By Chris Williams: Former WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KO’s) is under the impression that’s going to be able to cut off the ring on World Boxing Association junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KO’s) this Saturday night and pressure in their fight at the Yankee Stadium, in New York. Cotto, who has been beaten to a pulp in recent fights against Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao, thinks that he’s going to be able to keep the constantly shifting around Foreman from not being able to move by stalking him around the ring.

All I can say is ‘good luck, Cotto;’ you’re going to need all the luck you can get against the bigger, faster and better moving Foreman. I don’t see how Cotto has any chance whatsoever in winning this fight. Foreman is better in ever facet of his game except for the power department, and that’s really an up in the air category. Foreman is bigger and hits about as hard as Cotto.

Foreman may not have piled up a lot of knockouts early in his career but now that he’s sitting down on his punches more and loading up, he’s a lot bigger puncher than he was years ago. I think Cotto is going to be in for the shock of his life when he steps in the ring against Foreman and starts getting sliced and diced by Foreman’s quick and powerful shots.

Cotto isn’t going to know what hit him. Cotto’s trainer Emanuel Steward, speaking at the international conference call, said “It is going to be very hard for Yuri to stay away from Miguel for 12 rounds, because Miguel is looking very fast with his feet right now and his combinations are wicked and his punching is awesome.” Steward sees the fight as another bout between Jack Dempsey [Cotto] and Gene Tunney. I bet. Cotto, with his slow feet, won’t be getting anywhere close to Foreman when Yuri is on the move.

I think Cotto won’t have to search that hard for him, though, because Foreman will be coming at him constantly with his slashing attacks led by a powerful jab and followed by a pile driving right hand that will bruise and then bust up Cotto’s tender skin around his eyes. Once Cotto is bleeding like a stuck pig, like he usually has been in his three out of his last four fights, Foreman will lance him from the outside with laser precision jabs.

It’s not even going to be close once Foreman has Cotto’s red blood flowing from both of his eyes. It’s going to be like target practice for Foreman at that point where he tags Cotto at will while he stumbles and bumbles around like a theater patron trying to find the exit door at the end of a movie. Cotto won’t be able to see a thing, and with his cement shoes, he’s going to be far too slow to do any attacking.

It won’t matter how much power Cotto has or how great his so-called balance is, he’ll be blind, too slow of foot and too short and round to do much against the bigger, stronger, faster Foreman. I expect this slaughter to be over by the 8th round, with Cotto stopped either on his feet or by taking a couple of knees.