BERT SUGAR POST-FIGHT ANALYSIS

No tonic, however popular and well-advertised, could have the reviving affect on the sport of boxing as a good ol'-fashion slugfest. And for all those naysayers and tea-leaf readers who continually ask the question "Can Boxing Be Saved?" we give them the Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah fight last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

by Bert Sugar

For there, in front of a sellout crowd of 20,658 fans, many of whom were waving the red-white-and-blue flags of Puerto Rico and cheering with all the joy of kids at a picnic, their hero Miguel Cotto chopped down former three-time champion Zab Judah at 49 seconds of the 11th round.

But from the look of Cotto's face, which had the appearance of having finished second to a meat grinder, you knew it hadn't been easy--his eye cut and his lip posing as a ripe plum as evidence. For the better part of seven rounds it had been a two-sided fight as Judah, not to coin a phrase, having come to fight, stunned Cotto at least three times, beginning in the first round when he caught the incoming Cotto with a bodacious left uppercut leaving Cotto somewhat the worse for wear.

However, there are certain danger signals to be as strictly observed as railroad crossings. And one of those is the sight of seeing Miguel Cotto bearing down on you. As the bivouacked Judah stood there, trying valiantly to match Cotto firepower for firepower, Cotto continued to pressure Judah, landing everywhere and anywhere he could--twice landing South of la-isla Puerto Rico, leaving Judah writhing on the canvas in pain.

By the seventh it was evident that Cotto was cutting down Judah as he would a tree, with Judah hopelessly polite in returning Cotto's firepower with any of his own. In the ninth Judah took a knee near his own corner, a beaten fighter. He would last another round and 49 seconds exhibiting an infinite capacity for taking hurt and a warrior's heart. But it was to no avail as Cotto floored him with a right-left-right in the opening seconds of the 11th and then, as he rained punch-after-punch on the beaten form of what once had been a proud Judah, referee Arthur Mercante Jr. mercifully stepped in to say enough was enough.

As the Garden exploded in jubilation, Miguel Cotto stood center ring, arms raised, bathing in their cheers, the new hero of Puerto Rico. And maybe boxing. How far he goes will depend on his future match-ups--which include the likes of Antonio Margarito, Sugar Shane Mosley, and maybe even Floyd Mayweather Jr. But for now he has left his calling card for future greatness and stands on his record of 30-and-0 with 25 knockouts.

For those who may have missed the coming-out party of this potential new superstar HBO will re-air the Cotto-Judah fight this coming Saturday night. Then you can judge for yourself whether he has the goods to go on and become that superstar. But it will take no giant intellectual balloon ascension to see that Miguel Cotto is, as they say, "the goods."