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Naazim Richardson Talks Cotto-Margarito, Pacquiao

Published Mon Mar 14, 2011, 7:41 AM

There definitely was a wealth of knowledge at Saturday's post-fight press conference following Miguel Cotto's 12th round dissection of Ricardo Mayorga. Sifting through the crowd inside of the MGM Grand's media center, I came across respected trainer Naazim Richardson, one of the best interviews in the sport.

I asked the Philadelphia native what he thought of Cotto's performance against Mayorga as well as the possibility of him facing off with Antonio Margarito again this summer. In July of 2008 Margarito handed Cotto his first loss as a professional after overcoming an early deficit and turning the tide of the fight after the seventh round. Margarito would drop Cotto twice and score an 11th round TKO.

Richardson seemed impressed with Cotto last night and hinted that his edge in overall boxing acumen may give him the edge over Margarito if they dance a second time.

"It was pretty much what I expected. It just took him a couple of rounds to get going," Richardson said of Cotto. "He is just more technically sound than Margarito. I think that will catch up once the fight goes along. If it comes down to a thinking man's game, Cotto's going to take over."

But just as quickly as Richardson seemed to be giving a prediction, so too did he change gears completely and concede that Margarito is a completely different animal inside of the ring.

"I don't know," Richardson said changing his tune. "Margarito is an interesting character, man. You've got to be able to hurt him. Him and [Manny] Pacquiao are two fighters, if you can't hurt them, you can't beat them. You don't just beat them with skill, you've got to be able to hurt them. Without hurting them they are like a freight train. They are going to come and they are going to do what they want to do all night long."

Pacquiao is a fighter heavily on Richardson's mind these days as he is currently preparing former three-division champion 'Sugar' Shane Mosley for battle against the Filipino star on May 7th. Mosley had a pretty rough 2010 campaign, losing a clear decision to Floyd Mayweather in May and struggling to a draw against Sergio Mora four months later, but Richardson insists that his charge has a newfound focus coming into this fight.

"The difference between this fight and his last big fight is that we don't have a sixteen-month layoff," Richardson said of Mosley's hiatus prior to the Mayweather whitewashing. "He's right back in the groove, he's looking a lot better. I'm getting a good response from him."

Sounds great but finding a way to defeat Pacquiao is something that nobody has been able to do in over six years and thirteen fights. The southpaw from General Santos City is riding a high in the sport that has rarely been seen and his blazing combinations, fluidity, and quickness are what make Richardson call him the 'Rubik's Cube' of boxing.

A tough battle lies ahead and Richardson acknowledged just how hard their task is.

"What don't you have to look out for? The kid is fast, he punches good, he punches from the most peculiar angles you can think of. You can't practice that in the gym. Everybody's seen what Pacquiao brings to the table. You have to find answers. All the questions are going to fall on us."