Cotto dominated the fight from the very first round as he finds an easy target in Geale who failed to score even a round in the four-round skirmish.
Despite his being an orthodox fighter, Cotto was landing solid lefts on the face and body of Geale starting off in the first round. Aware of his initial success with his left hand which landed on targets, Cotto continued throwing his left and scoring points in the rounds.
In round three, Cotto started with left and right combinations mostly finding his targets with few responses from Geale as they trade punches. Cotto landed a power right early in the round but he finished the round with more left straights and hooks.
In the fourth round, Cotto used his left to put Geale down for the first time. Geale was up at nine but was visibly wobbly and hurt. Cotto followed up with a barrage of left and right combos as Geale went down again prompting the referee to stop the fight following a signal from Geale that he already had enough.
It was Cotto’s third straight win since he lost to Austin Trout in 2012. Cotto was fresh off a dominating win against Sergio Martinez before facing Geale.
“I was going to throw the left hand, and as I threw it he put his right hand down and boom,” said Cotto in an interview after the fight.
Geale for his part said that the catch weight may have something to do with his loss saying he has always struggled at 160.
“I’m so disappointed,” Geale said. “It went too fast and I’m extremely disappointed. I think the weight had an effect for sure, but that’s boxing. I signed the contract. I have always struggled to make 160, so this was obviously much tougher,” he added.
Golden Boy Promotions owner Oscar de la Hoya, who was at ringside during the fight said that fans will be treated to an action-packed fight as he starts putting together a major fight card for Cotto and Canelo Alvarez.
“It’s the biggest fight to be made now,” said Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya, Alvarez’s promoter, who was ringside. “Cotto was very impressive. He took [Geale out]. The fight between Cotto and Canelo is huge.
“It’s the biggest fight in boxing after [Floyd] Mayweather-[Manny] Pacquiao. But the difference is that with Cotto-Canelo, you are guaranteed action.”
After the fight Cotto praised his trainer Freddie Roach for his third win under him.
“Freddie is a humble, beautiful guy who always comes with his best trying to get the best from you,” Cotto said. “Having that [kind of trainer] has made me better every day,” Cotto said.
With his win, Cotto has improved his record to 40-4-0 while Geale dropped to 31-4-0.
