Though he lost a close decision to Miguel Cotto on Saturday, welterweight Joshua Clottey's stock may have raised more than the victor's did. (via d.yimg.com)

View full size photo »

Welterweight contender Joshua Clottey came out the loser in a close, rugged fight with Miguel Cotto on Saturday night, but there's a good chance his stock went up a lot higher than that of the victor.

Clottey (35-3, 20 KO) has lost three fights in his career. The first was an 11th round DQ against Carlos Baldomir, a fight which Clottey led on all scorecards at the time of the stoppage. The second was a gritty defeat against Antonio Margarito in 2006, a fight now questioned, as many of Margarito's fights will always be. The third came Saturday, a split decision against the world's second-best (at worst) welterweight.

Yes, I think Cotto deserved a close victory, but Clottey's defenders have their arguments, and they're good ones, too. The main knock on Clottey came from a business standpoint: He had no name. There was no money in a fight with Clottey, who had proven to be a dangerous opponent against Margarito. After he demolished Diego Corrales in a 149-pound catchweight fight in 2007, he took lopsided victories over Felix Flores, Shamone Alvarez and Jose Luis Cruz. He fought those men in large part because no one wanted to fight him.

Last August, he beat Zab Judah, giving him the "big win" he badly needed. It also gave him an alphabet title to use for negotiation. Though many of us feel these trinkets are more ceremonial or flat-out horse pucky than anything legitimate, they do make a difference for the fighters, and mean something to most of them. He gave up that title to fight fellow Top Rank pugilist Cotto.

The official decision didn't go Clottey's way, but while he had respect among the diehards before, it's now 110% obvious that this is a guy not to take lightly. He gave Cotto all he could handle. Yeah, there were oddities -- Cotto's vision being blurred thanks to a nasty cut from an accidental headbutt, Clottey's knee getting banged on a slip/shove, etc. -- but those things happen in fights. And even before the cut, his defense was proving to be a handful for Cotto, who struggled to crack Clottey's wall.

A rematch would be welcome for most, and I'm assuming Clottey wants it very badly. Cotto will probably be able to find a fight that makes him more money, maybe even against Manny Pacquiao, another Top Rank fighter. Pacquiao-Cotto would pit Top Rank's two biggest cash cows against one another, which is win-win-win-win-win for Bob Arum.

But Clottey? One way to look at it is that he showed everyone just how good he is, and now nobody will want to fight him all over again. He may have to take a stay-busy fight next, but the Cotto fight did nothing but good things for his career. Many feel he won, and now HBO has had him in a main event where he showed his skills and proved he's one of the world's best welterweight fighters.

The biggest problem he'll have now is simple: Welterweight isn't as deep as HBO or a lot of other folks pretend. Including Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in the welterweight picture isn't realistic, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn't going to fight Clottey, so that's three guys down. Mosley wants "big fights," and Clottey probably doesn't qualify. Cotto will be looking for Pacquiao. Who's left? Lou DiBella isn't going to put Andre Berto in with him, and if they want Berto to keep that WBC title and his unbeaten record, I'd say they're better off that way. Paul Williams says he can still make 147, but would Clottey be attractive enough? Judah likely won't want him again. All the name fighters at 147 have been discussed now.

He's more of a name now than he was Friday, though, and that's the good thing. If Top Rank gets behind him and really pushes him, they've got a hell of a boxer on their hands, and a guy that deserves their support.

Miguel Cotto won a rough, gritty and tremendous fight over Joshua Clottey at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. (via d.yimg.com)

View full size photo »

Quick Update: 48-year old Ray Mercer knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in 10 seconds with a right hand. Good for you, Papa Ray.

Miguel Cotto overcame a nasty cut that came from an accidental headbutt and wound up outpointing Joshua Clottey over 12 rounds at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, winning a split decision to keep his WBA welterweight title in a gritty, outstanding fight.

Cotto (34-1, 27 KO) won on scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 113-114. Bad Left Hook scored it 114-113 for Cotto on the strength of a first round knockdown more than just about anything else.

Clottey (35-3, 20 KO) feels he was robbed, and by CompuBox numbers he vastly outlanded Cotto. If there is money in a rematch, I wouldn't be surprised to see one made. Top Rank controls both fighters and it's assumedly fairly easy to make happen. But if Cotto is in line to fight Manny Pacquiao in October, Cotto-Clottey II would be delayed at the very least.

It's not controversial, I don't think, that Cotto won the fight. What is bothersome is the 116-111 card from judge Don Trella, which it seems no one feels is defensible. Frankly speaking, I felt it was an absolutely awful card.

The fight had some strange moments. The accidental headbutt happens, but there was a debatable slip by Clottey in the corner that could be seen as more of a Cotto throw/shove, and in the 12th round Clottey was hit behind the head and complained of a low blow. Cotto has certainly had his questionable moments in the past, and tonight doesn't do anything to change that reputation.

Clottey will likely find it no easier to land a big fight now than he did before tonight. He fought hard, many will feel he won, and he gave Cotto all he could handle. He's still not a big star, still provides more risk than reward, and is a tough nut to crack. He showed an excellent defense through most of the fight, outlanded Cotto, and proved out as a top welterweight to be sure.

Cotto may be in line for a huge payday. If he doens't get Pacquiao, a rematch with Shane Mosley seems natural. Whether it happens or not is another matter, but it makes sense.

On the undercard, junior flyweight champion Ivan Calderon drew with Filipino Rodel Mayol after six rounds when the fight was stopped due to a cut caused by an accidental headbutt that opened up an old cut on Calderon. That cut might prove to be the difference in the aging Calderon's career.

We'll have more tomorrow.

Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey meet this Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and the dominoes will fall after they're done. (via www.boxnews.com.ua)

View full size photo »

I'll tally up the Berto-Urango card picks on Monday with this card, so fear not, your picks are not lost or anything.

Miguel Cotto v. Joshua Clottey (HBO, Saturday - Welterweights, 12 Rounds - Cotto's WBO title on the line)

Cotto (33-1, 27 KO) and Clottey (35-2, 20 KO) are two top five welterweights, and while Clottey's lack of name power and overall danger has been a problem getting him good fights in the last couple years, this is a big fight. Madison Square Garden has had great advance sales and the building will be rocking on the weekend of New York City's annual Puerto Rican Day parade.

I've said a few times that I simply don't think Clottey is good enough or skilled enough to beat Cotto. His strengths are a great chin and really good defense. He's not too quick, not a big puncher, and is prone to bouts of inactivity and has some stamina issues.

I think Clottey could beat Cotto, but it would require Joshua's best night and an off-night from Cotto, and I don't see it happening. Miguel is on the verge of a potential huge money fight with Manny Pacquiao should he win, and at the least could find himself lined up for a big rematch with Shane Mosley.

But if Clottey wins, what happens then? Cotto wouldn't be a big money option, and would Clottey really be one? Mosley might fight him if he can't find anything else, but who else would? He would definitely not be worth the risk for Pacquiao or the Mayweather-Marquez winner. In short, a Clottey win gums up a whole lot of peoples' best-laid plans.

Cotto should be given respect for taking this fight, too. It seems like a no-brainer fight on the surface: Top five welter, Cotto needs a good win right now, and they're both promoted by Top Rank. But boxing doesn't always work with no brainers; more often, it works with no brains. Cotto has shown guts fighting Clottey. No one else was knocking down his door, even with Clottey holding the IBF title (which he's vacated to take this fight).

But when it comes down to the matchup, I love this one for Cotto if training camp went well after the rocky start with his now-fired uncle Evangelista. If he's prepared, he'll march to a wide decision over Clottey, who just doesn't have enough firepower. Cotto UD-12

Miguel Cotto (left) says training camp with new lead second Joe Santiago is going very well for his June 13 fight with Joshua Clottey. (Photo by Francisco Guzman)

View full size photo »

Miguel Cotto told Primera Hora (via BoxingScene.com) that training camp under new lead trainer Joe Santiago is going well, and he briefly discussed the situation with his ousted uncle/ex-trainer, Evangelista.

Cotto said he has not spoken with Evangelista since the physical altercation between the two that led to Evangelista going to the hospital, Cotto receiving a cut on his nose, and a brick going through the window of the fighter's Jaguar. Santiago has been with Team Cotto for a while, and was an easy replacement. Well, "easy" might not be the word, but it sounds like the transition has been pretty seamless.

Cotto (33-1, 27 KO) returned to the ring in February with a dominant stoppage of Michael Jennings, seven months after his now-debated loss to Antonio Margarito. His June 13 opponent, Joshua Clottey (35-2, 20 KO), has been out of the ring since beating Zab Judah by technical decision last August. He will have been out of the ring for 10 and a half months by the time fight night with Cotto at Madison Square Garden rolls around.

Cotto-Clottey is sort of flying under the radar right now as the boxing world focuses on Hatton-Pacquiao, plus the rumors surrounding Mayweather-Marquez and the great press brush-ups between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye, but it's one of the biggest and best fights on the schedule right now. Should Pacquiao and Cotto win their upcoming fights, a lot of signs are pointing to Bob Arum matching his two best fighters (as it stands right now) against one another, perhaps in November.

The long-known, often-discussed rocky relationship between Miguel Cotto and his trainer/uncle Evangelista reached its boiling point during training camp in Puerto Rico, and it would seem that there's no other way at this point but for the two of them to end their working relationship.

According to Primera Hora (by way of BoxingScene.com) the Cottos had a nasty verbal dispute in the gym, which led to Evangelista attacking Miguel, who defended himself by throwing punches back. Miguel left the gym and returned to his apartment, but the tensions didn't end there.

Evangelista reportedly followed Miguel home and threw a cement block at the fighter. It missed Miguel but went through the window of his new Jaguar, said the police. During the scuffling, Miguel suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose.

Miguel and Evangelista were in camp preparing to fight Joshua Clottey on June 13. There is nothing about this that's good, but strictly from a professional standpoint it's certainly bad for Cotto that he likely will need to find a new trainer for a big, tough fight that's just nine weeks away.

These two have had their disagreements and their turbulences over the years, but this is clearly over the line for any trainer/fighter pairing, let alone a family situation. Here's hoping the two can resolve their differences, but even if they do it's probably better that they stop working together.

From Dan Rafael's Notebook:

Although no deal is signed, Miguel Cotto's June 13 fight at Madison Square Garden on the eve of New York's annual Puerto Rican Day parade probably will be a welterweight unification bout with New York's Joshua Clottey, Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters, told ESPN.com. "It'll be Clottey," he said. "It's the logical fight to do. Clottey wants the fight very badly and Miguel says fine. We still have come to terms with both fighters, but we'll get it done."

Arum says HBO passed on Cotto-Cintron (good call, HBO) and that Andre Berto also fell out of the running. With no other suitable options and Miguel Cotto not willing to go fight a suspended boxer in Mexico City, that kind of left Clottey. I don't buy that anyone suddenly took a great interest in promoting Clottey properly, even though he deserves it.

By the time this fight rolls around, Clottey will have been off for 10 months, while Cotto will have had a tune-up fight four months prior. It all favors Cotto. I also think it's a good matchup but that you cannot deny Cotto has to be the heavy favorite.

If Clottey were to beat Cotto, it would really screw up a lot of plans that seem to be at least somewhat in motion, particularly Pacquiao-Cotto later in 2009. This lone fight is unlikely to make Clottey a star, but he deserves the shot and I'm glad HBO is willing to work out a deal for this and not go with the pandering Cotto-Cintron matchup, which is predictable as all get-out on paper. Clottey has a real shot, and it should be a good fight.

Rafael also notes that Andre Berto will be back on a May 30 edition of Boxing After Dark.

According to Dan Rafael's Notebook, the postponed rematch between Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver has been rescheduled for May 9. The fight was originally scheduled for March 14, but delayed due to a minor hand injury suffered by Dawson in training. They could put this fight on any day and it's no more interesting than it was when originally announced.

Also from Rafael's notes:

• Chris Arreola will likely face Jameel McCline on April 11. McCline, though big, is no threat to a guy as ferocious as Arreola. "The Nightmare" will likely just overwhelm him due to aggressiveness. I can already see McCline backing down, trying to cover up while Arreola throws massive right haymakers.
• Miguel Cotto will be back on June 13, as expected. He'll face either Joshua Clottey (my choice), Kermit Cintron or Andre Berto. He'd destroy Cintron.
• Showtime has agreed to televise Lamont Peterson-Willy Blain as the featured undercard bout on April 4, beneath the Bradley-Holt junior welterweight title unification. Details are being finalized with the camp for Blain (20-0, 3 KO).
• The Cesar Canchila-Giovanni Segura rematch will happen on March 14, not on the Tijuana Thunder PPV on March 28. The rematch also means Ivan Calderon is back to looking for an opponent. As much as I want Calderon to face a good opponent, Canchila-Segura definitely deserves a rematch.
• Alexander Povetkin will return to the ring on April 4 against ex-U.S. Olympian and powerless heavyweight Jason "Big Six" Estrada. Estrada talks a pretty good game and has talent, but Povetkin is in another class.