Hmmm, I would also agree that Mayweather is better on the inside than Cotto. Cotto is not actually that good an in-fighter. He is a mid range pressure fighter that needs room to actually work and keep the power in his punches, get to the body etc.
If you know Mayweathers fights, you'll know that most of his fights before WW were fought with him in the pocket. He would do a bit of boxing but the majority of his offensive/point scoring/effective aggression was on the inside ala Toney (I only use Toney as a case in point because he is more well known as an inside pocket fighter than Mayweather is, yet they are very similar fighters or do their best ie. most effective work on the inside).
I've always found it odd that most people consider Mayweather your typical classic 'Sugar' Ray type of boxer who will win nearly all his fights by staying away and using a long jab and speed to win fights. Mayweather rarely actually fights that way, even when he did move up to WW and fought big guys like Baldomir, it was still more pot shot type fighting than pure boxing.
I've always felt that only someone with either better pure boxing skills (Leonard) or a better actual inside game (Duran) would be able to beat Mayweather. He is better at pocket fighting than anyone I can think of today and probably better at boxing than most, but, his main game is still to fight more on the inside than on the outside. Cotto just doesn't have that range of skill to be able to beat Mayweather either with his 'boxing' or his mid-range pressure fighting.
The funny thing I find is, after seeing this thread in History about Cotto being better than Duran, I actually think Duran and Mayweather have more in common than Cotto and Duran. Mayweathers skills on the inside are to closer to a great inside fighter like Duran than Cotto's are. He really does have a better inside game because he utilises more skills while there. He is very hard to hit and has the type defense which leads to openings in the opponent which consequently get taken advantage of with short sharp effective inside punches and combo's. Cotto just doesn't really fight like that.
I agree with your post except the bold. I think PBF is more technically sound fighter than SRL. That in no way means I think PBF is better than Ray Leonard or would win if they fought.
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