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The two fighters went toe-to-toe for several rounds before Mayweather took control and won by a unanimous decision, with two judges scoring 117-111 in his favour and one 118-110.
“I had to fight hard, suck it up. He was no pushover,” said Mayweather.
The victory extended Mayweather’s run to 43-0 with 26 knockouts.
Mayweather was on the offensive from the outset, landing a number of fast right hands and quick jabs.
Cotto, though, was showing a willingness to engage Mayweather in the centre of the ring and his relentless pressure brought him some wins in the middle rounds.
That forced Mayweather to change tactics and he started landing fast right hands from long range.
The pair exchanged vicious punches in the 12th round but Mayweather was landing the better shots and his superior hand speed and solid defence proved enough to win the fight on all three judges’ scorecards.
“You’re a hell of a champion,” Mayweather told Cotto in the ring afterwards. “You’re the toughest guy I ever fought.
“He came to fight; he didn’t just come to survive. I dug down and fought him back.”
Mayweather hinted after the fight that he would like to face Manny Pacquiao in the ring next.
That will have to wait, however, with the American scheduled to begin a three-month jail sentence on 1 June for misdemeanour domestic violence and harassment charges involving a former girlfriend.
In the main undercard bout, rising Mexican star Saul Alvarez beat Shane Mosley to retain his WBC super welterweight title.—BBC.
Online Reporter