Yuri Foreman suffered a torn meniscus and stretched a ligament in his right knee when he fell awkwardly in the seventh round of his championship fight with Miguel Cotto Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. He will have surgery soon to repair the injuries, but once he’s healed he’d like a rematch.
“Yes, I want a rematch,” said Foreman, who lost his WBA junior middleweight championship when referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stopped the fight in the ninth round. “My last performance was not what it could have been. It was far from my potential.”
Foreman (28-1, eight KOs) learned his diagnosis after being examined by Dr. Gerard Varlotta yesterday afternoon. Foreman said he underwent an MRI exam.
“The doctor said I’m going to have to have surgery,” Foreman said. “The surgery will show if I need surgery on the ligament in the front of the knee.”
The condition of the ligament could determine how long Foreman is sidelined. He injured his knee when he fell while moving from side to side in the seventh round. His knee got caught under him as he fell backward. He rolled over and tried to get up and walk off the pain. But he had a heavy limp and was no longer mobile.
Foreman was a virtual sitting duck for Cotto, a power puncher who pounced on his one-legged opponent when the fight was resumed. Foreman slipped twice more before the fight was stopped in the ninth round.
Foreman lost his WBA junior middleweight championship, but gained plenty of respect from boxing fans because of his courage.
“The doctor was surprised I was able to keep fighting,” Foreman said. “He told me that I put in a great effort and showed a lot of heart. It feels good to hear that. It helps me feel a little bit better.”
Foreman always has fought with a brace on his right knee, protecting an injury he suffered as a teenager. But it never really gave him trouble until he fell Saturday night.
“I was just getting into the rhythm,” Foreman said. “But when this happened, it was not great.”
Foreman captured plenty of media attention being the first Orthodox Jew to win a world championship in nearly 80 years. Now he wants to regain the title once he’s healthy.