LAS VEGAS - Miguel Cotto stayed disciplined despite efforts of Ricardo Mayorga to turn the fight into a brawl, then ousted Mayorga in the final round Saturday night to retain his piece of the 154-pound title.
Cotto made Mayorga fight on his terms much of the night, frustrating the wild-swinging Nicaraguan and piling up points. Instead of leaving the decision to the judges, he knocked Mayorga down in the 12th round with a vicious left hook before forcing him to quit at 53 seconds of the round.
Mayorga was up at the count of seven but was clearly hurt. Cotto followed him to a neutral corner and landed another left. Mayorga turned to the referee and said he could not go on.
Cotto, continuing to rebound from a beating at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, improved his record in title fights to 17-2 in the first defense of the title he won from Yuri Foreman last June.
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In Saturday's undercard, Foreman fell to Pawel Wolak, stopping after six rounds.
Ravens safety wins
Baltimore Ravens safety Tommy Zbikowski didn't let the NFL lockout stop him from making a nice payday - and delivering hard hits.
Fighting for the second time as a pro, Zbikowski barely broke a sweat in stopping Richard Bryant at 1:45 of the first round of a scheduled four-round fight on the Cotto-Mayorga undercard.
Zbikowski, who last fought while still attending Notre Dame, earned $50,000. He dropped Bryant with a left hook to the body and referee Russell Mora waved the fight to a close after Bryant got up at the count of seven.
"I was looking to get a little more work but you take a win any way you can get it," Zbikowski said. "I know I hurt him with the hook, you could feel the air come out."
Zbikowski, who weighed 193 pounds to 225 for his opponent, plans to fight next on March 26 in Atlantic City, N.J.
