With a tenth round TKO of Sergio Martinez, Miguel Cotto made history and became the new Middleweight Champion of the World. He is the first boxer from Puerto Rico to win a championship title in four weight divisions, and equals Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran who were also former welterweight champions that won the middleweight title.

Cotto scored a total four knockdowns in a stellar performance. He knocked Martinez down three times in the first round and again in the ninth round. The bout was stopped at the start of 10th round after Martinez’s trainer refused to allow his boxer to continue.

As New York prepares to celebrate the National Puerto Rican Parade on Sunday, the festivities started early for the largely boricua audience in attendance.

Wilfredo Benitez, Wilfredo Gomez and Felix Trinidad won world titles in three weight classes, none won four. Cotto now has World titles at middleweight, junior middleweight, welterweight and junior welterweight. At the end he could only say, “Happiest day of my life. This is the biggest achievement of my professional career.”

“My maturity as a professional fighter showed in the ring tonight,” he continued. “I told myself not to go wild. My left hook was the punch that beat him tonight. I was boxing on angles, controlling him with my jab while backing him up. I never went wild even after I knocked him down three times. This was a 12-round fight, not one-round fight.”

33-year-old Cotto now has a record of 39-4 with 32 KOs.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum, Cotto’s promoter, is planning his next fight for either December 6 or 13 at Madison Square Garden. The ideal rival? Canelo Alvarez, putting the most popular active Puerto Rican and Mexican fighters in the ring for a historic matchup. Stay tuned.