On June 9, 2007, Miguel Cotto and Zab Judah treated us to a brutal welterweight war in front of a crowd of 20,658, with mostly Puerto Ricans cheering on their idol.
It took Cotto the first few rounds to figure out the awkward southpaw style of his opponent. Gradually the constant pressure and great body shots of Cotto began to wear Judah down. The Puerto Rican star picked up a cut over his right eye in round four, but he refused to let that slow him down, as he went toe-to-toe with his American opponent in round seven.
Cotto enjoyed great success in round eight, delivering brutal uppercuts and body shots, which hurt Judah on several occasions. The work rate from Cotto was phenomenal throughout, forcing an exhausted Judah to take a knee in round nine. The Puerto Rican fighter landed two more big shots as the round went on, before Judah somehow fired back, buzzing Cotto right on the bell.
Round 10 was a dominant round for the Rhode Island-born fighter wobbling Judah with heavy shots at regular intervals. Round 11 saw the end for Judah as Cotto landed a heavy combination, sending his opponent to the canvas. Despite beating the count, Cotto pounced forcing referee Arthur Mercante Jr. to wave off the fight, sending the thousands of Puerto Ricans in attendance into bedlam, ensuring Judah retained his WBA strap.
