LAS VEGAS // Miguel Cotto, the Puerto Rican super-welterweight, stopped his Nicaraguan challenger Ricardo Mayorga in the 12th and final round to retain his WBA belt.
The end of the contest came when Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs), who was well ahead on the judges' scorecards, caught Mayorga with a short left hook that sent the challenger staggering backward and down on one knee.
Mayorga beat the count but a follow-up barrage backed him into a corner, where he draped his arms on the ropes and signalled to Robert Byrd, the referee, that he had had enough and the official stopped the contest.
"It was a really good fight with an amazing finish," Cotto said. "He is a very strong fighter.
"He hit me with some really good shots."
Mayorga claimed that during the exchange of punches that resulted in his knock-down, he took a painful blow to his left thumb.
"I felt my thumb touch the back of my hand," he said.
"I tried to finish the final round but the pain was too much. I don't care about my thumb. I didn't want it to end like that. I tried to close my fist, but I couldn't."
Mayorga, (29-8-1, 23 KOs), a former welterweight champion, knew that his best chance of victory was to goad the more skilful Cotto into a brawl. On several occasions, he screamed at his opponent to stand and trade punches.
Cotto, however, stuck with his game plan of boxing behind a stiff left-jab and left-hooks, unleashing flurries and then moving out of range. By the ninth round, Mayorga's right eye was swollen almost shut by the champion's effective left hand.
Mayorga did have his moments, particularly in the seventh-round, when he was able to catch Cotto with several hard punches that threatened to turn the momentum of the fight.
"As a man, I have to admit when I do well and when I do not do so well," Mayorga said. "Give Cotto credit. He hits hard and is a great champion."
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
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Honeymoonish
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
FIGHT%20CARD
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
