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Boxing:

Five key moments from Mayweather-Cotto

Image

Steve Marcus

WBA super welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, left, of Puerto Rico and Floyd Mayweather Jr. during their title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday, May 5, 2012.

After Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s Cinco de Mayo defeat over Miguel Cotto on Saturday for the WBA super welterweight title, the focus on Mayweather will now turn to his impending three-month jail term for domestic battery and the age-old question of whether a fight between him and Manny Pacquiao will ever happen.

But first things first: Here’s a look back at five key moments from Saturday’s fight.

1. In the second round, Cotto pressured Mayweather into the corner and began throwing heavy blows that drew cheers from the pro-Cotto crowd. But looks were deceiving. Replays showed that Mayweather blocked, slipped or dodged most of the blows and countered with a number of effective punches. The same pattern played out several times during the early rounds — Cotto steering Mayweather into the corner, only to get outpunched by the challenger.

2. Fighting in the middle of the ring in the fourth round, Mayweather tagged Cotto with several sweeping right hands to the side of the head. Although Mayweather ended the round with blood coming from his nose, he finished the first third of the night with an edge in punches landed.

3. In round six, Cotto changed tactics and quit trying to press Mayweather into the ropes. The move appeared to take Mayweather out of his game — at least momentarily. Cotto landed several clean punches over the next two rounds, and Mayweather continued to bleed.

4. Mayweather landed a powerful straight right to start round 10, then mixed in an effective left uppercut to begin a dominant performance in the final three rounds.

5. Mayweather put the finishing touch on his victory with about 50 seconds left, when he caught Cotto with a bomb of a right hook, then followed with a left uppercut that dazed the champion. Cotto recovered, but the fight was over.

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UFC 158
Nick Diaz fails to back up years worth of talk

UFC 158 A welterweight title fight that felt incredibly different wound up remarkably the same. Georges St. Pierre manhandled nemesis Nick Diaz with his wrestling. St. Pierre won every round on every judges' scorecard in Montreal for his sixth straight unanimous-decision victory. Diaz had preached his superiority over St. Pierre for years, but when he finally got his chance, he looked as helpless as all the other challengers to the 170-pound division's throne in the last six years. St. Pierre's consistency continued to amaze. Now it's on to Johny Hendricks, who defeated Carlos Condit in the evening's co-main event. Could he be the one to finally threaten St. Pierre?

Main Card Results
WinnerLoserMethod
Georges St. PierreNick DiazUnanimous Decision
Johny HendricksCarlos ConditUnanimous Decision
Jake EllenbergerNate MarquardtKnockout
Chris CamozziNick RingSplit Decision
Mike RicciColin FletcherUnanimous Decision

Fight Schedule
DateEventHeadlining MatchLocation
May 3 NABF Super Featherweight Title Francisco Vargas vs. Jose Aguiniga Las Vegas: The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan
May 4 WBC Welterweight Title Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero Las Vegas: MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 18 UFC on FX 8 Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold Jaragua, Brazil
May 25 UFC 160 Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva Las Vegas: MGM Grand Garden Arena
June 8 UFC on FUEL TV 10 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum Fortaleza, Brazil
June 15 UFC 161 Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 22 WBA Welterweight Title Paulie Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner Brooklyn, N.Y.

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