Miguel Cotto, the boxing pride of Puerto Rico, triumphantly returned to the ring on Saturday by annihilating Delvin Rodriguez of the Dominican Republic and knocking him out in the third round and possibly setting him up for a return match with the undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
"It feels good to win and be able to do it in front of a wonderful crowd," Cotto said to ESPN. "I thought I hit him with some good shots early and I was able to get the stop."
In his first fight with new trainer Freddie Roach, the same man who molded eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao, Cotto showed a more aggressive side by firing off left hooks to the body of Rodriguez. He continued his flurry in the second round then finished off his opponent with a combination of head shots that put the Dominican Republic star into the canvas with just 18 seconds into the third round.
With his impressive win, Cotto improved his record to 38 wins and 4 losses with 31 knockouts. It also resurrected his career which appeared going nowhere after losing badly to Austin Trout last December.
The next question now would be whom Cotto would face next, and Roach indicated that his new ward would like to get a rematch with the unbeaten Mayweather who outpointed him in May 2012.
"Miguel told me that if he were in the shape that he's in right now he would have won that fight," Roach said. "So I'm sure he would definitely welcome a rematch."
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