Cotto-Foreman: Puerto Rican Icon Will Trump Jewish Champ in Yankee Stadium Match

WBA super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman and former WBO welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto will fight Saturday at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) last fought on November 14 when he relinquished his belt to Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) by a brutal 12th-round TKO.

On the undercard of the Pacquiao-Cotto contest, Foreman (28-0, 8 KOs) defeated Daniel Santos (32-4-1-1, 38 KOs) by a unanimous decision to become Israel’s first world boxing champion.

Foreman, 29, an aspiring rabbi who won the New York Golden Gloves in 2001, was once considered as a potential opponent for Pacquiao after the WBO champion’s proposed matchup with Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KOs) deteriorated earlier this year.

However, Pacquiao and his trainer, Dedham’s Freddie Roach, rejected the offer mainly because Foreman, at 5’11”, is quite tall for a welterweight.

“Foreman is a solid boxer,” said Brad Sherwood, 29, a personal trainer at Gold’s Gym in Medford, Mass. “He is way taller than Cotto, and Cotto has been through so many wars that he is old for a 29-year-old. But, I still think Cotto will win because he is such a powerful warrior. I would take Cotto by a stoppage in the later rounds.”

As evidenced by his paltry knockout percentage, Foreman does not possess tremendous power in either of his fists.

Still, Foreman is a tactician in the ring, and his height has posed problems for his opponents in the past.

Foreman, who is three years into a program to become a religious leader, was born in Gomel, Belarus.

At age nine, Foreman immigrated with his family to Israel, and it was in the Holy Land where he began to box at a local Arab gym.

“The first time I walked in, I saw the stares. In their eyes, there was a lot of hatred,” said Foreman, 29. “But, I needed to box, and boy, did they all want to box me.”

Particularly because of the pounding he received at the hands of Pacquiao, Cotto is going to “want to box” and bludgeon Foreman as well.

Foreman’s vast size advantage and relatively cautious style will keep him competitive in the fight.

Nevertheless, expect Cotto to ultimately brawl his way to a victory over Foreman when the two meet this weekend in the Bombers' right field.