NEW YORK — Miguel Cotto fought with a bleeding cut over his left eye for nine rounds yet beat Joshua Clottey by a split decision Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Cotto was cut in the final seconds of the third round by an accidental head butt – and it clearly bothered him the rest of the way — but he outboxed the less-versatile fighter from Ghana to win 115-112, 116-111 and 113-114.

Cotto (34-1, 27 knockouts) knocked down Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs) with a straight left hand at the end of the first round but it had no bearing on the result.