Dee ihe na-aga n'ihu maka paragraf a - Nwatakịrị Cotto sonyere n'ọtụtụ asọmpi mba ụwa, ndị a gụnyere: 1998 Junior World Championships nke mere na Buenos Aires, ebe ọ kwụsịrị na nke abụọ mgbe ọ na-asọ mpi na ngalaba Lightweight. Mmeri ya atọ ebe a bụ site na isi, nsonaazụ ya bụ: Andrey Kolevin nke Ukraine site na isi 15<unk>3, Dana Laframboise nke Canada site na isi 6<unk>1, na Darius Jasevicius na-anọchite anya Lithuania 9<unk>5. Naanị mmeri ya bụ Anton Solopov nke Russia site na isi ihe na akara nke 8<unk>9. N'afọ 1999, Cotto sonyere n'egwuregwu Pan American nke e mere na Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Ọ lụrụ ọgụ naanị otu oge na mmeri Dana Laframboise nke Canada site na isi ihe na akara ikpeazụ nke 2 <unk> 5. Mgbe o sonyere n'asọmpi Pan American, Cotto so n'asọmpi Boxing World Championships
na Houston, Texas. O ji ihe funahụ Robertas Nomeikas n'otu ọgụ ya. N'asọmpi ikpeazụ ya, Cotto nọchitere anya Puerto Rico dị ka Light Welterweight na 2000 Sydney Olympic Games ebe o meriri Mahamadkadir Abdullayev nke Uzbekistan site na isi ihe. Cotto kpebiri ịghọ ọkachamara mgbe ọ nwụsịrị Abdulaev, na-akwụsị ọrụ amateur ya na ndekọ nke 125 <unk> 23.