Cotto takes swipe at critics as Bronx tale takes a twist

MIGUEL COTTO claimed he had answered his critics after stopping Yuri Foreman in the ninth round of their fight at Yankee Stadium to claim the WBA light-middleweight title.

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican bounced back from a defeat to Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas in November by stopping Foreman with a left hook to the body but only after a bizarre series of events that began in the seventh round when the Israeli suffered a knee injury.

Cotto, with Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner for the first time, moved his professional record to 35-2 (28 KOs) and sent Foreman to the first defeat of his career in his 29th pro contest to claim his fourth world title and his first at 154 pounds having previously won belts at light-welterweight and welterweight.