5 of the best welterweight boxing title fights

3. Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley - WBA Welterweight Title

November 10, 2007

Some of the best stories in boxing occur when two fighters meet at different crossroads in their careers. 

Miguel Cotto had just moved up to the welterweight division at the end of 2006 and was on the path to becoming the next great fighter out of Puerto Rico. 

Shane Mosley, who was 36, was thought to be at the tail end of his career, choosing to move back down to welterweight after a stint at junior middleweight. He wasn't quite in his prime but far removed from being anything short of a top contender. 

Cotto making the third defense of his WBA title, was having a magnificent 2007 scoring wins over Oktay Urkal and Zab Judah. The Judah bout, in particular, could have easily made this list. It featured one of the loudest and most raucous crowds the sport has seen at Madison Square Garden. 

The follow-up for Cotto at the world's most famous arena against Mosley would surpass the Judah match. Both in terms of action and quality of in-ring competitiveness. 

Cotto-Mosley is a boxing fan's dream. Due to the style of its combatants, its aesthetic nature gives the match infinite replay value. Combined with the ebbs and flow of each fighter having their moments, it's one of the more underrated bouts the welterweight division has seen.

Cotto displayed multiple dimensions to his game, fighting on the back foot when needed and brawling when he had to. Mosley was never out of reach in the fight, always pressing forward using his hand speed and combination punching, keeping him in every round. 

The bout was so tightly contested that the CompuBox numbers counted both men landing the same amount of punches at 248 a piece. 

Cotto would walk away with the unanimous decision victory catapulting him into a new chapter. And Mosley earned a victory in defeat, proving that he was still elite.