Miguel Cotto plans comeback against Yuri Foreman at Yankee Stadium

By Brett Okamoto

Thursday, June 3, 2010 | 3:54 p.m.

It wasn't that long ago that Puerto Rican boxing fans spread out across North America had a real superhero they could call their own.

His special powers were body shots and uppercuts that could cut down speedsters like Zab Judah and Paul Malignaggi. He also held a will to win, big enough to push him past Shane Mosley in a 12-round battle at Madison Square Garden.

But over the last two years, Puerto Ricans and boxing fans have seen Miguel Cotto run into Kryptonite.

It began with a devastating loss to Antonio Margarito in 2008, where Margarito may have been using illegal hand wraps. It culminated last November, when Manny Pacquiao beat Cotto from one end of the ring to the other before the fight was called in the final round.

Each bloody defeat was felt by not only the superhero himself, but by the majority of his country as well.

"He is like a Tommy Hearns type of fighter," said Cotto's current trainer, Emanuel Steward over a recent conference call. "He is not fighting for his own personal victory. He carries the weight of a whole country."

Cotto (34-2, 27 KO) will look to give his fans and the country of Puerto Rico a comeback story Saturday when he takes on undefeated WBA super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KO). The fight will be broadcast live on HBO.

The fight will take place at Yankee Stadium, the first boxing match to be held in the new facility and first at any Yankee complex in 34 years.

On the line will be Foreman's WBA title and the opportunity for Cotto to prove he still is a top contender. It also will be a chance to show Puerto Rico its superhero still lives.

"When I was leaving the arena in Atlantic City after the (Sergio) Martinez vs. (Kelly) Pavlik fight, I was bombarded by so many Puerto Rican fans," Steward said. "Many of them hadn't even come to the fight, they were waiting for me.

"I had to walk on the boardwalk, in the rain, back to my hotel. It normally is only 10 minutes away, but it took over an hour to get there that night. They were telling me that Miguel is all that they have."

Seeing what's at stake for Cotto this Saturday has added pressure to Steward, who is serving as the 29-year-old fighter's head trainer for the first time. Steward is a legend in the sport of boxing, having worked with the likes of Hearns, Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko, among others.

The villain the two will face in their first test together represents a difficult challenge. Armed with a fast, technical style, Foreman is every bit a worthy adversary.

Despite recording only eight knockouts to this point, Steward says Foreman can generate power in his punches and will be almost impossible to catch on the scorecards if he builds an early lead.

"I was in Las Vegas for the (Floyd) Mayweather vs. Mosley fight and I was speaking to Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns and they said I've got my hands full," Steward said. "As good as Miguel will look, it will always be a tough fight because of his style."

Saturday's bout also will be fought at a weight of 154 pounds, the highest weight division Cotto has fought at in his career.

Neither the fighter nor his trainer seemed concerned with the jump in weight, saying it would be a natural transition as Cotto hasn't had to work to keep any weight on.

"His weight is his normal weight," Steward said. "He looks wonderful. You could see that when Juan Manuel Marquez was training for Mayweather, his weight was squeezed into a small frame. Miguel doesn't look that way.

"In fact, I think 154 will be even better than 147."

The future always appears bleak for every superhero right before they rise up and save the day.

Fighting with a country's pride on his shoulders and the weight of his father's passing in January, Cotto will look to right his career against one of the hottest fighters in the game on the sport's biggest stage.

And just like any superhero would, he'll approach it with fearlessly.

"I don't know what's going to happen that night," Cotto said. "But I'm pretty sure that when it's over, I'm going to be the winner of that fight."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].