Miguel Cotto vs Sadam Ali

On Saturday, December 2nd, 2017, boxing fans gathered at Madison Square Garden, New York, to witness a historic fight between six-time world champion Miguel Cotto and challenger Sadam Ali. The event, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, featured the WBO World Super-welterweight Title on the line, with Cotto defending his title for the first time. Referee Charlie Fitch presided over the fight, which aired on HBO World Championship Boxing.

Miguel Cotto, hailing from Caguas, Puerto Rico, came into the fight with a record of 41-5-0, while Sadam Ali, a native of Brooklyn, New York, held a record of 25-1-0. The fighters weighed in at 151½ lbs for Cotto and 153 lbs for Ali. The bout was billed as Miguel Cotto's last fight before retiring from the sport.

In a surprising turn of events, Sadam Ali defeated Miguel Cotto with a unanimous decision by the judges. Julie Lederman scored the fight 113-115, Eric Marlinski 112-116, and Steve Weisfeld 113-115 in favor of Ali. Both fighters earned a significant payday, with Ali taking home $600,000 and Cotto earning $750,000.

During the fight, Miguel Cotto suffered an injury to his left bicep in the 7th round, which he later revealed in a post-fight quote. Despite this setback, Cotto refused to make excuses for his loss, stating, "I'm feeling good with the performance. Something happened to my left bicep but I don't want to make excuses, Sadam won the fight."

As a farewell to the boxing world, the event concluded with a screen displaying the message, "Thank You For The Memories 2001-2017." Miguel Cotto graciously thanked his fans, adding, "Thank you fans for supporting me at every moment. I am so glad to call Madison Square Garden my home."