Mayweather vs. Cotto Results: Cotto Proves He Can Rumble with Boxing's Elite

The bout may have resulted in a loss on his record, but Miguel Cotto made the best boxer in the world work—hard—to beat him.

That's more than most people expected out of the 4-1 underdog. 

To say that Cotto was deemed a long shot heading into Saturday's light middleweight fight would be an understatement. In the eyes of most, he had no chance. Floyd Mayweather was en route to establishing himself as the best boxer in the world, and Cotto was just another stop on his path—one who wasn't expected to put up much of a fight, at that. 

Cotto, after all, was someone who had taken a brutal pounding at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in 2009, perhaps the next-best boxer in the world. If that fight was any indication, he certainly wouldn't fare well against Mayweather.

But in the end, it wasn't any indication.

Cotto was the only person who seemed to believe he had a chance of winning on Saturday, and it showed. Mayweather—despite being a more skilled, faster fighter—had to work early on to keep victory within his grasp. Cotto wasn't just going to roll over and die. He made Mayweather fight to land every punch.

After the fight, Mayweather, in the ultimate sign of respect for his opponent, told ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto, "Cotto shocked me. … Anybody who goes in with Cotto, you better be ready. His record reflects where he's at, and he deserved to fight me." 

But perhaps Cotto's fortitude isn't so surprising. Cotto has, after all, proven that when he wants it bad, he can get it, as evidenced by his "revenge" bout versus Antonio Margarito in 2011, meant to make up for a very tough loss in 2008 in which Cotto swears his opponent turned to illegal measures.

Cotto may be 5-3 in his last eight bouts, and there may be whining that even in victory, he hasn't beaten anyone impressive. But when he had to be the most impressive he's ever been, he was, and that proves something. 

Against Margarito in 2011, Cotto desperately wanted to win. Against Mayweather on Saturday—in a fight that was probably out of Cotto's league, yet was still a match his pride wouldn't allow him to lose handily—Cotto showed the same desperation and got a better result than anyone could've hoped for.

He gave Mayweather the toughest matchup of his career, which was almost as good as winning.