Was Cotto More Than You Expected?

[northstar]

I'll be the first to admit that I never knew cotto could fight like that. I seriously thought he was a relentless body puncher that wore down his opponents, incapable of counter punching and fighting going backwards. I didn't think he could be that fast, box going backwards and still be effective. Shane looked really good in the fight, except I think he may have given Cotto a little to much respect in the beginning rounds. If he would have gotten in Cotto's face I believe the outcome would have been different. Cotto never tries to box an opponent and he showed intelligence by switching the game plan and boxing the last three rounds instead of fighting Mosely when he was coming into his own in the fight.

I applaud u for your honesty. But I think mosley actually did the opposite as far as showing respect is concerned. He felt that due to cotto's previous reputation of having a questionable chin, he went for an early knockout. In a post fight interview he even admitted that he purposefully took a few punches, especially jabs, in an attempt to land that one critical shot, which by the way never came. When he realized that he couldn't KO cotto that's when he started to box.

[AntonTheMeh]

it's like that guy in the article that borikua posted,he's too much of a boxer for hatton too much of a puncher for floyd[a bit strong but nonetheless]
he fights certain fighters a certain way.

[Addison]

YOU UNDERESTIMATE WHO SHANE IS.he knew what cotto's bread and butter was.cotto did his homework his right hand was great.

Right, I mean Shane was iffy at different points but I'll tell you one thing; Shane Mosley has ****ing perpelexed at first. He was shocked too.


Then you had Bernard getting excited about Miguel and ALL THAT.

Remember, this is the same Hopkins who was saying Cotto had "alot of B's with some C's thrown in there" before the fight.

People need to be ****ing real for a second.

[AntonTheMeh]

Right, I mean Shane was iffy at different points but I'll tell you one thing; Shane Mosley has ****ing perpelexed at first. He was shocked too.


Then you had Bernard getting excited about Miguel and ALL THAT.

Remember, this is the same Hopkins who was saying Cotto had "alot of B's with some C's thrown in there" before the fight.

People need to be ****ing real for a second.

too be honest i think i understand evander holyfield more than i do hopkins.

[Addison]

I applaud u for your honesty. But I think mosley actually did the opposite as far as showing respect is concerned. He felt that due to cotto's previous reputation of having a questionable chin, he went for an early knockout. In a post fight interview he even admitted that he purposefully took a few punches, especially jabs, in an attempt to land that one critical shot, which by the way never came. When he realized that he couldn't KO cotto that's when he started to box.

Good point and good post. But you can't really blame Mosley.

He studied alot of film on Cotto. The fact that he didn't get what he expected is the point of this thread really.

[Addison]

too be honest i think i understand evander holyfield more than i do hopkins.

What do you mean? Did Evander say something too?

[marsman]

Cotto impressed me, I know he hits hard but he can box a lil bit better than I thought he obviously has improved from the Zab Judah fight but he still has flaws I believe he will always carry....soft chin is the biggest flaw he has, bums can knock him out if he slippin

[Addison]

I posted this in another thread but it's more appropriate here:

I think cotto fans were definately suprised also.

I was really impressed by cotto's ability to box and how smooth his right hand looked. His right hand supprised me.This guy truly rose to the occasion. He has proven to me that he is a better all round fighter than tito trinidad. Cotto is a great fighter. In terms of overall skill he reminded me a little of Roberto Duran. He is great for boxing.

Also , in watching the fight again shane didn't look as bad as I thought he did. Although he's not as explosive as he once was he wasn't completely shot.

On another note. I know that often times a fighter's ability to take a punch increases after moving up in weight, but cotto's chin level has climbed incredibly. I don't think I have ever seen a fighter get as hurt as cotto had in previous fights, only to take the puches he took on saturday night. This leads me to believe one of 2 things.

1. And what I think is most likely the case, after 4 fights at 147 cotto has officially settled down at 147.

2. Or, correct me if I am wrong, but was it me or did the weigh in occur a little earlier than usual. Miguel could have benefitted greatly by an added 3 to 4 hours to recuperate for the fight. Being that Miguel is naturally bigger than the average welterweight, such a scenerio stands to benefit him more. If you look at both shane and miguel at the weigh-in and then saw them during the fight, cotto appeared to have filled out alot more than shane did. Not only could the added weigh have affected his chin, it also could have affected his overall strength.

For the record I don't actually believe this, but I just wanted to put that out there

Very insightful stuff. Good post.

[AntonTheMeh]

What do you mean? Did Evander say something too?

hopkins is a weird ass talker.

[-Antonio-]

Well those of us who have followed Cotto since early on have seen that he is capable of boxing like that(Pinto, Abdulaev, Ceballos, N'dou). Whether or not he would bring out the old Miguel was up in the air. The only thing I was sure of was that he'd be using his jab. I didn't expect him to be so accurate and quick with his right hand. That was the quickest he's looked since the Pinto fight.

What impressed me the most was the fact that he came into the fight with a perfect game plan. He prepared in camp to use that straight right because he (or his uncle) knew even a prime Mosley was vulnerable to that punch. I just didn't think it would have such a huge impact considering Cotto's right hand was always just solid, similar to Oscar's.

I mean Mosley prepared for body punching and uppercuts. Cotto flipped the switch, and fought a completely different fight. If you take away a fighter's best weapon, and he can still rise to the occasion and win the fight, you have to respect that.