Miguel Cotto

In 2008, he married Melissa Guzmán. The couple has three children - Luis, Alondra, and Miguel Cotto III. He has another child - a daughter from his previous relationship - who was born in November 2006.

He is the owner of ‘Promociones Miguel Cotto,’ a boxing promotion that he also heads. It arranges fight cards in his homeland. He is also the founder of the non-profit organization ‘El Ángel,’ which promotes steps and physical activities in combating obesity in infants.

He was selected by Marc Eckō, an American fashion designer, artist, and founder of the American urban-fashion company ‘Eckō Unlimited,’ for promoting the brand.

He was born on October 29, 1980, in Providence, Rhode Island, US, to Miguel Cotto Sr. and Juana Vasquez. Many of his family members, such as his father, were into boxing. His brother, José Miguel Cotto, is a professional boxer and four-time regional level champion. His cousin, Abner Cotto, also a professional boxer, presently contends in the lightweight division. His uncle, Evangelista Cotto, is a former boxing trainer.

As a kid, he was enrolled in boxing to help him lose weight. He took training from the most famous boxing gym in Puerto Rico, the ‘Bairoa Gym’ in Caguas, where he developed into a top-class amateur boxer.

His amateur boxing career saw him represent Puerto Rico at several international events, both in the lightweight and light welterweight divisions. He won the silver medal in lightweight at the 18th ‘Central American and Caribbean Games’ held in in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in August 1998.He also won the silver medal in lightweight at the ‘Junior World Boxing Championships’ held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November 1998. He participated in the 1999 ‘Pan American Games’ and in the 2000 ‘Sydney Olympics Games,’ and after being defeated in the latter, by Uzbekistan’s Mahamadkadir Abdullayev, Cotto ended his amateur boxing career with a record of 125-23 and began his journey as a professional boxer.

In 2001 he commenced his career as a professional boxer. That year, he faced a severe accident while driving his car to the gymnasium, resulting in a broken arm.

On February 1, 2003, he beat César Bazán from Mexico to win the vacant ‘WBC International’ light welterweight title at the ‘Mandalay Bay Events Center,’ Paradise, Nevada, US. He not only thrived to retain that title, fighting against Rocky Martinez, but also won the vacant ‘WBO–NABO’ light welterweight title on June 28 that year, at the ‘Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez,’ Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

After he succeeded in retaining the ‘WBC International’ light welterweight title, beating Panama boxer Demetrio Ceballos on September 13, 2003, at the ‘MGM Grand Garden Arena,’ Cotto was ranked ‘numero uno’ in the division, by the ‘WBA.’ He went on to retain the title against Colombian boxer Carlos Maussa on December 6 that year and against boxer Victoriano Sosa from the Dominican Republic on February 28, 2004.

He faced South African fighter Lovemore N'dou on May 8, 2004, at the ‘MGM Grand Garden Arena.’ Not only did he succeed in retaining the ‘WBC International’ light welterweight title, but he also won the vacant ‘WBA Fedelatin’ light welterweight title.

He beat Brazilian boxer Kelson Pinto, whom he had faced twice in amateur encounters, on September 11, 2004, to win the vacant WBO light welterweight title at the ‘José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum,’ San Juan, Puerto Rico.