Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade Miguel Cotto proved that he has the heart of a champion retaining his WBO Welterweight title with a hard fought split decision victory over Joshua Clottey in front of nearly 18,000 fans.

In a fight that could have gone to either fighter the judges scored in favor of Cotto by scores of 116-111 and 115-112 while the score for Clottey was 114-113. Although many rounds could have been awarded to either fighter I felt Cotto had won a close decision by a score of 115-112.

The first round was one of the previously mentioned that could have gone to either fighter until Cotto 34-1 (27) delivered a jab near the end of the round that dropped Clottey 35-3 (21). It appeared to be a flash knock-down from a well-timed jab that caught Clottey as he was unbalanced.

After some back and forth action Cotto suffered a severe cut over his left eye from an accidental head-butt at the end of round three, which would bother him for the rest of the fight. In the post fight interview Cotto would later say that he could not see Clottey’s right coming for the last five rounds of the fight.

The fifth round was all Clottey as he took advantage of Cotto who was obviously bothered by the cut landing several accurate punches as Cotto pawed at the blood streaming from his eye. Clottey’s momentum in the round was interrupted when he came in on Cotto getting hung up on his shoulder and fell face first into the canvas as Cotto shrugged him off. More...

MIguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey went to war last night over 12 hard rounds at New York's fabled Madison Square Garden with Cotto emerging still in possession of his WBO Welterweight title by a narrow split decision.

Clottey showed a massive heart by taking everything the Puerto Rican star could dish out while coming back time and time again with rattling combinations of his own.

The bout proved difficult to score as the pair went at it in close quarters and a Cotto knockdown of Clottey in the very first frame proved to be the deciding factor in the clash.

Cotto, who was cut in the third from a clash of heads, had much of his successes early and enjoyed a good round in the sixth when he went all out to stop Clottey but the challenger survived the shelling. More...

Miguel Cotto graced Trinity Boxing Club, in downtown Manhattan, with his presence and sweat earlier this week.

He is facing Joshua Clottey tonight, defending his WBO welterweight title at Madison Square Garden, where he is continuously adored by his large fan base.

As the gym felt the city heat trickle through the window, the un-phased Cotto paced himself for the duration of his tough regime that ran around an hour and forty minutes.

It included landing precise punches to the pads, lengthy jump roping, shadowboxing, advanced stretching technique. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

At the lobby of the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Top Rank held a final press conference to promote the Welterweight Championship fight between undefeated WBO titlist Miguel Cotto, 33-1 (27), and Joshua Clottey, 35-2 (21).

The bout will be televised live on HBO this Saturday, June 13 at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY.

Promoter Bob Arum not only spoke about the upcoming title fight, but also took time to speak about Cotto’s involvement in the Wounded Warriors Project. “It’s great when one of our champions takes on a cause from the bottom of his heart. Miguel Cotto has taken on the cause of the United States Wounded Warriors.” More...

Three-time world champion Miguel Cotto, (33-1, 27 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, will be holding a free public workout in the Bronx, today, Saturday, June 6, beginning at 2:30 P.M. ET, in an outdoor ring at 152nd and Wales Streets.

Cotto, who is in his final week of training, will be defending his WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey, (35-2, 21 KOs), from the Bronx, Saturday, June 13, at Madison Square Garden. More...

Undefeated two-time world champion Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico will make his Madison Square Garden debut on Saturday, June 13, headlining the undercard of the big world championship welterweight clash between Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey.

Calderon, 32-0 (6), making the fourth defense of his WBO junior flyweight belt, will be facing steel-fisted No. 4 contender Rodel Mayol, 25-3 (19), from Manadue City, Cebu, Philippines. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Joe Calzaghe kept his undefeated record intact by putting on a dominating performance against Roy Jones Jr.

Calzaghe, 46-0 (32), rose from the canvas in the first round and not only recovered but won every other round against Jones, 52-5 (38), in front of 14,000 fans by scores of 118-109 on all three of the judge's scorecards.

Before getting into the fight, I would like to paint an atmosphere picture for the readers to get an idea of the British presence in New York City. As I approached Madison Square Garden, walking down 33rd street and passing by a string of a few different bars and pubs, I could see that not only were most of them filled, but also people spilling into the streets, laughing, having fun and talking about how Calzaghe was going to win a victory against Jones. More...

In a battle of two of the most decorated fighters of the past two decades, Joe Calzaghe climbed off the canvas to hand Roy Jones a twelve round unanimous decision defeat at Madison Square Garden in New York last night.

Calzaghe was winning the first round off the southpaw jab when he crouched on the inside and was caught by a uppercut he never saw coming from Jones, falling to the canvas.

But the Welshman beat the count and resumed his pressure of Jones, who tried to maintain distance and catch Calzaghe coming in.

As the rounds wore on, Calzaghe's pressure forced Jones to become more and more defensive, content to cover up on the ropes and let the younger man rattle him with a two handed assault to the head and body.

It was clearly not the Roy Jones of his prime but the 39 year old Floridian did catch Calzaghe on occasion with a hard right uppercut or right cross, which the "Welsh Wizard" simply laughed off, either making faces at the former four weight world champion or improvising a fake "hurt fighter" shimmy that seemed to anger Jones. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

In a fight 10 years in the making, Joe Calzaghe makes his New York debut against ring legend Roy Jones Junior in a 12 round light heavyweight bout.

For Calzaghe, this is the opportunity to cement his status as 175 pound number one. For Jones, at 39, a victory on Saturday night would solidify him as an all time great.

Calzaghe reigned the super middleweight division for 10 years. This run included wins over Chris Eubank, Robin Reid, Omar Sheika, Richie Woodall, Charles Brewer, Byrom Mitchell, Jeff Lacey and Mikkel Kessler. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

Last week during the conference call hosted by Roy Jones Jr, I had asked him if he were to compare his upcoming fight with Joe Calzaghe to the Roman Coliseum, who would he be? The exotic animal or the gladiator and why?

"I am the gladiator in this fight," Jones stated, "I am the gladiator because the gladiator is the underdog, and people doubt me."

Wednesday, at the final presser in Manhattan, I had followed that up with Joe Calzaghe. I asked him "Joe, I asked Roy last week who he would be considered in this fight if it was during the Roman Coliseum days; the exotic animal or the gladiator - who would you be?"

Calzaghe stated, "I am the gladiator, " to which I replied, "No, Roy said he is the gladiator." Calzaghe laughed and shot back "Hey that's not fair, you gave him a choice, and I am stuck being the animal?" More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

On Saturday, November 8, 2008, two of boxing’s best will step into the ring at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the “Mecca of Boxing”, in an HBO PPV event dubbed “Battle of the Superpowers”.

Undefeated Light Heavyweight Champion Joe “Super” Calzaghe, 45-0 (32), will face eight-time world champion “Superman” Roy Jones Jr., 52-4 (38), in the twelve round main event for the Ring Light Heavyweight Championship.

In addition to the 24/7 coverage that has been running on HBO, the fighters had a busy week with a media workout on Monday and a final press conference at BB King’s Blues Club in New York City yesterday, where many of the attendees were still buzzing over the victory of President-elect Barack Obama.

Jones’ trainer Alton Merkerson said, “I would like to say that I think everyone is pleased that the campaign for the Commander in Chief is over. It was a long campaign. It is time to try to bring this nation back to where it is supposed to be. More...

Click for larger image © Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

**With Slideshow**

Undefeated Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Calzaghe and eight-time world champion, Roy Jones, Jr., held a media workout at Kingsway Boxing Gym in New York City in preparation for their “ Battle of the Superpowers” boxing card which will take place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Calzaghe, 45-0 (32), was upbeat and in a bit of a jovial mood as he arrived to the gym. After answering some brief questions as he wrapped his hands, he joked with the media about wanting to be sure his hair was in place.

After loosening up in a ring surrounded by photographers, Calzaghe put on an impressive display of speed, accuracy and power as he worked the hand mitts with his father Enzo. After two rounds of working the mitts, he did some shadowboxing, slipping and moving well as he spent time peering into media cameras smiling and posing. More...

NABF light welterweight champion Frankie “El Gato” Figueroa, recently signed to a promotional contract by Roy Jones, Jr.’s Square Ring Promotions, will now take on the unofficial gatekeeper of the light welterweight division, veteran Emanuel “Drunken Master” Augustus, in the opening bout on the November 8 Jones-Calzaghe HBO PPV card at Madison Square Garden in New York City. More...

The Emmy-Award winning reality series 24/7 returns to HBO with two new characters. Training camps open for two future Hall of Famers as they prepare for their long-awaited light heavyweight showdown on Nov. 8 at Madison Square Garden: Roy Jones Jr. trains in the rural confines of California, Pa., while Joe Calzaghe trains in his hometown of Newbridge, Wales.

NABF light welterweight champion Frankie "El Gato" Figueroa has signed a promotional contract with Roy Jones, Jr.'s Square Ring Promotions and the Bronx fighter has been added to the November 8 Jones-Calzaghe HBO PPV card at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Figueroa, 19-2 (13), has been in Las Vegas training for his November 8, 10 round fight against former WBA light welterweight Gavin "The Rock" Rees, 27-1 (13). More...

With the postponement of their scheduled September 20 clash announced earlier this week, due to a training injury to Joe Calzaghe's hand, the contest between the Welsh Wizard and Roy Jones Jr will now take place in November at the original location of Madison Square Garden.

Five years ago, this was a prospective fight that would have had fans and media alike crawling over broken glass to get into. Calzaghe had just won a tremendous slugfest with heavy-handed recent ex-champion Byron Mitchell while Jones was at the absolute height of his career having just outclassed John Ruiz for a heavyweight title.

Since that time, the pair's careers have gone in wildy different directions. Calzaghe, staying at super middle, won four fights over tough but less than top class competition before enjoying his coming out party again Jeff Lacy in 2006 but then going in against lower tier opposition again for two bouts before emerging to outfight Mikkel Kessler.

"The Pride of Wales" then made his long awaited jump to light heavyweight to outwork the ageless Bernard Hopkins, who was finally, at age 43, in with an opponent who "The Executioner" could not control. More...