By Dave Lahr: It’s only been a little over a year since WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KO’s) suffered a ferocious beating at the hands of Antonio Margarito, but the damage that was inflicted upon Cotto appears to have changed him as a fighter. You could see it in Cotto’s recent 12-round split decision win over Joshua Clottey on June 13th, in which Cotto looked as if he was about to give up in the 9th round while taking punishment from Clottey.
You can try to blame Cotto’s worried and confused look all you want on his big cut over his left eye, but it looked to me that Cotto was ready to quit while taking fire. I saw the same look in Cotto’s eyes in the 11th round against Margarito where Cotto took a knee on two separate occasions to escape punishment.
Although Cotto’s face was a bloody mess from the big shots that Margarito had been hitting him with in the 10th and 11th rounds, the fact of the matter is that Cotto took the knees to escape further punishment. I don’t blame Cotto for getting out when he did, because he was dog tired at that point in the fight and taking terrible punishment from Margarito.
However, the look that was on Cotto’s face – a look of resignation and defeat – was the same look that Cotto has in his fight against Clottey in the 9th and 10th rounds. The only difference is that Clottey didn’t have the ability to finish Cotto when he appeared ready for the taking.
There’s no shame in Cotto’s loss to Margarito, because Miguel gave it all he had but just wore out under the bombs that Margarito was throwing at him in the 11th. Some of it was fatigue, no doubt, because Cotto elected to move continuously in every round. Cotto had never done that in any of his previous fights, at least he had never moved like that for more than a round or two before reverting back to his old style of brawling.
The win in Cotto’s next fight, a 5th round stoppage of Michael Jennings, said little about whether Cotto still could absorb punishment. Jennings ran almost the entire five rounds to avoid getting hit by Cotto, and never threw a meaningful punch in the short time that he had in the bout.
It wasn’t until Cotto fought Clottey that boxing writers and fans alike got the chance to see what Cotto had left. And from the looks of it, Cotto doesn’t look like he has it anymore. Cotto looks like his ability to take punishment has degraded since the Margarito fight. Cotto’s offense appears to be as good as ever, though.
But unless he is able to take Manny Pacquiao out by the 5th or 6th rounds, Cotto may end up getting stopped. Another problem that Cotto has is that he was cut badly over his left eye in the Clottey fight. Five months may not be enough time for the cut to heal properly and it could open up once Pacquiao starts making steady contact to that eye.
If Cotto has to fight Pacquiao with only one eye, you might as well kiss goodbye Cotto’s chances of winning, because he’ll have problems enough trying to track the speedy punches that Pacquiao is throwing at him. With one eye, Cotto will have to get desperate and try to knock Pacquiao out before he himself gets taken out.
In that case, I can see the same scenario that Ricky Hatton went through in his fight with Pacquiao. Cotto will try to throw a big home run punch and will end up getting clipped by a powerful right hook and dropped.
he said post-fight he never thought about quitting just cause his eye.. its a stupid article this dude wrote and you can tell he is completely bias..
why'd you post it?
I see it different, see it as a cotto who was going to make sure not to go down or quit against a wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy bigger fighter(clottey) than pacquiao. If he did not fold against clottey, he is not folding against pacquiao. Also, if he can slow down a guy like clottey with body shots he'll hurt Pacquiao all over his body.
clottey's offensive assault is nowhere near what pacman's is....fact is, clottey stopped fighting when he could've easily closed the deal. if pacman gets cotto hurt, or even worse, bleeding, he will stand there and let loose.....**** what freddie says....
I think if cotto starts with some clean shots early he could reduce pacmans output by half...only if there clean shots..pacman cant afford to take to many clean shots from cotto so he will slow down on punches..
My outlook on the fight is simple...I think cotto will try and land clean early and if he does ..manny slows his output to about half....he's not gonna realize how hard cotto hits until he gets hit..then I say everyone gonna be shocked cause manny not throwing too many punches..I say cotto stops him between 6 and 8 rounds....but know knows..
for shizzle.. lol .. co-sing homie..
I think if cotto starts with some clean shots early he could reduce pacmans output by half...only if there clean shots..pacman cant afford to take to many clean shots from cotto so he will slow down on punches..
My outlook on the fight is simple...I think cotto will try and land clean early and if he does ..manny slows his output to about half....he's not gonna realize how hard cotto hits until he gets hit..then I say everyone gonna be shocked cause manny not throwing too many punches..I say cotto stops him between 6 and 8 rounds....but know knows..
I see it different, see it as a cotto who was going to make sure not to go down or quit against a wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy bigger fighter(clottey) than pacquiao. If he did not fold against clottey, he is not folding against pacquiao. Also, if he can slow down a guy like clottey with body shots he'll hurt Pacquiao all over his body.
Calm down, it's just an opinion of one journalist. Gee, you don't have to shout. :lol1:
cotto hits the body early pac aint going to be running all over late... cotto hits hard clottey got rocked a few times in the fight and honestly i never seen that before from clottey and by the way i though in the fight he showed heart and lots of it...he dug in deep and won...if he really wanted to quit like the writer and some of you said on here than when the round ended all he had to tell the doctor is I CANT SEE BOOOM IT GOES TO THE SCORECARD THREAD FAIL!!!!!!
yea.. this writer is a moron.. he's totally underestimating cotto like everyone else in the world and on this site.. there was no where in the clottey fight that he looked like he wanted to quit.. he took his bumps.. and faught like a warrior.. he was getting hit cause he couldnt see out of his eye yea but he was quick to move back and throw bombs of his own.. you can tell he's a Cotto hater.. sad..
By Dave Lahr: It’s only been a little over a year since WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KO’s) suffered a ferocious beating at the hands of Antonio Margarito, but the damage that was inflicted upon Cotto appears to have changed him as a fighter. You could see it in Cotto’s recent 12-round split decision win over Joshua Clottey on June 13th, in which Cotto looked as if he was about to give up in the 9th round while taking punishment from Clottey.
You can try to blame Cotto’s worried and confused look all you want on his big cut over his left eye, but it looked to me that Cotto was ready to quit while taking fire. I saw the same look in Cotto’s eyes in the 11th round against Margarito where Cotto took a knee on two separate occasions to escape punishment.
Although Cotto’s face was a bloody mess from the big shots that Margarito had been hitting him with in the 10th and 11th rounds, the fact of the matter is that Cotto took the knees to escape further punishment. I don’t blame Cotto for getting out when he did, because he was dog tired at that point in the fight and taking terrible punishment from Margarito.
However, the look that was on Cotto’s face – a look of resignation and defeat – was the same look that Cotto has in his fight against Clottey in the 9th and 10th rounds. The only difference is that Clottey didn’t have the ability to finish Cotto when he appeared ready for the taking.
There’s no shame in Cotto’s loss to Margarito, because Miguel gave it all he had but just wore out under the bombs that Margarito was throwing at him in the 11th. Some of it was fatigue, no doubt, because Cotto elected to move continuously in every round. Cotto had never done that in any of his previous fights, at least he had never moved like that for more than a round or two before reverting back to his old style of brawling.
The win in Cotto’s next fight, a 5th round stoppage of Michael Jennings, said little about whether Cotto still could absorb punishment. Jennings ran almost the entire five rounds to avoid getting hit by Cotto, and never threw a meaningful punch in the short time that he had in the bout.
It wasn’t until Cotto fought Clottey that boxing writers and fans alike got the chance to see what Cotto had left. And from the looks of it, Cotto doesn’t look like he has it anymore. Cotto looks like his ability to take punishment has degraded since the Margarito fight. Cotto’s offense appears to be as good as ever, though.
But unless he is able to take Manny Pacquiao out by the 5th or 6th rounds, Cotto may end up getting stopped. Another problem that Cotto has is that he was cut badly over his left eye in the Clottey fight. Five months may not be enough time for the cut to heal properly and it could open up once Pacquiao starts making steady contact to that eye.
If Cotto has to fight Pacquiao with only one eye, you might as well kiss goodbye Cotto’s chances of winning, because he’ll have problems enough trying to track the speedy punches that Pacquiao is throwing at him. With one eye, Cotto will have to get desperate and try to knock Pacquiao out before he himself gets taken out.
In that case, I can see the same scenario that Ricky Hatton went through in his fight with Pacquiao. Cotto will try to throw a big home run punch and will end up getting clipped by a powerful right hook and dropped.
gimme a break. Why are peopel underestimating Cotto?
It should be on pacquiaos side instead. this is the guy who hasnt faced any real threat above 130lbs. Diaz Hatton and DLH dont even compare to miguel Cotto.
David Diaz did better than Hatton and De La Hoya. So what does that say about the skill level of those guys?
Miguel Cotto is a battle tested WW, he has already faced the most dangerous adversaries at 147lbs with the exception of Paul Williams.
This will be an easy win for Cotto once he gets adjusted to the speed
Something tells me it won't last that long...
I got Pac being taken out in the 8th, but it might happen a lot sooner. There are just to many factors to consider in this fight.
I'm sorry but this article is really stupid. The writer claims that he "saw the same look in Cotto's eyes" during the Clottey fight than when he took that beating from Margarito.
How the hell can you tell a fighter's will and demeanor, not to mention what he is thinking, just by looking at his eyes? This douche rides this particular point through the entire goddamn article. Steward thought DLH looked "angry and determined" against Pac, look how that turned out.
I don't think Cotto was ready to quit in the Clottey fight at ANY point, but that's just me.
I see it different, see it as a cotto who was going to make sure not to go down or quit against a wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy bigger fighter(clottey) than pacquiao. If he did not fold against clottey, he is not folding against pacquiao. Also, if he can slow down a guy like clottey with body shots he'll hurt Pacquiao all over his body.
true. i was betting on Cotto's timing to offset Pac early. i would like to see a more agressive Miguel in the beginning. like i said before a stalking Cotto is a bad man. a retreating one is still live, but i like when Cotto hunts. If i don't see any signs of him taking control, the only bad thing will be the taste in my mouth.
That doesnt even make sense. Cotto should blast Pac and will still be fine at 145 but if he doesnt do it early then he will lose? If he should blast Pac then even if its not a KO he shouldve already inflicted enough damage and or have a huge lead to the point where it will be impossible for Pac to come back
When I say blast, I mean put it on him wit big shots. 1 hitter quitters homey. I don't mean methodically breakin Pac down then goin for the kill late bro. Cotto never looks soft or outta shape in his fights, yet he's still had stamina problems. I do believe 145 ain't a problem for him, but that don't mean his stamina won't fail him if the fight goes too long.
16y ago
Cotto vs. Pacquiao: Is Miguel a Knockout Waiting to Happen? | BoxingScene Community