• Miguel Cotto is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer
• He won world titles in four weight categories and was ranked #7 best boxer by "The Ring"
• He has three children with wife Melissa Guzman and one daughter with another woman
• Miguel's net worth is estimated to be over $25 million
• He is a philanthropist and enjoys Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson movies
Who is Miguel Cotto?
Puerto Rican former professional boxer Miguel Angel Cotto Vazquez, was born in Providence, Rhode Island USA, on 29 October 1980, meaning that Scorpio’s his zodiac sign. He competed from 2001 through 2017, and won world titles in four weight categories, becoming the first Puerto Rican boxer to achieve this; the magazine “The Ring” ranked Miguel #7 best professional boxer in both 2007 and 2009.
Education and early life
Miguel spent only the first two years of his life in Providence, where he was raised alongside his older brother Jose Miguel Cotto by their father Miguel Cotto Sr, and mother Juana Vasquez; Jose’s today also a professional boxer. One can say that Miguel was born into a boxing family, as his father was a boxer, his uncle Evangelista Cotto a boxing trainer, and his cousin Abner Cotto Roman a professional boxer too.
The family moved to Caguas, Puerto Rico when Miguel was two; he was overweight as a child, taking on boxing at quite an early age mostly because of this. He became one of the best amateur fighters in Puerto Rico, and worked out at the Bairoa Gym. He was 17 when he entered the 1998 Junior World Championships, placing second in the Lightweight category, and the year 1999 saw him enter the Pan American Games in Canada, boxing only a single match which he lost to Dana Laframboise.
When he chose to turn professional in 2000, Miguel had an amateur record of 125-23.
He matriculated from a local high school in Caguas in 1999, and then didn’t attend college.
Lightweight category
At the beginning of his career, Miguel defeated John Brown by unanimous decision over 10 rounds; John was at that time a world title contender in the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) lightweight category.
Miguel’s boxing career nearly ended in 2001, when he fell asleep while driving and crashed his car, breaking his arm.
He faced Demetrio Ceballos in Las Vegas, Nevada on 13 September 2003, knocking him out in the 7th round, and he started off the year 2004 by knocking out world title challenger Victoriano Sosa in the 4th round;, then defeating another world title contender, Lovemore N’dou on 8 April 2004.
He and Brazilian Kelson Carlos Santos Pinto faced each other on 11 September 2004, for the vacant WBA junior welterweight title; Miguel had previously lost two times to Kelson, but this time won via knockout in the 6th round. He defended his title against Randall Bailey on 11 December 2004, knocking him out in the 6th round, and was then named Puerto Rico’s Fighter of the Year by the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission. Miguel defended his title against Demarcus Corley on 26 February 2005, and against Mohamed Abdulaev on 11 June 2005; Mohamed was the last person to defeat Miguel when he was still an amateur.
Miguel defeated another challenger, Ricardo Torres on 24 September 2005, knocking him out in the 7th round, and then defeated Gianluca Branco in the eighth round, with Gianluca retiring due to an injury. His final match to defend his title was against Paul Malignaggi, who had previously been undefeated; it took place on 10 June 2006, and Miguel won via unanimous decision.
Crazy to think I fought Miguel Cotto 11 years ago this weekend. Didn't get the win, but I earned my respect that night at MSG. pic.twitter.com/Ek3UVpUs89
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) June 11, 2017
Welterweight category
Miguel revealed in 2006 that he wanted to move to the welterweight category, and thus had to relinquish his lightweight title; he knocked out Puerto Rican Carlos Quintana in the sixth round on 2 December 2006, thus becoming the WBA welterweight champion.
Miguel defended his title against Zab Judah on 9 June 2007, and then against Shane Mosley on 10 November 2007; he defeated another challenger, Alfonso Gomez on 12 April 2008, then suffered his first defeat as a professional on 26 July 2008, when he lost his title to Antonio Margarito.
He became World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion on 21 February 2009, when he defeated Michael Jennings via knockout in the 5th round, while he then defended his new title against Joshua Clottey on 14 April 2009, winning via split decision. Miguel lost the title to Manny Pacquiao on 14 November 2009, who knocked him out in the 12th round; with the win, Manny became the first person in history to become world champion in seven weight categories.
Light middleweight category
Miguel became WBA light middleweight champion on 5 June 2010, after knocking out previously undefeated Yuri Foreman in the 9th round; he defended the title against Ricardo Mayorga on 12 March 2011.
He faced Antonio Margarito again on 3 December 2011, after having previously lost to him in July 2008; Miguel defeated Antonio in the 10th round, after the referee stopped the fight because of Antonio’s swollen shut eye. Miguel then faced one of the best boxers of all time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. on 5 May 2012, with Miguel losing via unanimous decision.
Miguel challenged Austin Trout for his WBA light middleweight title on 1 December 2012, which Austin defended via unanimous decision. Miguel then faced light middleweight challenger Delvin Rodriguez on 23 June 2014, knocking him out in the 3rd round.
Middleweight category
Miguel faced World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Sergio Martinez on 7 June 2014, with Sergio giving up before the start of the 10th round; he successfully defended his title against Daniel Geale on 6 June 2015, knocking him out in the fourth round, but lost the title to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on 21 November 2015 via unanimous decision, then announced his retirement.
He returned to boxing on 26 August 2017, when he faced Yoshihiro Kamegai for the WBO light middleweight belt, winning via unanimous decision, but Miguel’s final bout was on 2 December 2017, when he lost via unanimous decision to Sadam Ali.
Career after boxing
Miguel’s been staying away from media since his retirement, and it’s believed that he’s today mostly focused on spending time with his wife and their children.
He’s the owner of the boxing promotion Promociones Miguel Cotto, and founder of the non-profit organization El Angel.
Love life and wife
Miguel avoids speaking about his love life in public, but it’s widely known that he’s been a married man since 1998.
He and his wife, Puerto Rican former model Melissa Guzman, married in a private ceremony in 1998, attended by many of their friends and family members; Melissa’s given birth to their three children Miguel Cotto III, Alondra and Luis, but their birthdates haven’t been disclosed, as Melissa and Miguel prefer to keep them away from media.
The two nearly divorced in 2006, after it was revealed that Miguel had fathered a daughter with another woman, but he and Melissa were able to reconcile.
He hasn’t spoken of other women whom he’s been with; Miguel’s married to Melissa Guzman as of February 2023, and they have three children together; he also has a daughter with another woman.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Miguel’s uncle David Cotto was the first man in the family to become a professional boxer; he worked as New York Police Department officer, and had to give up on boxing after having been shot in his right hand.
Over 670,000 people are following Miguel on Instagram today, and he’s posted more than 1,300 pictures and videos onto the network; most of these related to boxing.
He’s a philanthropist and has donated money to a number of charity organizations, while Miguel mostly aims to help bring sports closer to underprivileged children.
Some of the Hollywood actors whom he enjoys watching the most are Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson, while some of his favorite movies include “John Wick”, “The Last Samurai”, and “Mad Max”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Miguel’s age is 42. He has brown eyes and black hair, is 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall and weighs around 175lbs (80kgs).
Miguel’s net worth’s been estimated at over $25 million, as of February 2023.
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