ESPN Boxing

Rafael's remark: There's nothing quite like the atmosphere and excitement of a Cotto fight at hallowed Madison Square Garden on the eve of the annual National Puerto Rican Day parade. It's always a festive scene, and for the fourth time in the past five years, Cotto headlined on the weekend and gave his fans something to cheer about. Most of the heavily Puerto Rican crowd of 17,734 was staunchly in Cotto's corner, cheering wildly for him as he made the first defense of the vacant welterweight belt he picked up with a dominant fifth-round knockout of England's Michael Jennings at the Garden in February.

But this time, Cotto was facing Clottey, a far more dangerous, durable and quality opponent. Clottey is world-class and had given up his own version of the 147-pound crown to make the fight possible rather than face a mandatory challenger for a fraction of the money he made against Cotto. The result was an excellent, high-level HBO fight between two of the best in the star-studded weight class. However, this was no robbery, as some are calling it. Please.

Cotto, two fights removed from his 11th-round knockout loss to Antonio Margarito (whom many believe faced Cotto with loaded hand wraps and cheated his way to victory) last summer, overcame a scenario similar to the one he faced in that fight. Like Margarito, Clottey -- a native of Ghana living in the Bronx (but getting almost no crowd support in his adopted hometown save for a few fans displaying Ghanaian flags up in the nosebleed seats) -- is a rough, physical fighter. The fight played out in a similar fashion to Margarito-Cotto in that Cotto was a bit dominant early until Clottey got rolling in the middle rounds and began imposing himself on Cotto, who was cut and fading slightly. But this time, Cotto hung in there like a champ and was unlikely being hit by a guy with plaster on his fists.

Cotto scored a flash knockdown in the first round, which was worth a valuable extra point on the scorecards, and overcame a brutal gash in his left eyebrow from an accidental head butt in the third round. The blood flowed freely from the cut for most of the rest of the fight and certainly had an impact on Cotto's ability to see Clottey's right hand coming. After the fight, Cotto needed six stitches in a cut below his eye and 14 in the bad one above his eye, according to Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels. Given that adversity, Cotto gets a gold star for showing heart.

Clottey can complain that he was robbed all he wants, and some contrary fans and writers can join the chorus, but the reason he didn't win is because of his own shortcomings, not poor judging. Clottey had ample opportunity to put the fight in the bag, but he did not do it. He let Cotto off the hook, especially late in the fight, but he was posing too much, going long stretches without being active and he simply did not let his hands go against an opponent at a serious disadvantage because of the cut. Cotto, meanwhile, fought all three minutes of the rounds and fought smart. Can't say the same for Clottey, and it cost him dearly.

The win sets the stage for what would undoubtedly be an action-packed fight between Cotto and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao. Top Rank's Bob Arum talked up that fight big-time after Cotto's win, and Pacquiao was ringside. It could happen this fall, but it remains to be seen exactly what will go down, especially in light of the postponement of Floyd Mayweather's comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez because of a training injury. Perhaps Mayweather will try to bypass Marquez and go right to the monster fight against Pacquiao. Either way, there are some big fights in store for the fall.

As for Clottey, he's still one of the best welterweights in the world, and Arum promised him another significant fight. One that he won't get is a rematch with Cotto, not when there are so many other fights fans want to see. But maybe Clottey will get an opportunity against titlist Andre Berto. Maybe even Shane Mosley would fight him if Mosley can't land Pacquiao. Clottey could also move up in weight and look for a fight with Paul Williams, Sergio Martinez or Kermit Cintron, all of which would be interesting bouts worthy of the HBO platform.

Rafael's remark: For the past several years Calderon, a regular on the top-10 pound-for-pound list, has wanted a chance to fight at Madison Square Garden on the eve of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade along with his buddy and 2000 Puerto Rican Olympic teammate Miguel Cotto. He finally got it but had to be a little disappointed in the outcome, as his fight with the Philippines' Mayol was short-circuited because of accidental head butts that left Calderon a bloody mess. At 34, Calderon, the former longtime strawweight champ making his fourth 108-pound title defense, might be slowing down a bit. He was once unhittable, but now he gets tagged a little bit more. He also might have lost a step. But he can still box as well as anyone in the sport. Unfortunately, he didn't have a chance to really get into his groove against Mayol. There was a rough head butt in the fourth round, but in the fifth round, another accidental head clash left Calderon badly cut on his forehead, and yet another bad butt in the round made it worse.

The injury was in a similar location as the bad cut Calderon suffered in his previous fight, a seventh-round technical decision in a rematch with former champ Hugo Cazares.

When they badly clashed heads again in the sixth round, referee Benjy Esteves called time to have ringside physician Dr. Robert Polofsky examine Calderon again. This time he recommended the bout be stopped and Esteves called it off, sending a second consecutive Calderon fight to the scorecards for a technical decision. Although Calderon didn't get the win he hoped for, he did retain his title. When he's healed, promoter Bob Arum would like to put together a rematch. Considering how competitive it was for the five-plus rounds the fight lasted, that is not a bad idea. You have to hope, however, that if it happens again, they can avoid the butts. That seems unlikely because Calderon is a southpaw and the taller, right-handed Mayol seem to have styles tailor-made for accidental head butts.

The outcome was a big disappointment for Mayol, 27, who dropped to 0-2-1 in world title fights. The Manny Pacquiao-promoted contender lost a close decision to then-strawweight titlist Eagle Kyowa in 2006 in Japan and was knocked out by then-junior flyweight titlist Ulises Solis in the eighth round in 2007 in Mayol's only other appearance in the United States.

Rafael's remark: These early professional fights for Korobov are all about learning the pro game. Although the former Russian amateur star -- a two-time world champion and 2008 Olympian -- had no problem with Myers, Korobov went the distance for the first time as a pro, albeit only four rounds. Still, that's part of the learning process, and promoter Top Rank was happy that he got in the rounds. Korobov, 26 -- who has scored some spectacular knockouts in his first few fights -- hit Myers with just about everything, but he was able to withstand the shots. For a guy with virtually no chance to win, you have to give Myers credit for fighting his heart out in the face of certain defeat. Korobov will be back in the ring in just two weeks as manager Cameron Dunkin and Top Rank keep him as busy as possible. He is scheduled to fight June 27 in Atlantic City, N.J., on the undercard of a pay-per-view card headlined by junior featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez's defense against Olivier Lontchi. Korobov likely will have his first scheduled six-rounder on the show.

Rafael's remark: Nicaragua's Palacios, 28, went to Ramirez's Mexican turf and retained his interim 105-pound belt in dominant fashion. That the WBC sanctioned an interim belt in the division in the first place was a travesty when titlist Oleydong Sithsamerchai of Thailand was active, but Palacios won it last summer and has now defended it twice. Finally, there might be a resolution to the disgusting scenario, because Sithsamerchai and Palacios probably will meet in the fall in China on a card Don King is planning there. Palacios is on a tremendous run. He's won 15 in a row since a 2002 split-decision loss to then-strawweight titlist Jose Antonio Aguirre. Ramirez, 27, has lost two of three. In February, he was knocked down four times in a unanimous-decision loss to strawweight titleholder Donnie Nietes.

Rafael's remark: The last time Guerrero was in the ring was in March, when "The Ghost" took a lot of heat for his reaction to a second-round accidental head butt by Daud Yordan, which left Guerrero with a cut over his right eye. Many believe Guerrero simply quit in front of his hometown crowd, causing the fight to be declared a no-contest. Fighting again in his hometown, Guerrero headlined on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," trying to make up for what happened. The former two-time featherweight titlist, fighting as a lightweight for the first time, got the opportunity to show his heart against Hinojosa after suffering another cut. This time it was near his left eye as the result of a seventh-round accidental head butt. By the time Guerrero was cut, he was well ahead of Hinojosa, who was not nearly busy enough to hang with him. Guerrero was much faster, busier and more accurate than Hinojosa. After the eighth round, Hinojosa, who had taken a lot of punishment, was clearly in pain because of an injury to his right arm and referee Dan Snell stopped the fight on the advice of the ringside doctor.

Mexico's Hinojosa, 37, took the fight on a few days' notice after Johnnie Edwards withdrew 10 days before the fight because of a bad back. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, as Hinojosa fell to 1-4 in his past five bouts, including two knockout losses. And that one victory during the stretch? A first-round disqualification win against Jose Reyes in February in which Hinojosa left the ring on a stretcher because Reyes nailed him with an illegal punch to the back of the head.

Next up for Guerrero will be a return to junior lightweight, where he will challenge for a world title against Malcolm Klassen of South Africa on the Aug. 22 HBO card in Houston, which will be headlined by former unified lightweight titleholder Juan Diaz against former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi.

Rafael's remark: Philadelphia's Garcia, 21, a former amateur standout, remained on the fast track as one of boxing's top prospects with an impressive performance in his "Friday Night Fights" debut. Garcia, who just missed making the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, floored Miranda early in the second round with a left-right combination. Miranda tried to hold on after the knockdown, but Garcia got free and knocked him down moments later with a sweeping right hand, and referee Ray Balewicz called it off without a count. Miranda, 21, of Mexico, has now lost three of his past four fights, with each loss in the stretch coming via knockout. It was a much-needed stoppage for Garcia, who had won four consecutive decisions.

Rafael's remark: Former junior welterweight titlist and Cuban defector Hurtado, 36, won his second bout in three months after having just one fight in each of 2007 and 2008 while in semi-retirement. But he's looking to make another run after having been involved in some memorable fights earlier in his career, including an 11th-round knockout loss to then-welterweight champ Pernell Whitaker in a fight Hurtado had dominated, and his 1998 fifth-round knockout loss to the great Kostya Tszyu in a sensational junior welterweight title bout. In April, Hurtado survived a first-round knockout and a nasty cut over his right eye in his return, and claimed a tough split-decision win against Arturo Morua. Facing Garnica in another Telemundo main event, Hurtado won the lopsided decision by using his faster hands to connect more often in a fight that had a lot of rough stuff: head butts, low blows and punching behind the head. Mexico's Garnica dropped to 3-7 in his past 10, mostly facing strong competition. Among those losses were fights against Tim Bradley Jr. (now a junior welterweight titleholder), top prospect Mike Alvarado, top-10 contender Marco Maidana and perennial contender Juan Lazcano, a fight many believed Garnica won.

Rafael's remark: Solis, 29, was a 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist who defected and turned pro along with gold-winning teammates Yuriorkis Gamboa and Yan Barthelemy in April 2007. He's on the fast track and was getting back to work after an unexpected six-month layoff caused by a hand injury as he blew out Alexander, 26, a journeyman opponent who has lost four of his past six with all four losses in the rut inside three rounds. Solis had no problems with him, tracking him down and dropping him twice. The second knockdown sent Alexander to the canvas face-first. Referee Frank Santore didn't need to count before stopping the bout at 2:55 of the round. Solis promoter Arena Box Promotions is in the process of finalizing a co-promotional deal under which Top Rank will become a partner on Solis and Gamboa. The sides met over the weekend in New York, and the deal is expected to be announced in a few days. Assuming it is completed, look for Solis' next fight to come Aug. 15 in Las Vegas on the undercard of Top Rank's pay-per-view card headlined by flyweight titlist Nonito Donaire. Incidentally, Solis faced Alexander having reunited with his former amateur coach, Pedro Diaz.