MaFu is burning... Miguel Angel Cotto

Since Cotto has become the main subject in this forum as it late, here is my honest opinion on Miguelito's career. It could be divided in two parts; before 2005 and after 2005. For obvious reasons, I had always supported Miguel, but I was not a fan until he KOed Corley. I became a big fan when he KOed Quintana, Urkal and Judah. I always thought Cotto was brought up "protected" at 140lbs. He never faced PBF nor Hatton. IMO, he would had beat Hatton, but he would had lost to PBF back then. So when he moved to 147lbs, it was too obvious that Cotto will become an elite fighter. Cotto's wins over Quintana, Judah, Mosley and Clottey are enough to gain everyone's respect in this forum. To state otherwise is showing you are a hater and not a real boxing fan. Quintana is kind of under-rated here, but he is a good slick boxer with solid technique, basics and composure. Some say his victory over Paul Williams was a fluke, but in reality, Quintana simply showed PW is not perfect and could be outboxed. No matter what you may think of EL INDIO, nobody has been willing to fight him. His inactivity has to do with other boxers not wanting to take a risk fighting Quintana. I will love to see Berto get in the ring with Quintana. Too bad, Berto's team got him on a crystal bubble. Cotto's win over Quintana deserves respect. Judah is the standard of wasted talent. His career could had been much better if he had half of the discipline and focus of Cotto. After his loss to PBF, he was basicly inactive for a year, and that helped Zab on his loss to Cotto. Then again, Cotto was able to assimilate, adapt and overcome on his way to a KO win over Judah in a fashion that not even Spinks and PBF could defeat Zab. That victory was huge on Cotto's resume. Then came the big fight against Mosley. It was a hell of a fight, a close fight that Cotto won on a convincing fashion. No eone has ever KO Mosley, and the other two fighters that were able to beat him were taller southpaw boxers. Once again, Miguelito assimilated, adapted and overcame the odds and got a big win against a future hall of famer and arguably the best boxer in this decade. It is true that Cotto ran out of gas, but he is not first one nor is going to be the last one to win a close fight while running out of gas. None of you can't deny it was a great win for Cotto. The fight against Margarito will always have an asterisk next to it just like Barry Bonds has it next to his homeruns record. IMO, Margarito had loaded gloves and too much time has been wasted on this issue to keep beating a dead horse. Plaster or no plaster, the truth is that somehow Cotto went head hunting, forgot about the body and worst of all, he forgot to clinch when necessary. SSM was able to beat Margarito by not allowing him to get started and not letting Tony throw a thousand punches and combos. Cotto made a bad fight and payed for it with interest. It was obvious that Cotto hitted and landed with vicious punches that one of the best chins in the business handled it like nothing. If there is a rematch, Cotto better watch the fight against SSM and learn from it. SSM game plan played out perfectly to beat a lesser boxer in Margarito. Last but not least, there is the Clottey fight. No one can deny the fact that Cotto showed he has a big heart. Max Kellerman said it best at the end of the fight when he said; "Cotto showed he got a great heart, but also show his vulnerability and weakness; and that will help him land the bigger fights against Pacquiao and Mayweather." So focking true. I believe that after that fight, PBF will be more willing to fight Cotto. Back to Clottey. I know Cotto fought with basicly one eye, but it was Clottey who lost the fight more that Cotto won it. Clottey spent too much time hiding in his "gloved-almost-inpenetrable-shell" and was too inactive to win the fight. Even when he landed more punches than Cotto, it was Cotto who looked better in the fight. ADD the "whinning-Oscar-deserving-acting-show" put up by Clottey and you have the recepi on how NOT TO DEFEAT A CHAMP. Clottey did nothing to deserve the last 3 rounds. Then again, everytime Joshua let his hands go and used his fast combinations, he landed at will and hurted Cotto. Even before the headbutt, Clottey showed that he was faster than Cotto and could had outbox Cotto if he kept a higher rate of thrown punches and if he putted pressure on Cotto; the fight could had gone Clottey's way and deserve a victory. Now all the attention is on a posible fight against Manny Pacquiao. Opinions are well divided and it is well understood and I can accept all arguments in favor or against each boxer. Cotto will be the bigger fighter and common snese will tell you that the bigger fighter should win this fight. Then again, I insist that PAC is way too quick for Cotto. Cotto's defense got holes that had been exploited by Judah, SSM, Margarito and Clottey. I strongly believe that as long as Pacquiao beats Cotto to the punch, he is winning the fight. Cotto can take a beating and he has shown it in the past. Against Hatton, Pac demonstrated the boxing world that he is a two-handed solid KO puncher. I believe Pacquiao will land his right (and left) constantly and make it difficult for Cotto to stablish his "slow but effective jab". Cotto would need to train hard and improve his defense and try to get a quick KO if he wants to beat Pacquiao. Contrary to Miguelito, Manny can fight for 15 rounds. In order for Cotto to win, he will need a KO in early rounds; which is very posible and Cotto has the accuracy and power to put Manny to sleep at any given time in the fight. I appreciate Cotto as one of the best WWs Today and hopefully we will see him fight PBF next year if he is able to beat Manny Pac. Then and only then, we will be able to tell how great, or how over-rated Cotto's career has been. At the same time, PBF will have the opportunity to shut everyone's mouth about his unwillingness to take on better challenges. No matter what happens, Cotto deserves respect and has shown to be a great boxer who has not talked much outside the ring, but when it matters, Miguel has buckled up and face the all the fighters that had been put in front of him. He has not ducked an opponent (except for PW) and he has never quit. (accepting defeat and protecting his health against loaded gloves doesn't makes him a quitter.) WAR COTTO!!! :boxing::firedevil:boxing: