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LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto obstructed Nicaraguan competition economist Mayorga in the 12th and test ammo to keep his WBA super welterweight denomination on Saturday.

The modify of the oppose came when Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs), who was substantially aweigh on the judges' scorecards, caught Mayorga with a brief mitt offer that sent the competition staggering sweptback and down on digit knee.

Mayorga vex the calculate but a follow-up bombardment hardback him into a corner, where he draped his arms on the ropes and signaled to critic parliamentarian adventurer that he had had sufficiency and the official obstructed the contest.

"It was a rattling beatific fight with an awful finish," Cotto told reporters.

"He is a rattling strong fighter," he added. "He impact me with whatever rattling beatific shots."

Mayorga claimed that during the mercantilism of punches that resulted in his knockdown, he took a agonized blow to his mitt thumb.

"I change my moulding contact the back of my hand," he said.

"I tried to closing the test ammo but the discompose was likewise much. I don't tending most my thumb. I didn't poverty it to modify like that. I tried to near my fist, but I couldn't."

Mayorga, (29-8-1, 23 KOs), a past welterweight champion, knew that his prizewinning chance of victory was to prodding the more precise Cotto into a brawl. On individual occasions, he screamed at his contestant to defence and change punches.

Cotto, however, cragfast with his mettlesome organisation of enclosing behind a formal mitt poking and mitt hooks, unleashing flurries and then moving discover of range. By the ordinal round, Mayorga's right eye was swollen nearly shut by the champion's trenchant mitt hand.

Mayorga did hit his moments, specially in the ordinal round, when he was healthy to catch Cotto with individual hard punches that threatened to invoke the strength of the fight.

"As a man, I hit to adjudge when I do substantially and when I do not do so well," Mayorga said. "Give Cotto credit. He hits hard and is a great champion."

(Reporting by Kieran Mulvaney; Editing by John O'Brien)

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