By Thomas Gerbasi
In the lead-up to Saturday’s junior middleweight title bout at Yankee Stadium between Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto, much of the attention has been focused on the faith of the champion, a Rabbi in training whose adherence to his studies is not only admirable, but a goldmine for those looking for the ‘out of the box’ boxing story.
But the man in the other corner, the one familiar with the ins, outs, and peculiarities of big fights, sits virtually silent as the media crowds around Foreman, content that his own faith will take him through the latest big fight of his life.
It’s not a religious thing, fodder for Catholics, Jews, Muslims, or Hindus, but a boxing thing, a faith unique to those who put gloves on their hands and throw them for a living. Cotto, not yet 30 years old chronologically, but much more than that in fistic years, still believes. He forgets the miles that Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, and Manny Pacquiao put on his odometer and simply moves forward.
And moving forward for a fighter means looking for any edge or change that can explain why what happened throughout his first 32 fights hasn’t been happening with the same regularity that it used to. For Cotto, a loss to Margarito and a less than stellar performance against journeyman Michael Jennings prompted the firing of his uncle Evangelista as trainer and the hiring of nutritionist Joe Santiago as the lead man in the corner.
That wasn’t the magic elixir for the pride of Caguas, and after gutting out a tough split decision win over Joshua Clottey, he was the victim of probably the most competitive beatdown seen in recent years at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, prompting more changes. This time, it was the addition of seven pounds for a trip north to the junior middleweight division, and the addition of another new trainer – Emanuel Steward.
The verdict on these latest moves won’t be known until Saturday, and until then, both Cotto and Steward are saying all the right things, because that’s what boxers and trainers do when talking to the media. This dance is accepted and it’s fine, because that’s what sells tickets. And while the trainers may know that what they’re saying is for the benefit of good copy, in most cases the fighters believe every word, even if in the back of their heads they know that they’re fooling themselves. Steward has heard the talk and insists that there is more than heart left in the body of Miguel Cotto.
“Any time you are coming in with a fighter that has some very rough fights, you are concerned with the physical damage as well as mental damage,” said Steward during a recent media teleconference. “Some guys, their coordination and reflexes are totally shot from the combination of the tough fights and emotions. But I did not see that from Miguel.”
What Steward did see though, was horrible balance from the former junior welterweight and welterweight champion, a technical flaw that has been the focal point of the Foreman training camp.
“I was very surprised in the first two days because his balance was so bad and his feet were spread so far apart and his head was down and he wasn’t throwing combinations, just one punch at a time,” said Steward. “I made him just drop his hands and dance back and forth with his weight evenly balanced and he caught onto it and from that point on he went to a whole other level. His boxing has been superb and all of us have been very impressed. I didn’t make any major changes, just subtle changes. He had to be doing something right to be where he is, so I didn’t try to make him be a whole new fighter. Just improve on a few areas, mainly the balance and the speed and maintain balance while he is punching in combinations.”
Cotto concurs with the camp theme, saying “My balance was awful before this camp and now it is much better than we expected. We have trained very hard with the balance and now we can throw punches and maintain the balance. That is one of the things we have worked very hard on in this camp.”
And maybe that’s all you need when you’re a great fighter. Not average or very good, but great, a distinction Cotto has earned over the course of his nearly decade-long run in the pro ranks. So for all of the talk of his legacy being on the line this weekend, that shouldn’t be the case if he loses. Instead, a loss by Cotto should be described as a great fighter going to the well once too often, aged prematurely by the fists of others and the admirable yet costly habit of leaving everything in the ring.
There is no talk like this among the members of Team Cotto though. The only thing that matters is winning – not just to take the WBA 154-pound belt, but to win for pride, for family, and for the island that still reveres him. The power of that support from Puerto Rico is something you can’t quantify, but Steward felt it after the Sergio Martinez-Kelly Pavlik bout in Atlantic City this past April.
“When I was leaving the arena in Atlantic City after the Pavlik-Martinez fight, I was bombarded by so many Puerto Rican fans, many of whom hadn’t even come to the fight, but they were waiting for me and I never had any idea that this man was so popular with the Puerto Rican fans, even though I had known of his record crowds at The Garden,” said Steward. “I had to tell Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley to go ahead and I had to walk on the boardwalk, in the rain and by the time I got the hotel, which is normally ten minutes away, and it took over an hour to get there. They were telling me that Miguel was all that they have and it really has put a burden on me. So I have put my heart and soul into this training camp, not just to win the fight – there is a lot on the line in this fight for Miguel Cotto. It is a very emotional fight in a lot of ways for our camp.”
No one has more on the line emotionally than Cotto, but he believes – in himself, in his team, and in his ability to still get the job done at the highest level of the game against an opponent hungry to one day stand where he does today among the boxing elite.
“I don’t know what is going to happen on that night, but I’m pretty sure, no matter what way, when it is over, I’m going to be the winner of the fight.”
But even the strongest man’s faith can waver at times, and in times like those, Miguel Cotto looks towards the angel on his shoulder, one who will be in his corner on Saturday night.
“He is with me,” said Cotto of his late father, Miguel Sr. “He is not here physically. On January 3rd, the day my father died, he is still by my side and he is going to be with me the night of the fight.”
