By Bob Smith: Though it is almost certainly the case that Cotto will fight Canelo next May, with or without a tune up fight, many boxing fans want to see who truly is the best in the middleweight division. Perhaps Cotto’s decision not to face Golovkin is due to financial reasons; perhaps at this point in his career he feels he has nothing to prove – and as the first four division Puerto Rican champion why would he?
But perhaps also he is aware that Martinez was slipping or shot by the time that he fought Martinez, so his title is less than legitimate, and so he wants to avoid fighting a true middleweight until his cash out fight.
All of these things have been in the back of my mind, like they were in the back or front of the minds of many fight fans. Then I took a nap today – who does not enjoy weekend naps? – and had a dream about the Cotto vs. Golovkin fight – I can say it is the first boxing match that I have actually dreamed about – hence, it really is “my dream fight.”
Please consider my dream and let me know your interpretation, or if you feel it was influence by foreign substances I do not consume:
“It was actually a much more competitive fight than I thought it would be. Golovkin and his team trained hard for Cotto, and were very sure to watch out for his signature left hook, and did well in the first round to avoid it. However, Golovkin was caught with a left hook to the body in the second round and was put down. This one hurt him, and he had to shake it off a bit for the rest of the round. So, while the first round was about even and could have gone either way, the second round was a 10-8 round for Cotto.
However, in the third round, both fighters did better. As Cotto was successful in feinting the left hook to the body, he caught Golovkin on a flash knockdown with a left hook to the head. Golovkin later responded with an overhand right that hurt and staggered Cotto, but Cotto did managed to return to his feet on the count of seven or eight. However, later in the round, Cotto again feinted a left hook and tagged Golovkin with his third knockdown of the fight, another flash knockdown, with a right hook to the head. Golovkin was so busy defending against the left hook, he did not see the right hook coming. Thus, the third round was a 9-7 round for Cotto, who at this point had a commanding 3-5 point lead.
The next two rounds were roughly even and could have gone either way, and were largely uneventful, save for a second flash knockdown on another right hook (after a left hook feint) by Cotto. So, Cotto won one or both of these rounds as well and at a minimum increased his lead, and was able to use both skillful boxing and especially inside fighting to neutralize the attack of Golovkin. The fight was slipping away from Golovkin due to the successful pressure attack and the vastly superior inside fighting of Cotto. At the same time, none of the knockdowns of Cotto but the first one hurt Golovkin, whereas the first knockdown of Golovkin really did stagger Cotto.
This brought on the sixth round. In this round, Golovkin was better able to create distance, and was able to work the body of Cotto and get him on the ropes and stay out of range of the hooks of Cotto. Golovkin really beat Cotto up in this round, and ended up knocking him down and out in an exchange off of the ropes, much as happened with Geale. Cotto bravely tried to make the count, but in the end could not. Thus, it was a Golovkin KO in the sixth round, and he became the lineal middleweight champion.”
So, what do you think of this dream? How far off am I? Will Cotto ever fight Golovkin? Will Cotto even defeat Canelo? Personally, I think that there is no chance that Cotto can knock Golovkin down four times; on the other hand, this happened when Dzinziruk fought Martinez, and Dzinziruk had never been knocked down either in his career thus far. And while it is true that Golovkin has the power advantage, it is equally true that Cotto has more championship level experience, a better inside game, and more precisely timed hooks. It could well be that Cotto could force an ugly inside fight and cause Golovkin a lot of problems.
However, in my opinion no matter how good of a boxer Cotto is, he simply will not be able to handle the power of Golovkin for 12 full rounds, and even if he knocks Golovkin down a couple of times, he will not be able to avoid being knocked out himself. But in any case it was an interesting dream, as I have never had a dream about a boxing match before.
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