Cotto vs. Mayorga: Will Miguel’s skin hold up under the pounding from Ricardo?

By Dan Ambrose: In many of Miguel Cotto’s fights in the past three years, his face has taken a lot of punishment in terms of getting hit, cut up and ending up swollen to grotesque proportions. Part of the problem is Cotto’s lack of defense. He gets hit far too much for his own good. But the other problem just seems to be with his skin on his face. His skin, because of the scar tissue around his eyes, tears easily, and his face has a nasty habit of swelling up quickly and easily when hit. On March 12th, Cotto will be facing Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Cotto-Mayorga: Ricardo to spoil Miguel’s big plans for a Pacquiao rematch

Image: Cotto-Mayorga: Ricardo to spoil Miguel's big plans for a Pacquiao rematchBy Dan Ambrose: WBA junior middleweight champion Miquel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) badly wants a rematch with Manny Pacquiao so that he can improve upon the bad performance that Cotto had in that fight when he battered to pieces and taken out in the 12th round in an uncompetitive fight two years ago. Cotto, however, has to beat Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) on March 12th before he can hope to get a big money rematch with Pacquiao.

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Cotto-Mayorga: Miguel needs a win here to get to Margarito and Pacquiao rematches

By Dan Ambrose: WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 38 KO’s) has been put in with former welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) in a dangerous tune-up fight on March 12th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cotto is coming off of shoulder surgery and hasn’t fought since mid 2010 when he defeated the light hitting Yuri Foreman to capture the World Boxing Association junior middleweight title. Bob Arum, rather than put Cotto in with a complete stiff, decided to match him with Mayorga in order to make this fight a pay-per-view bout.

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Cotto vs. Mayorga: Should Miguel be the underdog in this fight?

By Dan Ambrose: Miguel Cotto (35-2, 38 KO’s) may be the current World Boxing Association (WBA) junior middleweight champion after stopping Yuri Foreman in the 9th round last year in June, but the way that Cotto looked in that fight, the way that he looked in getting stomped by Manny Pacquiao in the fight before that and the way he went life and death with a very mediocre Joshua Clotty in the fight before the Pacquiao bout, suggests that Cotto may be lucky if he can get by 37-year-old Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) on March 12th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Cotto-Mayorga: Once Ricardo has Miguel bleeding, the entire fight dynamics will change

By Dan Ambrose: For some boxing fans of WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s), they see his March 12th bout against 37-year-old former two division world champion Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) as an easy win for Cotto due to his superior youth, speed and power. It’s hard to deny that Cotto has some significant advantages in this match-up. However, all of those advantages will quickly go out the window once Mayorga has opened up all that scar tissue that surrounds both of Cotto’s eyes.

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Cotto vs. Mayorga: The least shot fighter wins

Image: Cotto vs. Mayorga: The least shot fighter winsBy Dan Ambrose: The March 12th junior middleweight clash between WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) and Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) really boils down to the least shot fighter winning in this fight that takes place at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. While Cotto is technically the World Boxing Association champion by virtue of Cotto beating one of Bob Arum’s Top Ranks stable fighters Yuri Foreman after he sustained a bad leg injury last year in July, it’s hard to see Cotto as anything more than a fading fighter that looks nothing like what he once was before suffering a terrible beating at the hands of Antonio Margarito in 2008.

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Cotto-Mayorga: This fight is a toss-up

Image: Cotto-Mayorga: This fight is a toss-upBy Dan Ambrose: WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) is going into his March 12th fight against the tough Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) with a one-fight winning steak after having beaten the WBA paper champion Yuri Foreman last year in June to capture the World Boxing Association title.

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Cotto vs. Mayorga: Will Miguel run out of gas if the fight goes past six?

By Dan Ambrose: Much has been said of 37-year-old Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) being old, fat and having stamina problems once his fights go past the midpoint. However, WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) also has stamina problems and if Mayorga can keep his foot on the accelator past the 6th round in their fight on March 12th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Mayorga could win this one. Cotto, 30, has always had problems with his stamina dating back to fights against Oktay Urkal and Shane Mosley.

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