By Eric Torres: As a true fan of the boxing, I have dug deeper into the upcoming May 5Th clash between Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the more I do, I have come to the realization that we may be witnessing a huge upset in the making. Please Follow along objectively & do not allow prejudice to override the facts.
Lets start with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s last 7 fights and his remarkable unbeaten streak. Since April 8th 2006 Mayweather Jr. has fought 7 times against opposition that some would call questionable. Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley & Victor Ortiz.
Zab Judah: To that point had already lost 3 fights and his aura of invincibility had already been diminished. He had lost to Kostya Tszyu, Cory Spinks and Carlos Baldomir.
Carlos Baldomir: Lets face it his claim to fame was destroying an aged Arturo Gatti, whom I might mention had previously been beaten up badly by Mayweather and Zab Judah who Mayweather had already beaten.
Oscar De La Hoya: Who was essentially past his prime and had already lost to Shane Mosley twice, Bernard Hopkins, Felix Trinidad ( although some might dispute) and did not look impressive over his win versus Steve Forbes. The signs of slowing down were right there during this, before fighting Mayweather.
Ricky Hatton: Who’s only noticeable wins had come from Kostya Tszyuand Jose Luis Castillo who both were way past there primes. Hatton was the smaller man and had never fought above the 140lb and had no business fighting someone of Floyd’s caliber at 147lbs.
Juan Manuel Marquez: Who was another MUCH smaller fighter then was Hatton and came up from 135lb to a catch weight of 144lb ( which Floyd was fined because he could not reach the limit) and got beaten up by a much larger Mayweather.
Shane Mosley: Who Had lost to Vernon Forest and Winky Wright twice and also Miguel Cotto. Shane Mosley was essentially on the downward spiral until he beat Margarito who had gotten caught before the fight loading his gloves.
Victor Ortiz: Who had already been exposed as a fighter with a questionable heart and someone who was not ready for the big stage. Ortiz had fought to a draw with Marvin Cordova Jr., Lamont Peterson & had his heart ripped from him by Marcos Maidana.
I will now move onto Miguel Cotto’s resume dating back to 2006. Cotto has logged in 6 more fights in that period then Mayweather (7 to 13) and for times sake I will point out a few noticeable fights.
From 2006 Cotto has fought the likes of Pauli Malignaggi, Carlos Quintana, Oktay Urkal, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, Alfonso Gomez, Antonio Margarito, Michael Jennings, Joshua Clottey, Manny Pacquiao, Yuri Formam, Richardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito for the second time.
Carlos Quintana: The two Puerto Rican Superstars where undefeated to that point and Cotto had just moved up to Welterweight because of concerns about having difficulties in making 140lb. This was a pivotal point in Cotto’s career. He was not favored to beat Quintana by a lot of ringside analysts. The result was a resounding effort which lead to Quintana quitting in his corner.
Zab Judah: Who’s record had already recorded one more loss at the time after losing to Mayweather. This was supposed to be a fight where the speed of Judah would offset any offense Cotto would bring to the table and once again outside analyst slightly favored Judah. Cotto would dominate after a very competitive first few rounds and eventually manhandled Judah in a way he had never experienced before.
Shane Mosley: At this stage in Mosley’s career he had more in the tank and fought Cotto THREE YEARS BEFORE he faced Mayweather. Once again it was billed as Cotto not be able to handle the speed, boxing ability and power of Shane Mosley. This was a turning point in Cotto’s career because it showed without a doubt that he could withstand the advantages from another opponent. It also was a coming out party in that it showed that Cotto indeed had the boxing ability and strength ( his heart had already been tested with Richardo Torres at 140lb) to be very competitive with any potential foe. Cotto went on to win a unanimous decision.
Antonio Margarito 1: This was one of the most competitive fights of the year, with a controversial ending. I would like to believe that I am with the general public in that we can agree that Margarito had loaded gloves in this fight. Although never proven, why would we not assume that Margarito did not cheat for the biggest fight of his career to that point against Cotto and then only try to cheat against Mosley. Cotto was fighting a much bigger opponent who was a pressure fighter. Cotto’s boxing ability was on display for the world to see & he was winning the fight in resounding fashion until Margarito’s gloves took effect. Cotto displayed heart, strength and courage. Although some would say Cotto quit, his corner ultimately threw the towel in. It was until the Mosley fight that the truth came out.
Joshua Clottey: This was a fight that once again Cotto was the smaller person coming into the fight. Cotto had scored a flash knock down in the first and was leading the fight when he had gotten a massive cut over his eye. Rather then stop the fight & go to the cards Cotto opted to continue fighting even as blood poured into his eye. The fight was close but Cotto pulled out the Win.
Manny Pacquiao: This was a fight in which Manny Pacquiao refused to fight Cotto at his natural weight and had Cotto come down to 145lbs to fight him. The fight was fast and competitive eventually leading to Pacquiao taking over in the middle rounds on. To this day Pacquaio states that those first 5-6 rounds with Cotto where the hardest he has ever fought. I might add that in the Joshua Clottey fight and Pacquiao fights Cotto was basically training himself due to the bad breakup with his uncle, who was his long time coach.
Antonio Margarito 2: After enlisting the help of two decorated trainers in Emanuel Steward and Cuban Olympic Coach Pedro Diaz, Cotto has went on to win a Belt at 154, defending it once and with Diaz finally defeating Margarito in their rematch . The results was a resurgence in Cotto and a vintage effort. He battered Margarito for the entire fight before the fight was stopped. This fight in the eyes of many including Mayweather proved that Cotto was not done & that Margarito Cheated.
I point out the two records as fact that Not only has Cotto been tested but he has been pushed to the outer limits and has continuously bounced back. He will undoubtedly bring that mental toughness into the ring against Mayweather, which is something Mayweather has never faced. Cotto has NEVER cherry picked his opponents and has fought everyone out there in his career that was available. Cotto never ruled a division only to look below his division to fight unworthy, smaller opposition. I believe that their factual records speak for themselves.
In my opinion Mayweather has carefully picked his opponents in order to pad his “so Called Greatness”. He had every opportunity to fight the best in his division before he retired and after he returned but He opted for the safe bets such as Hatton, Baldmomir, Marquez and Mosley (3yrs after Miguel Beat Him). I am no way saying that Mayweather does not have tremendous skills, what I am saying is, how great can you consider yourself if those skills are not tested against the toughest opponents out there. What bar or measuring stick are you comparing your skills to if you say you are the greatest? What made Hagler, Hearns, Duran and Leonard so great was that they continuously tested those skills against one another and not substandard opponents. They were not afraid to push themselves for the fear of losing but rather for the opportunity to say they were the best of the best.
I believe that Cotto has tested his abilities against the best and his confidence going into this fight is a result of him pushing himself to the limits and answering the doubts he possibly had in the past. The challenges he has faced has resulted in a resurgence in his decorated career, which in my opinion does not favor well for Mayweather. Mayweather’s age, lack of equal opposition, activity and not challenging himself the way other greats have had in the past will eventually catch up with him & this fan of boxing believes it catches up with him May 5th 2012. Look for the upset.
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