Jose Torres vs Eddie Cotton

Puerto Rican Jose Torres retained the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council light-heavyweight championships with a unanimous 15-round decision over Eddie Cotton at the Las Vegas Convention Center on August 15, 1966, but the verdict brought loud disapproval from much of the announced crowd of 4,300. Torres, making the second defence of the title he had taken from Willie Pastrano the previous year, weighed 173 pounds. Cotton was listed at 174 and, at 40 years of age, entered as a 7-to-2 outsider. The challenger’s record contained 52 victories, 21 defeats, and two draws, figures that reflected a long career spent against many of the better light-heavyweights of his era. Torres, nine years younger and generally considered the faster and harder puncher, was expected to have matters largely his own way. The contest instead developed into one of the most difficult of his championship reign.

Torres began in his usual compact crouch, carrying both gloves high and seeking to work his way into range behind head movement. His left hook to the body was the principal weapon during the opening rounds. Cotton stood more upright, used his jab and attempted to catch the champion as he came forward. Torres appeared to land the heavier blows in the first two rounds and continued to attack the ribs in the third, but Cotton’s jab was already interfering with his approach. The challenger was not merely retreating. He pressed at intervals, pushed Torres backwards and used short uppercuts when the champion came close. Cotton’s defence also proved sound, with many of Torres’s wider punches taken on the gloves or shoulders. An accidental low blow from Cotton interrupted the fourth round, after which Torres resumed his body attack. Cotton answered by forcing him towards the ropes and getting the better of a prolonged exchange before the bell.

The fifth was quieter, but Cotton continued to score with the jab while Torres appeared less energetic than he had at the start. A cut began to open near Cotton’s left eye, though it did not greatly affect his work. The challenger struck to the body and exchanged heavily with Torres near the close. In the sixth, Cotton landed a hard right which damaged the champion’s nose and brought blood. Torres was plainly troubled and, for the first time, Cotton’s greater success was reflected in the mood of the crowd. Torres tried to recover behind his own jab in the seventh, producing a more even round, but Cotton remained difficult to dislodge and continued to find the champion’s face. The eighth brought further body work from both men. Cotton narrowly avoided another low-blow infringement, while Torres landed a useful left to the jaw and enjoyed one of his better rounds since the early stages.

Torres regained ground in the ninth when a combination staggered Cotton and several strong punches followed. The champion appeared to have recovered his strength, but Cotton reversed the pattern in the tenth by again pressing forward and forcing exchanges. There was another low punch from the challenger, though Torres answered with a firm left hand. Cotton’s counter-punching was particularly effective in the 11th. A heavy right struck Torres on the already injured nose, and Cotton followed with repeated jabs as the champion bled. Torres responded strongly in the 12th, landing three right hands in succession, only for Cotton to counter and momentarily check him. The rounds had become close and physically draining, with Torres supplying the heavier individual blows but Cotton maintaining steadier pressure and more accurate straight punches.

Cotton made another determined attack in the 13th, throwing in combinations and drawing increasing support from the spectators. By then, the challenger had completely altered the expectations of the contest. He was no longer regarded as an ageing contender attempting merely to last the distance, but as a man with a genuine chance of taking the championship. Both fighters were tired entering the 14th, yet they continued to exchange at a severe pace. Cotton pressed and Torres answered to the body and head. The round ended 20 seconds early due to a timekeeping error, an incident that later became central to Cotton’s protest. With so little separating the men, the missing time carried obvious importance, particularly as Cotton believed he had been finishing the round strongly.

Torres attacked urgently in the 15th. He concentrated again on Cotton’s body, landed a right hand and followed with another left hook downstairs. Cotton, exhausted but still upright, continued to answer. Neither man was knocked down, and both remained engaged until the final bell. Torres appeared badly fatigued during his post-fight interview, while Cotton had absorbed considerable punishment around the eye and body. The closing round belonged more clearly to the champion than several of those immediately before it, but it did not remove the uncertainty created by Cotton’s work through the middle and later stages.

Referee Nat Torres scored the contest 70-67 for the champion. Judges Ron Amos and Mike Petrovich also favoured Torres, by 69-67 and 68-67 respectively, producing a unanimous decision under the five-point must system. The Associated Press fought even at 69-69, while United Press International scored it 70-67 for Torres. Two Las Vegas Sun writers also favoured the champion, though by differing margins. The official announcement was greeted with boos, Cotton receiving much of the applause while Torres retained his belts. The verdict was not beyond defence, for Torres had landed the harder blows in several rounds and finished strongly, but Cotton’s jab, counter-punching and late pressure persuaded many observers that he had at least earned a draw.

Cotton subsequently asked that the result be changed to a no contest because of the shortened 14th round. The Nevada State Athletic Commission and the WBA rejected the protest. A petition containing 3,972 names was later sent to Senator Warren Magnuson of Cotton’s home state of Washington, but the result remained unchanged. Whatever argument surrounded the scoring, the quality of the contest was widely acknowledged. The Ring selected Torres-Cotton as its Fight of the Year for 1966. Torres had retained the championship, but Cotton had made him fight for every portion of it and had come closer than the official unanimity suggested to ending the Puerto Rican’s reign.

Eddie Cotton was 40 and written off at 7-to-2, but he gave Jose Torres one of the hardest nights of his championship reign. Cotton’s jab, short counters and steady pressure unsettled the younger man, while Torres relied on the heavier body punching and a strong final round.

I thought Cotton did enough to earn at least a draw. The unanimous verdict flattered Torres, and the boos from the Las Vegas crowd told the story. The 14th round ending 20 seconds early only added to the bad feeling.

Torres was an excellent champion, but Cotton made him look ordinary for long spells. It was a superb old professional’s performance, and the official result never properly reflected how close he came.