Ricardo Mayorga hung with Miguel Cotto for 11 rounds of their bout Saturday evening in Las Vegas before succumbing in the 12th. The Nicaraguan mauler gave Cotto everything he had but got his hand caught as the fighters exchanged hooks and got his thumb dislocated. Mayorga was knocked down on the exchange by Cotto, beat the count, but later told the referee he could not continue.
The initial reaction from fans was that Mayorga quit in the fight, but we later learned he dislocated his thumb on the exchange. Steve Kim at Max Boxing was all over the injury, observing that “It looks like Mayorga may have dislocated his left arm in that exchange. He calls the fight off because of it.” It turned out that Mayorga dislocated his thumb, saying post-fight “I felt my thumb touch the back of my hand. I hate the way this fight ended.” The judges all had Cotto up 107-102 (eight rounds to three) at the time of the TKO.
After the fight, Mayorga announced in his interview that he planned to retire. Mayorga is 38 years old, had taken two years off from ’08-’10, and is now 1-1 since returning. He’s now 29-8 in his career, still a showman, but maybe feels like he’s had enough. I’m guessing the injury and loss contributed to his feeling and I wouldn’t hold him to his word. He may change his view in time.
