Roach: Cotto would KO Mayweather now

By Boxing News - 06/10/2014 - Comments

cotto621By Chris Williams: Miguel Cotto’s win over WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s) has trainer Freddie Roach and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum both believing that Cotto is a new man and is better than ever was before. And they both believe that Cotto would beat Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KO’s) right now if he were to agree to give him a second fight.

It’s hard to understand why Mayweather would fight Cotto again because he already beat him by a lopsided 12 round decision in 2012, and Mayweather doesn’t waste time going over old ground to keep fighting the same guy over and over and over again like some fighters do. Mayweather moves on each time he picks up a pelt.

When asked if Cotto could beat Mayweather now, Roach said “He knocks Mayweather out.”

The look on Roach’s face when he said that was priceless. He looked almost angry. Roach looks like he really wants the Mayweather fight for Cotto, but the thing is it’s already over with after Mayweather took Cotto’s scalp in 2012. Cotto gave it his best shot but he didn’t have the talent to do the job, and he ended up getting beaten and almost knocked out by Mayweather.

“I think his legs are gone,” Roach said to the media about Mayweather. “He doesn’t move anymore. He says he wants to please the fans. I think that’s [expletive]. I think he’s shot. I don’t think he’ll fight any of my guys.”

For a shot fighter, Mayweather sure did look good in beating Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last September, didn’t he? I would favor the 23-year-old Canelo over Cotto any day of the week. Cotto could throw left hooks all night long, and I still believe Canelo will knock him out within 8 rounds in an easier fight than his win over Alfredo Angulo. If Mayweather was a shot fighter, then how is it he beat Canelo, Robert Guerrero and Marcos Maidana in his last three fights?

Roach obviously would like to get the Cotto-Mayweather II fight, because it would be a substitute for the fight that he failed to get with Mayweather-Pacquiao fight not happening, but I don’t think it would make any difference. Cotto would still likely get clowned by Mayweather, and Roach’s advice would be useless for Cotto because of the adjustments that Mayweather would be constantly making during each round. Cotto would need to wait until the ends of each round for Roach to tell him something like ‘move your head more,’ but Mayweather will adapt to things like that in the opening seconds of each round and end up dominating Cotto.



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