Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik each started brand new winning streaks, as they returned to the ring for the first time since both suffering their first career defeats.

In New York, Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) stalked and broke down the UK’s Michael Jennings. Cotto dropped Jennings twice in the fourth round before putting an end to things in the fifth.

It was Cotto’s first fight since July, when he was knocked out by Antonio Margarito. Margarito was suspended for one year recently for having an illegal substance in his gloves prior to his bout with Shane Mosley in January. There is no proof that Margarito did anything wrong in his fight with Cotto, but it will always be under a cloud of suspicion.

Cotto is expected to return to the ring in June, on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York, against either Joshua Clottey or fellow Puerto Rican Kermit Cintron. Cotto is also interested in fighting the winner of the Manny Pacquiao – Ricky Hatton mega-fight in May.

Pavlik, meanwhile, was fighting on a split-location pay-per-view from Youngstown, OH against challenger Marco Antonio Rubio.

Pavlik dominated the fight, but let Rubio off the hook from a few instances that looked like a knockout in the making. Rubio showed flashes of why he was the mandatory challenger, but for most of the fight, he was content to survive and not throw punches. Pavlik hurt Rubio in the eighth round, but Rubio survived that round and one more. After the ninth, Rubio, his corner and the referee had seen enough and the fight was stopped, giving Pavlik another knockout win to improve to 35-1, with 31 knockouts.

Pavlik will likely return to the ring in May. His most likely opponent, for better or worse, is John Duddy, a winner on the Cotto undercard. Promoter Bob Arum wants that fight in New York, but also wants to continue promoting Pavlik in Ohio.

The other potential fights for Pavlik are Arthur Abraham, the only fight that actually means anything to boxing fans, or Felix Sturm, another solid fight, but not as big as Abraham. The other names mentioned were Vernon Forrest, Sergio Mora and Anthony Mundine, all ticket selling names, but none legitimate middleweight contenders. The Abraham is the only fight that matters, and any fight less than that is unacceptable to boxing fans. But alas, it likely won’t happen.

Both fighters looked solid in their returns and got through the giant psychological hurdle, but now must once again prove themselves against the elite. I look forward to seeing that this summer.

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