Cotto an Mayweather Jr. are in two different classes. Why the rematch would not get a passing grade

By Boxing News - 01/28/2015 - Comments

cotto3e3432By Shaun La: It is difficult not to appreciate Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) in the sport of boxing. He is quiet, ambitious and the current WBC middleweight world champion who ascended thru the weight classes with hard fought bouts.

Where he stands in the arena of great Puerto Rican boxers can be linked to fulfilling the energy of success in the boxing ring left by Wilfred Benítez, Héctor Camacho to Félix Trinidad. Cotto shows up to box who is in front of him with a fortitude that earns your respect, win or lose.

This ingredient does not mix in well with a rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr. People can watch their clash from May of 2012, over and over again, and even though you can come away with a token of respect for Cotto’s tenacity, it is apparent that Floyd Jr. enjoys these kind of boxers that go for the rough fighting approach. This takes away nothing from Floyd Jr., because as a professional boxer, he is one of the best in modern boxing. What is often misplaced about Floyd Jr’s career is that he is a businessman that can routinely think of a profit margin being more substantial than the margin that accepts fighting the best in your division, which would draw out a line that point to his boxing legacy.

At any weight, the Mayweather vs. Cotto bout would have a lot of hype behind it—just because Floyd Jr. and Cotto have a proven fan base with a press willing to cover the bout. In the past, Cotto has expressed his comfort at middleweight by stating that he is not interested in dropping back down to 147. Floyd Jr. is a healthy boxer who could easily step up in the middleweight division. But, the worthiness of this kind of bout does not stir up any wonder to Floyd Jr’s legacy. He would not stay at middleweight, because the bouts in that division does not really show a favor of interesting matchmaking. The imbalances with arranging Floyd Jr. to box Gennady Golovkin, Peter Quillin, or an Andy Lee would seem very outside of the norm–when you foster the possibility of Floyd Jr. staying at middleweight. If he goes up to the middleweight division, it would only be a financial understanding that is trying to explain why he did not take on a Manny Pacquiao or Amir Khan, two boxers who would help in selling a bout with him to the pay-per-view buyers.

One may say that Cotto is not that much physically bigger than Floyd Jr., but Cotto has always had to come down in his weight in order to walk thru the land of welterweight, so the factor of him always being a middleweight has always been on his side. Cotto looks outstanding at middleweight, his punches are more solid, the weight fits his energy, and then you have the notion that his power is willing to find his competition. He looks replenished at middleweight. Floyd Jr. is such a gym master that hovering around the welterweight circle has always been the resultant of taking his weight, seriously as a professional. A middleweight bout would only be a surface accomplishment, it would not hold down a reality that Floyd Jr. is coming up & into the middleweight rankings to help out a division that has a long history of boxing champions.

So, the wonder is if Floyd Jr. and Cotto can find a way to make their rematch, a sensible bout. When I say sensible, I am reestablishing the common sense value on both of their legacies needing or not needing one another. I doubt that either one of their boxing careers will be increased, due to the need for a rematch. They have both moved on with success by winning. It does nothing for the sport of boxing, except explaining a payday for both Floyd Jr. and Cotto. Of course, the public pressure with Manny being the next opponent is a key role in unlocking who is the greatest between the two natural welterweights.

Cotto is in a new division with a lot of potential match ups that make his size interesting to those who sit in the middleweight division that is steep with talented boxers, but no necessarily a place with world famous boxers. Cotto has the name to help out the middleweight division. Currently, the middleweight division lives in a rebuilding phase, ever since Bernard Hopkins elevated into a higher weight class division.

What Floyd Jr. has for the welterweight division is something that goes beyond the catch-weight option. We witness his boxing I.Q. at a high grade when he baited Saul “Canelo” Alvarez into the catch-weight world. If he is not looking forward to a bout with Manny, then at the very least, the deep pool of welterweights that is willing to box him should be within his next selection. Kell Brook, Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan, Keith Thurman, not to mention the junior welterweights who fluctuate in the welterweight division with ease. Yes, none of these names can gain the same attention as Manny, but at least they are all aiming for the welterweight title of being the best.

Floyd Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto, should only come up when we want to measure their boxing careers and not as a way to predict the winner of a rematch.



Comments are closed.