Yes - people also forget that between the Pac and Margarito (I) fights, he fought Clottey.
That is a fight that some people believe he genuinely lost (me included - but it was very, very close, to where either man could have gotten the W depending on what you value when judging fights). I had it 114-113 Clottey, 7 rounds to 5 (Cotto knocked Clottey down with a jab that knocked him off balance in first round).
Win or lose, though, he took A LOT of clean punches, and punishment against Clottey. His eyebrow was damn near hanging off by the final bell - the ref/doctor could have stopped that fight mid-way and nobody would have argued. But props to Cotto - he soldiered on, and even came on strong in the final rounds.
Pretty sure he fought primed Margarito, Clottey, and then Pacquiao all within a 12-18 month period as well.
Yeah I also had Clottey just edging it. He didnt look the same fighter after the first Magrito fight, his fight with Clottey kind of highlighted that fact, the Pacquaio fight even more so.
when he fought floyd. he was in absolute peak form at his best weight where he had dominated for years against absolute beasts like yuri foreman and one eyed margarito. after that he went on to become lineal middleweight champ of the world against prime martinez. he might not have been able to walk but he could box! go cotto!
something with margarito... cotto's prime was taken from him in the marg fight. pac's prime was taken from him from the marg fight. no wonder floyd retired when the marg was out looking for him.
antonio "the prime snatcher" margarito.....
Lol yes - let's be real - the TS doesn't care about actually analyzing and breaking down Cotto's career: He wants others to puppet his belief that Floyd fought the best possible version of Cotto LULZ.
all you had to do is see who the ts is and you automatically know any thread by him is tied into saving floyd in some kind of way...
After beating Judah, he marked his arrival on the world-level (to a lesser-degree, after his surprisingly competitive win over Malignaggi which did just as much good for Paulie as it did for Cotto).
I think that Margarito fight really did something to him psychologically for sure, and probably physically as well.
He was never the "conqueror" he was after that fight. As much as I despise the worm masquerading as a man, Panama Lewis said it best (in the documentary about that boxer who got beat by a man with half padding removed, AND hopped up on amphetamines) when he described Cotto, after the Judah fight as "one of the last true conquerors of boxing." Ironically, he had been helping Judah train for that fight, but had to watch in a bar as he was banned for life from being in a boxer's corner.
Anyway, sorry for the rant - but his fight with Clottey closely thereafter, which was supposed to be a showcase more than anything, and a setup for the Pac fight, did FURTHER damage to him physically, and mentally.
Then, facing the best version of Manny Pacquiao, the last bit of prime was beat out of him. I really think for all that happened to him against Margarito,and Clottey, he was still a prime fighter here.
He had some ups, and downs after that. The Trout fight, IMO, simply proved he was a blown-up welterweight who had no business fighting above 150 pounds.
Cotto won his first pro fight in February of 2001. Cotto was a champion for 5 1/2 years!
Then out of nowhere Margarito comes along and destroys him! Margarito was his first loss almost 7 1/2 years later (July 2008). That's a long time being undefeated!
During Cotto's run he blew through Lovemore N'dou, "Chop Chop" Demarcus Corley (when he was still relevant), Paulie Malignaggi, Carlos Quintana, Zab Judah, Sugar Shane and Alphonso Gomez.
Then all of a sudden the sky fell?
Truth be told if Margarito ever publicly reported he knew of the plaster because if he did he gets a lifetime ban.
I'm not stupid and I wasn't born yesterday! So I understand his denials.
Cotto's was never the same!
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT5q4e0mOWN1QDg3D8HiQtJqtz7b4oetzT4BfbiGQQYZsYyF7Cp
http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/309982/miguel_cotto_v_antonio_margarito_2_p9j9bapvkl.jpg
His next fight against Sugar Shane, Margarito was caught with loaded wrap's.
I think it started with Judah and ended with Canelo. Cotto was much better when he was trained by Roach. I think he might have defeated Trout if Roach had trained him for that fight.. For some reason Roach brought out the best of Cotto. Roach just seem to be a perfect trainer for Cotto.
Hard to say. You'll have some trolls tells you his prime ended vs. Margarito or Pacquiao but he looked great vs. Mayweather in 2012 and vs. Martinez in 2014.
Cotto had great longevity if we're gonna be honest. Everyone that beat Cotto deserves full credit, even Canelo. He never suffered a sharp decline in skills.
his decline was never in skills but in his body. he could not take the punishment and hi reflexes suffered a lot after the margarito fight. his skin was very fragile after that fight to the point he would get marked ip so easily even in training camp
Started in the Quintana Fight and ended in the the first Margarito fight so 2006-2008. His peak prime was the first 6 rounds of the margarito fight. Everything we saw after that was flashes of how great he was but his body was so beat up after 2008 he would get marked up even by none punchers like Clittey and Foreman.