Pro boxers don’t usually wear their sponsorship on their sleeves – but Puerto Rican fighter Miguel Cotto wears his on his neck. Er, scratch that – the Orthodox Union hechsher tattooed on the light middleweight boxer’s trapezius isn’t actually an endorsement from the Union. And the 33-year-old has only four losses in his nearly fifteen-year pro career, so it seems unlikely that his ink is meant to indicate whether he can be safely eaten in the case of a K.O.
When asked about the tattoo, Cotto has allegedly revealed that he had it done as a gesture toward a Jewish friend in New York. One blogger wonders whether the O.U., which keeps an eye out for trademark mix-ups that might lead the strictly kosher toward a treyf New Zealand muffin, could take legal action against Cotto.
But it seems more likely that the OU is enjoying the momentary uptick in sales of Tam-Tams and kosher quail eggs. And if a trademark lawyer does come sniffing around Cotto, who favors a right-handed jab, he can say honestly that the O stands for “orthodox” – boxing-speak for the opposite of lefty.
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Watch Cotto interviewed and in the ring:
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