitch, 29, hit Allen with a paralyzing left hook to the liver. Time of the stoppage was 2:28. Originally from Louisiana, Fitch now resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


In a welterweight match-up, Bill Hutchinson, 23, (5-1-2, 3 KO's) stopped Jose Caraballo (5-5, 1 KO) at :39 of the second round. After landing numerous left hooks to Caraballo's head in round one, Hutchinson dropped him with a powerful overhand right. Moments later, Hutchinson landed a rock-solid, overhand right that sent Caraballo sprawling to the floor as the bell rang ending round one. Caraballo did not last much longer. Hutchinson struck Caraballo with an overwhelming right cross-left hook combination, prompting the referee to halt the action.


Joey "The Hitman" Holt (1-0, 1 KO) scored a first-round knockout in his professional debut against Alan Moore in a light middleweight contest (3-18, 2 KO's). Holt, who is also an MMA fighter, floored Moore three times, as the bout was halted due to the 3-knockdown rule in West Virginia.