In a fight that was a sure candidate for Ugliest Fight of the Year, Javier Fortuna (26-0-1, 19 KOs) knocked out Abner Cotto (18-3, 8 KOs) with a straight left hand in the fifth round of a Super Featherweight fight at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.
The scheduled 12-round fight was the first televised fight of a triple-header presented by Showtime Sports and Warriors Boxing promotions.
The fight, to say the least, had an overabundance of oddities, including an overzealous and loud referee, punches to the back of the head and to the crotch by Cotto, and an Oscar-worthy performance by Cotto after getting hit with an imaginary punch.
Fortuna, 25, of the Dominican Republic, began the fight aggressively and Cotto looked like he was on his way to getting stopped in the first round the way he was stopped by Omar Figueroa last April.
However, Cotto, 27, of Puerto Rico, made it into the second round where he knocked Fortuna down with shots to the back of the head. The referee unfortunately ruled it a knockdown, but also deducted a point from Cotto.
Cotto seemed to do a bit better in the third and fourth rounds, but it was overshadowed by the way he took an imaginary punch at the end of the fourth round.
Evidently, Fortuna threw a punch at Cotto after the bell that completely missed. Nevertheless, Cotto was told by his trainer to go to the ground to pretend he was hurt.
Fortuna was subsequently deducted a point in what was a laughable affair.
A re-invigorated Fortuna would then stop the fight in the following round.
