World Weekend Roundup: Cotto, Braehmer, Butler Victorious

On a big weekend of boxing, the biggest clash of all took place at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden as former three weight world champ Miguel Cotto made a huge impression at middleweight by stopping reigning WBC titlist Sergio Martinez at 0:06 of the tenth round.

Since 2011, 39 year old southpaw Martinez, 51-3-2 (28), had been giving off signs that he wasn’t the fighter he once was but it took Puerto Rico’s Cotto, 39-4 (32), to thoroughly expose that “Maravilla” wasn’t so marvelous anymore.

From the start, the often injured legs of Martinez looked shaky, a very bad thing for a fighter who’s entire approach is based off shifty footwork and it didn’t take Cotto long at all to nail the champ with a beautiful left hook that had a hurt Martinez retreating to the ropes.

The legs of Martinez went out from under him three times as Cotto hammered away with a follow-up assault that produced three knockdowns but the brave Argentine fighter wouldn’t stay down.

Martinez managed to survive the rest of the first and all the way into the tenth but was outclassed in every round. He still had snap to his punches and could land counters on Cotto but without the legs to provide a stable platform, the shots carried little weight.

This will almost certainly be the end of the line for Martinez, while Cotto has managed to win a world title in a fourth weight class and can look forward to lucrative unification clashes.

The undercard saw former middleweight title challenger Andy Lee, 33-2 (23), of Ireland, come from behind to KO John Jackson, 18-2 (15), of The Bahamas, with a single shot in the fifth round for the vacant NABF light middleweight belt.

At the Sport and Congress Center in Schwerin, Germany, WBA light heavy kingpin Jurgen Braehmer, 44-2 (32), posted a 119-108 UD on all three cards over WBC Latino beltholder Robert Feliciano Bolonti, 35-3 (24), of Argentina.

After 46 fights, hopefully the 35 year old Braehmer, a gritty, awkward and talented southpaw, will be permitted to engage in a title unification bout or face a truly world class opponent.

Also on the bill at Schwerin, the top welterweight in Women’s boxing, Cecelia Braekhus, 25-0 (7), of Norway, retained the WBC, WBA and WBO titles for the eighth occasion by posting a 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 UD over former WIBF/GBU welter champ Jessica Balogun, 24-4 (12), in a rematch to their 2012 bout.

At 140 pounds, Braekhus tipped the scales at her lightest weight since her sole appearance in America in 2008.

The Metro Area in Newcastle, England saw an end to the improbable IBF bantam title run of Stuart Hall, 16-3-2 (7), and the beginning of another by domestic rival Paul Butler, 16-0 (8), who registered a split decision over Hall on scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 113-115.

Hall was making the second defense of the belt won in a transcendent performance over Vusi Malinga last year while Butler had previously held the British and Commonwealth crowns at super flyweight.

Butler’s mandatory challenger is America’s Randy Caballero, who will represent another big step up in competition for the Merseyside man.

On the undercard, the mercurial Ovill McKenzie, 23-12 (12), added the British cruiserweight title to his Commonwealth belt by halting Jon-Lewis Dickinson, 15-3 (4), at 3:09 of the second round.

34 year old Derby spoiler McKenzie previously held the Commonwealth light heavy strap over two reigns while 28 year old Dickinson of Birtley was putting his British title at risk for the fourth time.