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Yuri Foreman’s luck ran out last night at New York’s fabled baseball venue Yankee Stadium in The Bronx as the WBA light middleweight titlist was stopped by ex-two weight world champ Miguel Cotto.
As expected, the taller Foreman looked to keep Cotto, making his first appearance as a light middleweight, at arm’s length and the strategy worked through the early rounds.
But despite a successful jab, Foreman didn’t have the punching power to keep the smaller man at bay and by the fifth frame the challenger was in range and landing.
Cotto’s famed left hook was taking it’s toll, particularly to the body of the champion, who stepped up his activity as a result but the punches had little effect on Cotto.
The seventh saw Cotto deck Foreman and while the champion beat the count, he also emerged from the knockdown with a leg injury, ending his mobility.
Now the bout was a slugfest as Foreman was forced to stand and fight his far more experienced rival and soon Foreman was down a second time but beat the count again.
In the eighth, Foreman’s corner threw in the towel but referee Arthur Mercante Jr restarted the bout only to halt the contest at 0:42 of the ninth when a Cotto bodyshot once again sent Foreman to the floor.
Miguel Cotto improves to 35-2 (28), adding the WBA light middleweight crown to his previous WBA/WBO welter and WBO light welter titles while Foreman loses for the first time in his career, dropping to 28-1 (8).
On the undercard, light middleweight Vanes Martirosyan, 28-0 (17), retained his NABA/NABO belts by outpointing previously unbeaten Joe Greene, 22-1 (14), over ten rounds via scores of 98-91 and 96-93 twice.
