And he won't accept it because he's a stubborn guy.
I know a guy that trained with him when he was an amateur fighter in Salinas, Puerto Rico. He has a story about Cotto's stamina. He says that Cotto is great, that one day he decided to run along with him, challenging Cotto. Cotto said ok, and they ran, but after a while, Cotto started running fast and left him behind gassed out.
Then I read on the Puertorican newspaper El Nuevo Día (or maybe it was Primera Hora, I forgot) that he did that to a reporter recently. The reporter asked him if he could run along with him, Cotto said ok, and Cotto did the same thing. Ran for (If I'm not mistaken) 4 miles in a competitive pace, and then turned on the afterburners for the last mile. The reporter was left back gassed out, lost, and couldn't find Cotto's headquarters.
Problem is for stubborn Cotto he is not against amateur prospects or journalists. He's a WW champion and is fighting against the best of the best at 147.
And in that level, Cotto has looked gassed out even in the Gómez fight, where he was fighting against a punching bag.
Cotto: Stop being stubborn like a donkey, and work on your stamina.
Cotto may have stamina issues, but truth be told, they have not really manifested themselves (I won't discuss Margarito fight and start speculating) and been detrimental. He has had some fights in which he's slowed down in the later rounds, but then again, he's had some fights in which, after taking a break during some of the middle rounds, has been able to pick it up and finish strong.
It is very well known that endurance improvement is a very specific to the type of training being employed. Runners improve running endurance by running, bikers by biking, and swimmers by swimming. Lance Armstrong, whose lung capacity is legendary and an elite athlete, not only did not win any marathon he has participated in, but has commented that it was the most difficult thing he has done." How is this possible for an endurance athlete like Armstrong? Well, even though efficient lungs are valuable for both cycling and running, there is more to it than just great lung capacity. Running trains muscles in a different way than cycling does.
If Cotto wants to increase his boxing stamina, he'd be well served by making sure he does some type of exercise to increase his heart and lung capacity, but he must also do more sparring, harder sparring, or a combination of both.
Yea I must have missed that round...
anyway to TS...
The only fight where Cotto truly lost his legs was in the Margarito fight...and that was a incredible pace that he was trying to keep up...That plus the Margarito body attack left him gassed out...not even going to mention...well you know...
All three other fights where Cotto's stamina was tested 12 rounds...he pulled out victories.
N'dou....The guy would not budge...Cotto fought on the back foot and landed bombs...also took some and out lasted the African in 12 brutal rounds.
Mosley...Cotto had it all this night...he felt out early...pushed the pace in the middle rounds and boxed beautifully in the championship rounds...Shane was impressive in defeat.
Clottey...Cotto was hampered with a huge cut above his eye and in there with a superb defensive fighter with fast hands and a solid chin...Cotto showed to grit and if anything to me quieted the noise about stamina with his gutsy championship round performance.
I don´t remember the N´Dou fight so I won´t comment on that one.
In the Mosley fight, Shane was cautious. Cotto hit him early with good shots so he was careful not to receive much damage. After Cotto knew he had enough points to secure a win, he started doing his defensive lateral movement thing, and Shane being cautious (not overly cautious, but respecting Cotto´s power) couldn´t capitalize on Cotto. Also, Cotto controlled the pace with smart boxing. He did great, but he wasn´t pushed to the brink.
The Clottey fight was different in my opinion. If Clottey had been more aggresive and had a higher punch output, he could have edged a decision and even knocked down Cotto in the later rounds. But Clottey was more interested in crying and trying to get a 10-8 round by whining to the ref and making a drama, never realizing it wasn´t the best night for Cotto´s stamina. The fight was also fought at Cotto´s pace, thanks in part to Clottey´s pathetic punch output and crab defense.
Now, the Gómez fight, you can see Cotto breathing through his mouth and being evasive, because he was putting on a show beating up Gómez. I knew he was going to do that after I saw him stare at Gómez in the most arrogant way after the round ended, like saying him ¨Get out of my ring, noobie¨. But look closely at Miguel in rounds 4 and 5 and he isn´t comfortable. It doesn´t shows up much because he was being so dominant and completely controlling the pace.
Gassed in the Gomez fight? I must have missed that part.
Peace.
Look at Cotto in the first 3 rounds of the Gómez fight. He hardly breathes through his mouth. Round 4 he starts breathing through his mouth. Round 5 he does it, and starts doing the in/out lateral movement defensive thing he does when he´s hurt or gassed.
Sure, it will never show up as an obvious problem because he was completely controlling the fight. Gómez wasn´t pushing him, because he doesn´t have the tools to fight an elite fighter like Cotto.
After I saw that fight, I knew he was going to lose against Margarito, because Margo had chin and stamina. Chin to overcome Cotto´s early assault, and stamina to push him later. Of course, he probably had plaster, but that´s another thread.