Miguel Cotto vs Joshua Clottey

On Saturday, 13th June 2009, Madison Square Garden in New York City played host to a thrilling WBO World Welterweight Title bout between Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey, originally from Accra, Ghana but now residing in the Bronx, New York. The event was promoted by Top Rank and aired on HBO World Championship Boxing. Miguel Cotto (33-1-0) entered the ring as the #2 welterweight and #7 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, according to The Ring Magazine, while Joshua Clottey (35-2-0) was ranked as the #4 welterweight, despite being a near 3-1 underdog.

The fight was highly competitive throughout the 12-rounds. Cotto weighed in at 146 lbs and Clottey at 147 lbs. The match was officiated by referee Arthur Mercante Jr.

Miguel Cotto emerged victorious by a split decision, with judges John McKaie scoring the fight 115-112 and Don Trella scoring it 116-111 in favor of Cotto, while Tom Miller scored the bout 113-114 in favor of Clottey. The win marked Cotto's first successful title defense of his WBO World Welterweight Title.

In the lead-up to the fight, Clottey was stripped of his IBF Welterweight Title for failing to fight his mandatory challenger, Isaac Hlatshwayo. Clottey blamed Cotto for not filing the proper paperwork with the IBF in the allowed time, which could have allowed the fight to be a unification bout.