Fight Or Prison?

(AP) LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. finally found himself in a real fight, complete with a bloody nose and an opponent in Miguel Cotto who was never going to quit.

As usual, he found a way to win.

Mayweather used his speed and accuracy Saturday night to take a unanimous decision over a game Cotto in a bruising bout to win a piece of the 154-pound title. But it wasn't easy, as Cotto landed some hard punches and kept attacking all the way to the final bell.

"You're a hell of a champion," Mayweather told Cotto in the ring afterward. "You're the toughest guy I ever fought."

Fighting just a few weeks before he enters a county jail to serve a three-month sentence for domestic abuse, Mayweather found himself in a tough fight against a game opponent who never stopped moving forward. But he was faster and more accurate than Cotto and seemed to wear him down in the final rounds.

In the last round, Mayweather landed his best punch of the night, a left uppercut that seemed to hurt Cotto. He followed that with several flurries to the head to wrap up a decision that until the later rounds had been in doubt.

The decision was roundly booed by the crowd at the MGM Grand arena, which cheered wildly every time Cotto landed a punch.

"He's a tough competitor," Mayweather said. "He came to fight, he didn't just come to survive. I dug down and fought him back."

Cotto was never down, though he seemed hurt several times during the fight, particularly in the 12th round.

"The judges said I lost the fight, I can't do anything else," Cotto said. "I'm happy with my fight and performance and so is my family. I can't ask for anything else."

Mayweather, who was guaranteed $32 million, took a plea deal in January that delayed his sentence until June allowing him to get into the ring.

Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa said in January she weighed Mayweather's contractual obligations for the fight.

Mayweather's lawyer Richard Wright had pleaded with the judge to allow Mayweather to fulfill commitments regarding the fight, emphasizing the economic benefit to Las Vegas when Mayweather fights.

Mayweather pleaded guilty Dec. 21 to a reduced battery domestic violence charge and no contest to two harassment charges.

The plea deal saw prosecutors drop felony and misdemeanor charges that could have gotten Mayweather 34 years in prison.

The win gave Mayweather the 154-pound title held by Cotto, and assured him of still being a champion when he reports to jail for the domestic abuse case involving his former girlfriend and their children.

"In life there's obstacles," Mayweather said. "When it comes to June 1, I have to accept it like a man."