17 years ago

Date: 3rd March 2007

Venue: Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Title: WBA World Welterweight Title

Promoter: Top Rank

Tv: HBO World Championship Boxing

Miguel Cotto
( 28 - 0 - 0 )
Weight: 147 lbs

Oktay Urkal
( 38 - 3 - 0 )
Weight: 146 lbs

On Saturday, December 2nd, 2006, the WBA World Welterweight Title bout between Miguel Cotto and Oktay Urkal took place at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The match, promoted by Top Rank and aired on HBO World Championship Boxing, saw Cotto, hailing from Caguas, Puerto Rico, with a record of 28-0-0, making his first title defense against the challenger Urkal from Hamburg, Germany, with a record of 38-3-0. Cotto weighed in at 147 lbs and Urkal at 146 lbs.

The fight began with both boxers having their own successes but it was Cotto who ultimately imposed his will throughout the contest. In the fifth round, however, an accidental headbutt caused Cotto to suffer a cut over his left eye. Despite this setback, Cotto continued to dominate the fight.

Urkal's head-down style led to him being deducted a point for headbutts in the seventh round. As the fight progressed into the eleventh round, Urkal was once again penalized for headbutts. This time, Urkal's trainer, Ulli Wegner, made the decision to throw in the towel, resulting in a TKO victory for Cotto at 1:01 of the eleventh round.

Wegner's decision to stop the fight came under scrutiny, as he claimed that he had done so due to unfair refereeing by Luis Pabón. He felt that Pabón had been overly harsh in penalizing Urkal for the headbutts and that this had ultimately affected the outcome of the bout.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the conclusion of the fight, Cotto successfully defended his WBA World Welterweight Title in this mandatory defense. For Urkal, this bout marked the end of his professional boxing career, with the skilled German fighter deciding to hang up his gloves for good.