--NEW YORK Miguel Cotto destroyed Daniel Geale in his first defense of the WBC middleweight title at the Barclays Center, and silenced doubters that he was big enough to compete against natural 160-pound fighters, with a fourth-round knockout victory that will set up major pay-per-view fights in the future.
Geale reportedly weighed 182 pounds in street clothes before a fight after making a 157-pound catch weight on Friday, but it mattered little when Cotto caught him flush with a left hook in Round 4 that signaled his demise. Geale rose but was woozy, and was finished shortly after Cotto put him down for a second time.
Geale was visibly much larger in the ring, but he did not use his size to bully Cotto. Geale, known as a mobile fighter, was trying to move with Cotto, but the champion had more bounce, and a greater game plan. Cotto's famed left hook to the body made itself present early, and he did not abandon his body attack even though he was having success upstairs as well.
Geale's hands slowly drifted down to protect the body, and that's when Cotto cracked him up top with a left hook on the jaw. Geale was finally stopped in the midst of a hail of fire to the body and head.
Gennady Golovkin, the WBA and IBO middleweight champion who has knocked out 20 straight opponents was in attendance, but he will probably have to wait until 2016 to be considered for a unification bout. Cotto is expected to take on Canelo Alvarez in his next fight; the winner of that fight will likely have to guarantee Golovkin their next fight for the WBC to sanction the bout.
Undercard Results
Brooklyn native Junior Younan (7-0-0, 6 KO) made quick work of Mike Sawyer (6-4-0, 4 KO) with a 2nd-round TKO in a light heavyweight bout scheduled for six rounds. Younan knocked Sawyer down once in the first round, and again in the second before the fight was stopped with 32 seconds remaining in the round.
Zhang "Big Bang" Zhilei (4-0-0, 3 KO), a 2008 silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics, defeated Glenn "Gingerbread Man" Thomas (1-4-0) by a wide unanimous decision in a four-round heavyweight fight. Zhilei knocked Thomas down three times, but couldn't stop him and please a booing Brooklyn crowd. The ringside judges scored the bout 40-33 for Zhilei, as did SWN.
Fernando Vargas (30-9-3, 20 KO) defeated Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (24-5-1, 19 KO) by unanimous decision in an eight-round featherweight bout. The ringside judges scored the bout 79-73, 78-74, 77-75 for Vargas, while SWN scored it 77-75 in favor of Vargas.
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