Eddie Cotton, Jr. (June 15, 1926www.findagrave.com
/ref> in Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States — April 17, 2020 in Seattle) was a former boxer.Boxrec.com
/ref> Cotton was a resident of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington until his death on following a second liver transplant.NY Times Obituary
/ref>

Career

Eddie Cotton was a light heavyweight contender from the late 1950s until his retirement in the late 1960s. He was known as a good defensive fighter, although not very exciting. He was also prone to getting cut in fights. His style was undoubtedly influenced by his original trainer who had boxed in an almost identical manner. He won the vacant Michigan version of the world light heavyweight championship in 1963, outpointing Henry Hank over 15 rounds, and twice unsuccessfully challenged for the world title, losing to Harold Johnson for the

National Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

title in 1961, and in 1966 losing what many felt was a controversial decision to

José Torres José ("Chegüi") Torres (May 3, 1936 – January 19, 2009) was a Puerto Rican-born American professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight division at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he d ...

for the world title. '' Ring Magazine'' named the Torres bout the "Fight of the Year". After the controversial Torres fight, Cotton was billed as the "Uncrowned Light Heavyweight Champion of the World." Cotton fought 81 times in his career, winning 56, losing 23 and drawing 2 fights. He retired from boxing in 1967. After his boxing career ended, Cotton worked for the Boeing Aircraft Company as a tool and die maker. He was also a member of the Washington State Boxing Commission. Cotton also owned a restaurant in Seattle which bore his name.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Eddie 1926 births 1990 deaths Boxers from Oklahoma Sportspeople from Muskogee, Oklahoma American male boxers Light-heavyweight boxers