On December 2nd on HBO, Miguel Cotto (41-5, 33 KOs) will have the final fight of his career against Sadam Ali (25-1, 14 KOs), a former welterweight moving up to junior middleweight to challenge the Puerto Rican legend. And although this wasn’t the fight most wanted for Cotto’s final outing, there’s still expectations that this fight performs well in Cotto’s adopted hometown of New York City.
To make the first formal announcement of the HBO card, Golden Boy held a press conference to discuss the fight, which can be seen in full above, courtesy of FightHub TV.
“What can you say about Miguel Cotto that hasn’t already been said,” mentions Oscar De La Hoya. “Two decades in boxing. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer, like I said, he’s a true legend in Puerto Rico, New York, and beyond. And a true credit to the sport of boxing. He’s a six-time champion in four divisions — the only Puerto Rican fighter who’s a four division world champion and he’s fought the very best...”
Then, when it was Ali’s turn at the podium, he offered these thoughts:
“I know I’m the underdog and I know a lot of the media are throwing bad words on me but, m, if you work hard, you put your mind to it, and you come at your best, you never know what’s gonna come...I know if I want to win I have to come 100%, I have to fight smart. Cotto has that tremendous power and you know, that’s why a lot of people think that I’m gonna be a walk-over. But I’m gonna fight smart, that’s the most important thing - is fighting smart and not getting hit with that shot...”
Cotto took to microphone last and shared these words on what is expected to be his final outing:
“All I can say is that I’m going to LA tonight to start my training camp. I’m going to do my best with Freddie [Roach], as always, and I’ll be back in November, here, to face Sadam on December 2nd. And I know that he’s going to do his best at his camp, I’m going to do the best at my camp and we are going to bring a good show here on December 2nd.”