Miguel Cotto Vs Floyd Mayweather JR & Manny Pacquiao: HOW BOXING WILL CHANGE
By Geno McGahee
There are certain times in boxing history where you can sense that there may be an upset brewing. When Mike Tyson defended his title against James “Buster” Douglas in 1990, the writing was on the wall. Tyson was dropped in sparring, out of shape before starving himself down to a fighting weight, and wasn’t overly concerned about the mediocrity that he was forced to face. He, of course, lost via knockout in the biggest upset in boxing history.
When Lennox Lewis defended against Hasim Rahman, talk of an upset was rampant before the fight due to the lack of focus from the defending champion. The weight of Lewis and his pre-occupation with getting Tyson into the ring made his opponent and afterthought. A right hand to the jaw changed boxing history.
On May 5th, Floyd Mayweather, JR., 42-0, 26 KO’s, returns to the ring to take on WBA Light Middleweight Champion, Miguel Cotto, 37-2, 30 KO’s, as the headliner of a pay per view card. Mayweather doesn’t seem to see Cotto as much of a threat, spending much of his time speaking of Manny Pacquiao.
Over the course of the past several years, instead of fighting each other, Mayweather and Pacquiao have exchanged opponents. Both fighters have faced and beaten Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, and Ricky Hatton. Miguel Cotto is the newest addition to the list. Pacquiao stopped him in the final round and now it’s Floyd’s turn to show that he can beat him more convincingly.
Floyd’s approach to this fight has been nonchalant. Cotto, on the other hand, is saying all of the right things. He has noted his love of the game returning and the importance of this fight. It is fair to say that Cotto is rightly the big underdog going into this fight on the basis of his recent showings.
In 2008, the career of Cotto changed forever. A loss via TKO to Antonio Margarito seemed to scar this psyche of the Puerto Rican boxer…but when the facts came out that Margarito had used plaster of Paris in his hand wraps in other fights, the logical conclusion was that the fight as a sham. Cotto was beaten with literal bricks for 11 rounds, looking as if he had been in a car accident without a seatbelt. There is no question that Margarito had loaded his gloves to defeat Cotto. Cheating or not, the boxer that entered the ring wasn’t the same one that came out of it.
A rebound fight against the helplessly overmatched Michael Jennings was an attempt to rebuild the confidence of Cotto, followed by a tough split decision over the defensive tough guy, Joshua Clottey, leading to the Pacquiao showdown. Against Pacquiao, Cotto was able to control for the first round, but wasn’t able to adjust when Manny began using different tactics. This is a vastly important note that could severely hurt the chances of a Cotto victory in May.
Floyd is a very talented fighter with one of his best assets being the ability to adjust to the opponent’s style. Should Cotto come out and get an edge, you will see changes in the game of Floyd to compensate and regain control. Is Cotto a one-trick pony? Can he make his own adjustments to take back control of the fight?
The three wins that followed the loss to Pacquiao hasn’t convinced many that Cotto will win this fight. He pummeled an overmatched Yuri Foreman, struggled with the powerful but spent Ricardo Mayorga, and avenged his loss to Margarito. The Margarito fight proved that without the plaster in his hand-wraps, he can’t dent an elite fighter. It was also evident in the Pacquiao-Margarito fight. So, the victory, although satisfying for Cotto, didn’t prove that he has improved or is over what happened to him in 2008.
The two most promising things for an upset win are the lack of attention by Floyd and the demeanor of Cotto. It appears that this is do or die for him and his entire legacy rides on this. A victory Floyd is the most prized possession in boxing and should Cotto achieve that, it will change boxing history and put him into perspective as not the B+ fighter that most consider him to be. He will be an elite fighter and the losses to Margarito and Pacquiao can be chalked up to cheating followed by a damaged psyche that is now fully recovered. That will lead to Cotto-Pacquiao II, should Manny get beyond Timothy Bradley…which he will.
On May 5th, there will be a fight. Cotto will not go out with a whimper. He will be trying to solve the Mayweather JR puzzle. It should be fun and we may witness boxing history happen in front of our very eyes.
