what improvements has cotto shown that says he can deal with tonys pressure??

Margarito wins again imo.

None..... Cotto still doesnt know how to clinch. Margarito will knock him out again.

He slightly more mobile at this point in his career and I think he utilizes the jab a bit more. The thing people tend to ignore is the fact that Margarito just took a pretty horrific beating from Pacquiao and we haven't yet seen how he has recovered since then. That really needs to be taken into consideration when discussing this fight.

honestly, none. he lost to pac, stopped a guy with 8 wins by ko, and an old mayorga. we haven't really seen what manny steward can do with cotto in his last two fights. the interesting thing about this rematch is that both fighters are older, and it won't be tainted with the loaded gloves scandal. cotto needs a good gameplan to beat him this time around though, that's for sure.

go to the body..stay off the ropes..clinch..jab use the right hand...n hit the track n run more cuz he seemed gassed in some of his 12 rd fights

I believe the tony that fought Pacquiao would still be too much for cotto. Cotto needs to hurt margarito to get his respect otherwise Margarito will just walk all over him again. And even then he needs to sustain it because as evidenced by the Pac fight Margarito keeps coming no matter what.

He cant let Margarito shake it off every time he connects a good 2-3-4 punch combo. He needs to keep throwing. Instead of backpedaling. Margarito gets hit at will. He has no type of defense. But if anyone noticed in their first fight. Margarito was getting hit , and every time Cotto landed , he kind of froze for a moment , nodded his head as saying "I can take that yeah, Here I come again" , Cotto would step back and let Margarito come to him again. And then boom , Cotto would hit him again , freeze him for a few seconds , Margarito would regroup , shake it off , and come forward again. And Cotto would go back every time he landed a punch or a combo. IMO Cotto was being too much of a counter puncher. He was being forced back. He needs to stand his grown , and throw more than what he did in the first fight. Someone needs to tell him that he can hit Margarito at will with almost everything he throws. He is not going to K.O Margarito from one punch.

I thought Cotto looked like **** against Mayorga. Stewart was expecting a early knockout and he could not produce. Mayorga is unorthodox, but is there to be hit flush. Especially from technical fighters(Tito, De La Hoya). Both Cotto and Margarito have declined and I am not sure how anyone can tell which one has fallen farther. Cotto has always had better technique, but if he cannot sit down on his punches, then the power is not there. If the power is not there because of the pressure, then Cotto will surely lose again. Plaster or not plaster.

I don't think Cotto can hurt Tony, so it'll definitely be an endurance battle and a battle of wills down the stretch. Cotto by decision, in a smarter slower tempo fight. Marg will rush Cotto and Cotto will take a few shots, but Cotto will calmly reset and follow the gameplan from the middle of the ring.

his only hope is Shane and Pac having ruined Tony's iron chin without hurting Tony, he has no chance

what changes has he shown that says he can deal with margos constant pressure..not to mention at 154 cotto doesnt look as good as he did at 147.. what game plan can cotto use to beat margo? I have not seen any changes thus far. He can hope that Margarito's chin is gone. But seriously, the best game plan for Cotto is to jab and sit down on his punches. Back Tony up like Shane did. I do not see that happening, but that is his only chance.

Nope. He really hasn't. He's going to lose the same way as the first fight. He's more vulnerable now than he ever was up to and including the Marg fight. He hasn't changed a single thing since that fight. He boxes more now but really the only thing that's changed is his intensity which would make the fight easier for Marg not harder. If he still had the same intensity as before but had learned a few new tricks, then I could see him winning but he hasn't changed anything. Unless Marg is even more shot than he has looked recently, then he wins it in similar fashion. The only thing he has to do is walk forward and back Cotto up and that is now easier to do than ever before so even a shot Marg should win. If Cotto had learned how to clinch and not waste so much movement and energy by using his legs too much, then I would give him a good chance, but he hasn't done anything like that in any fight since. For Cotto to change his style for the Margarito rematch is a sure way to defeat. That is too late for him. Cotto rarely clinch, he box. He may not be as fast as floyd or Pac but he surely knows how to box and he is effective with it. Cotto doesn't have to reinvent the wheel. Clinching is not the only way to beat Margarito, pac has shown that. :boxing:

Cotto doesn't need any improvement in the skills department to beat Margarito in the rematch. He was doing alright in the early part of their first bout. He was outboxing Margarito at will until he gassed out. Whether it is due to the relentless onslaught or the padded gloves that started taking its toll or both, the fact is he gassed out. Margarito has recently fought just once in 154. For anyone to conclude that he has not shown power or any improvement in that weight class is making a big mistake. Margarito is big guy for a Welterweight. His punches will be more powerful in JMW. If he comes in in his rematch with Cotto with the same stamina as in Pac/Margarito, I expect him to give Cotto another beating. Cotto's chances is in better conditioning. A few tweeks in his evasive technique will help, but the key is stamina. He must box, throw those jabs and left hook more frequently. Cotto was effective with them in their first bout until he run out of steam. My opinion.

None, atleast I haven't seen any, but look at how much Margarito's declined, Cotto still has alot left in him, more than enough to beat Tony in my opinion.

He hasn't. Nope. He really hasn't. He's going to lose the same way as the first fight. He's more vulnerable now than he ever was up to and including the Marg fight. He hasn't changed a single thing since that fight. He boxes more now but really the only thing that's changed is his intensity which would make the fight easier for Marg not harder. If he still had the same intensity as before but had learned a few new tricks, then I could see him winning but he hasn't changed anything. Unless Marg is even more shot than he has looked recently, then he wins it in similar fashion. The only thing he has to do is walk forward and back Cotto up and that is now easier to do than ever before so even a shot Marg should win. If Cotto had learned how to clinch and not waste so much movement and energy by using his legs too much, then I would give him a good chance, but he hasn't done anything like that in any fight since.

Yeah, I said something similar in a post a couple weeks back; that if Cotto can test that orbital area with the jab, he may bust it up again. It's a possibility that area is still tender. That aside, although Cotto's jab is the heavy, converted-southpaw kind, I don't know if it's enough of a weapon by itself to dominate or deny Tony altogether; Margarito will look to time, parry or defelect that jab to get inside, which he did do with some success in the first fight. And when he's coming in, his length puts him closer to hooking/uppercutting range even while in range of Cotto's jab than Cotto is used to. Mayorga didn't have that, or Tony's flow of punches, to his benefit. And that's not mentioning that Margarito has his own jab, which doesn't appear to be a great one, but which he can use to successfully rage-find, close distance and maneuver opponents all the same -- it's another thing he used against Cotto and I'd expect it to show up again in the rematch. People look at the first fight like Tony exhibited no boxing skill at all. But he used his jab and he employed some defence, even while he appeared only to brawl and use his face as a shield. I'm not claiming he's a great technician, by any means, but he definitely boxes. As long as Margarito isn't too changed and he doesn't consider anything too much, I see him getting results doing the same things he did in the first fight. Cotto needs to be jabbing at angles and landing big shots when he can, but tying up when Tony inevitably gets through, the purpose being to deny Margarito rhythm and keep himself from being driven to the ropes. Maybe Cotto's just not strong enough and the clinching will sap him as much as the constant lateral movement needed to execute your plan against Margarito would; in that case, I don't see a way out for him, short of Tony being utterly spent, truly feather-fisted or badly hindered by his scar-tissue. great post. All that said if Cotto can cut the time he was on the ropes against Margarito in half he likely wins this fight by a large margin. If he is able to paint Margarito with that jab even more so than he did in their first fight and lands the bulk of his punches moving forward this fight gets really interesting.

All he has to do is clinch like Mosley did after hitting him with Power shot and combos and he's going to knock him out!!

I think it's more based on Margarito's performance since the loaded gloves, has been dismal, makes folks think it'll be diferent this time.

These are what I see: Better positioning -- He is more upright and has better form. He is not hunched over, absorbing those upper cuts. This has improved his stamina and defense.Although Mayorga got his touches, he was limited. Improved footwork -- In that fight, he moved in a back line, allowing Tony to simply move forward, expending no energy and hitting at will. He is moving laterally now and hasn't crossed his feet as much. He was able to turn Mayorga in the center of the ring and land combos. Use of jab -- He always had a powerful and impactful jab, however he mainly used his power to just overwhelm his opponents. Fighting under Steward has allowed him to just use his jab to set up the body attack and control the pace of the fight. In the Mayorga fight, he used the jab to stop Mayorga's onslaught and keep Mayorga from clubbing him. Mayorga is a bigger and stronger fighter than Tony, and Cotto keeping Mayorga off of him with the jab and body attack is a pleasant improvement. Endurance -- Those three points already discussed in my opinion has greatly increased his endurance as a result. In Foreman and Mayorga, he fought two fighters that should have tested his endurance. Against Foreman, he had to keep up with Foreman's movement, and against Mayorga, his size and strength can overwhelm alot of fighters who are smaller, but his improvement in fundamentals allowed him to be just as strong in the later rounds as they are in the beginning. Right Hand -- It looked strong against Mayorga, and its been an issue with Cotto for a long time, so we'll be seeing ti against Tony Tony has never looked 'good' at 154 either, so for that, I give the edge, or at least a wash to Cotto. I don't think the weight for this particular fight matters. I can't predict a winner, but all I do know is that I don't think either of these two guys are "shot" like everyone throws out. They are still upper echelon fighters who can beat most guys. These two hate each other in a way that you can't script. They will battle and try to murder each other. If Cotto keeps to the plan and controls the action, I think he'll win. But if he loses his nerve, he'll lose. Its going to be an awesome battle that will live up to the original Excellent post.

Steward has improved Cotto. He has him throwing in combinations, thinking a bit more and really using his jab. It also looks like Cotto will commit to use the right hand more, against margarito all this will help but he has to be careful of moving backwards too much and stay off the ropes period. The only time Margarito hurt pac was when he was against the ropes. Look at the guys stoppages or KO's almost all of them are when he as his opponents against the ropes.