By Liam Brindle / Lee Demain: After watching Miguel Cotto (36/29KO/2) Outbox and eventually drop Nicaraguan bomber Ricardo Mayorga ( 29/23KO/8/1) it’s apparent that Cotto, Under Manny Stewards watch, has improved significantly since the brutal beating at the hands of the p4p king Manny Paquiao, his footwork, movement and defence are much better and his jab has to be one of if not the best in boxing at the moment (perhaps second only to Vladimir Klitchko). But one thing that worries me in the aftermath of that fight, and with a potential rematch against plaster paws Margarito on the horizon, is does he have enough power at super welter to knock out the likes of Margarito?
Mayorga is a brawler who leaves his chin out to be hit and if Cotto can connect, yes he’ll drop anyone, but Margarito is a lot more skilled an operator than Mayorga, and with his relentless pressure Cotto will have to outbox Margarito to earn a UD, SD etc.
As I said earlier his movement and defence have come on leaps and bounds so this isn’t out of the question, but I just think Margarito will be more suited to the weight than Cotto and thus Cotto is going to have to work damn hard to ware him down and those 12 rounds could end up looking more like 36 with the relentless Margarito walking you down after you’ve just hit him with a 6 punch combination, that sinister grin won’t help either, Look at what the Pacman did to him and he just wouldn’t stop walking.
One thing Cotto can take heart from is the stoppage by Sugar Shane Mosley in January of last year, Cotto won a decision victory over Mosley in 2007 so this will give Cotto heart knowing Margarito was stopped by an ageing and older Mosley than the one Cotto fought, how much of that defeat was psychological though for Margarito in the light of plaster paws?. Another plus is the enormous beating Margarito took at the hands of Pacquiao last November, he was seriously beaten up and a pasting like that would be hard to come back from, providing he doesn’t have a tune up before July the Cotto fight will be Margarito’s first fight since that night and with a fired up rejuvenated champion in Cotto who’s also looking for redemption it could be a hard night for Margarito.
I like to think Cotto would beat Margarito in a rematch, how? By decision I think, unless Cotto can string some of those delicious body/head hook combinations together and land cleanly on Margarito I don’t see a KO, I think Cotto was at the hands of some serious wrong doing in their first fight (if he loads his gloves as a champion to fight Sugar Shane, why wouldn’t he as the challenger to try and take Cotto’s title?)
I only see Cotto only having lost once really, and I think he feels the same.
No doubt in my mind that Miguel Cotto will use the plaster allegations to motivate him… Cottos fathers (who recently passed away) statement to the press about how his son was unrecognisable and was bleeding from every hole in his face, even his ears will be firmly in Cottos mind during training.
I have a feeling that if this fight is made that we may well see the fastest, strongest, sharpest and more importantly the most focused Miguel Cotto that we have ever seen… add to the fact that ‘IF’ Margaritos gloves where in fact loaded, then this will have the opposite effect on Margarito…he will know that he cheated last time.
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