Why does Cotto fight orthodox?

It makes sense when you think about it. His strong arm is his lead arm. Oscar is the same way.

Wouldn't it have therefore been better to fight Pacquiao from the southpaw stance and work on the right jab to set up the hooks to the body and head? Anything had to be better than the strategy Cotto used in that fight. But I think it was too late, he would of been fighting out of a stance he hadnt had much experience fighting out of. A kind of alternative could of been to improve Cotto's straight right hand, a punch I can't remember Cotto ever using frequently It's the one punch which gives Pacquiao fits. Or to look at it another way the fighters which Pac has badly struggled with were right hand dominant fighters (em1, jmm1,jmm2) who threw the left jab and when pac tried to slip it they hit him with the straight right. If you notice none of his opponents post jmm have a good striaght right hand I think that was a problem, a bigger problem being no-one in the corner could think to suggest that change-up. Cotto's corner was a joke, he practically trained himself for that fight. It was almost a bad as Tyson when he hooked up with Jay Bright (the guy was basically a cook, lol)

Maybe his uncle didnt know how to train a southpaw effectively, so he encouraged Miguel to fight as a orthodox fighter. I would argue that it really worked against him in the Pacquiao fight, when he threw his left jab he was basically "naked" in the ring, because Pac had nothing to fear from his right hand Wouldn't it have therefore been better to fight Pacquiao from the southpaw stance and work on the right jab to set up the hooks to the body and head? I think that was a problem, a bigger problem being no-one in the corner could think to suggest that change-up.

manny is a southpaw...but he writes on his right hand...lmfao

75% of punches are thrown with your lead hand so a lot boxers make it that their stronger hand. The Jab, the Hook up top and the Hook 2 the body. De La Hoya was a lefty 2 and fought in an orthodox stance. Which was one of the reasons why Roach pushed for the Oscar-Pac fight

None in particular but when are converted then your cant go toe-toe and fight the other man's game. Round 12 of Pacquaio-Morales I comes to mind, I remember Eric taking a lot of unnecessary punches in that round I would also like to see Nunn-Liles, hopefully I'll watch that fight someday

What fights do you have in mind? If you look at Pac's recent opponents you will notice they all tend to be left hand dominant fighters. They cannot jab and throw their main power punch at the same time, which is why Pac has looked so good against them. He basically beats them all the same way, by circling to the right, away from their left hand and using his waspish movement to close the gap get of his punches then step to the right. Even if Cotto was able to align himself with Pac, he would still then have to retract his jab, "cock" his left arm then throw the left hook, by which time Pac would be gone again. None in particular but when are converted then your cant go toe-toe and fight the other man's game.

The problem is when a converted southpaw tries to fight a southpaw it smells of disaster. What fights do you have in mind? If you look at Pac's recent opponents you will notice they all tend to be left hand dominant fighters. They cannot jab and throw their main power punch at the same time, which is why Pac has looked so good against them. He basically beats them all the same way, by circling to the right, away from their left hand and using his waspish movement to close the gap get of his punches then step to the right. Even if Cotto was able to align himself with Pac, he would still then have to retract his jab, "cock" his left arm then throw the left hook, by which time Pac would be gone again.

Maybe his uncle didnt know how to train a southpaw effectively, so he encouraged Miguel to fight as a orthodox fighter. I would argue that it really worked against him in the Pacquiao fight, when he threw his left jab he was basically "naked" in the ring, because Pac had nothing to fear from his right hand The problem is when a converted southpaw tries to fight a southpaw it smells of disaster.

Why is this? The natural southpaw fights orthodox and rarely switches to his natural stance. Which punches in his arsenal does the orthodox stance bring to the fore? PS - I know there are lots of Cotto threads right now... apologies for another one about the enigmatic PR fighter. Maybe his uncle didnt know how to train a southpaw effectively, so he encouraged Miguel to fight as a orthodox fighter. I would argue that it really worked against him in the Pacquiao fight, when he threw his left jab he was basically "naked" in the ring, because Pac had nothing to fear from his right hand

I think its a geat thing that they convert him, It makes the left hand a greater weapon in the long-term, His left jab and hooks like people already would make it difficult for his opponents especially the left jab. The only problem is his footwork when working off the jab.

Thanks for the answers. I thought the left hook to the body would be better delivered from the southpaw stance since he can rotate his hip through with the punch. Get more leverage on it. These 'ambidextrous' fighters must put a lotta lotta time and practice into being able to fight from both stances.

I love fighters who don't fight out of their natural stance. It gives'em an extra edge. Having your power in the hand that is the closest to your opponent is a huge advantage. In that sense, Cotto and Moorer are very similar. Moorer's jab, right hook and right uppercutt were deadly, but he had very little behind his left hand. I love it to. That's the only downfall is that you may not have any power in your left.

Fighter's that do this ON PURPOSE usually want to have a strong jab, and strong hooks. And you guessed it, one of Cotto's best punches is his left hook to the body.

Fighter's that do this ON PURPOSE usually want to have a strong jab, and strong hooks. And you guessed it, one of Cotto's best punches is his left hook to the body.

hard to say, alot of natural leftys fight orthodox. tyson, DLH etc and ofcourse others do the oposite (right handed southpaws) like winky, dawson etc.

You would have to ask Cotto to know for certain, but imo, it's probably because his best three punches are his left jab, his left hook to the head, and his left hook to the body. His right hand isn't weak but neither is it strong, so fighting out of the orthodox stance he maximizes the power of his jab, it allows him to put more juice behind his weaker right hand, and allows him to deliver his most devastating punch off his jab as well. If he used the southpaw stance primarily, his straight left hand would be strong, but his right jab and right hook would not be nearly as devastating as the left hand edition. He does switch up from time to time though. His knockdown of Malignaggi was off a straight left from the southpaw stance.