Staff Picks?

[Moon]

Guys, whatever happened to the pre-fight Picks from Boxingscene staff?

Maybe it's been replaced by the "report card" articles?

Hope not.

[Mr. Ryan]

It's so close on so many different levels. How anyone can predict a winner with any degree of certainty is beyond me.

I think the two things that we can be certain of are that Margarito needs to come forward to win and Cotto has to avoid leaning in on the inside where he can be susceptible to uppercuts.

As Margarito showed in the Lujan fight, he is considerably less effective when he tries to use movement. His game is to bring it and bring it all night. His best bet is to crank up the volume and make it a war.

Cotto should box some, but he can't run. Look at the second Daniel Santos fight. Margarito was walking into counter punches whenever Santos stood his ground. Whenever he gave it up, Margarito was given the room to uncoil his long arms and move forward with impunity. The way to fight Margarito is to counter inside of his long, looping punches and keep him from getting set. The faster you run from him, the faster he chases you.

I believe Cotto has what it takes to get the job done with Margarito, but by no means is this a walk in the park. Cotto's ability to adapt should be the difference, but with Margarito's punching power and durability you can never be sure of anything. A lot of questions will be answered by both guys, and I think the fans' anticipation for the fight will prove to be justifiable.

[Moon]

It's so close on so many different levels. How anyone can predict a winner with any degree of certainty is beyond me.

I think the two things that we can be certain of are that Margarito needs to come forward to win and Cotto has to avoid leaning in on the inside where he can be susceptible to uppercuts.

As Margarito showed in the Lujan fight, he is considerably less effective when he tries to use movement. His game is to bring it and bring it all night. His best bet is to crank up the volume and make it a war.

Cotto should box some, but he can't run. Look at the second Daniel Santos fight. Margarito was walking into counter punches whenever Santos stood his ground. Whenever he gave it up, Margarito was given the room to uncoil his long arms and move forward with impunity. The way to fight Margarito is to counter inside of his long, looping punches and keep him from getting set. The faster you run from him, the faster he chases you.

I believe Cotto has what it takes to get the job done with Margarito, but by no means is this a walk in the park. Cotto's ability to adapt should be the difference, but with Margarito's punching power and durability you can never be sure of anything. A lot of questions will be answered by both guys, and I think the fans' anticipation for the fight will prove to be justifiable.

This is a smart post. In response, I say Margarito will expose Cotto's least asset, which is his chin. One can argue I'm full of ****, but when it's Margarito throwing, you know he's gonna' connect at some point and your chin had better be there because Margarito will following it up in numbers.

[Mr. Ryan]

This is a smart post. In response, I say Margarito will expose Cotto's least asset, which is his chin. One can argue I'm full of ****, but when it's Margarito throwing, you know he's gonna' connect at some point and your chin had better be there because Margarito will following it up in numbers.

Why I think Cotto will win is because in the Williams fight, we saw that movement and a jab can inhibit Margarito's ability to let his hands go. I just like to go with the guy who can do more things, and I see Cotto being able to do more things than Margarito. Margarito's job is to bring heavy metal. If he does what he said in the past, which is to try and box behind his jab, he has no chance. He'll get picked off from a distance.

[TheManchine]

i am picking Cotto by scores of 116-112 116-112 115-113

[Moon]

Why I think Cotto will win is because in the Williams fight, we saw that movement and a jab can inhibit Margarito's ability to let his hands go. I just like to go with the guy who can do more things, and I see Cotto being able to do more things than Margarito. Margarito's job is to bring heavy metal. If he does what he said in the past, which is to try and box behind his jab, he has no chance. He'll get picked off from a distance.

I don't expect either of these guys will abondon his plan early, or will suddenly start fighting ******, but, I do expect to see both guys try to impose themselves early. I think that's one of the most interesting aspects of this fight - who will be able to get control early, if either.

That said, my expectation is that the "heavy metal" you refer to (and which I will use for myself) will be evident quite early in this fight and we'll see Cotto on the floor, more than once. I respect your choice to pick the guy with more stuff, but Margarito won't need much more than his ability to hit hard and in numbers.

[Moon]

Guys, what about those Staff Picks?

[DanielTurcotte3]

I don't expect either of these guys will abondon his plan early, or will suddenly start fighting ******, but, I do expect to see both guys try to impose themselves early. I think that's one of the most interesting aspects of this fight - who will be able to get control early, if either.

That said, my expectation is that the "heavy metal" you refer to (and which I will use for myself) will be evident quite early in this fight and we'll see Cotto on the floor, more than once. I respect your choice to pick the guy with more stuff, but Margarito won't need much more than his ability to hit hard and in numbers.

117-111, 118-110, 116-112, Cake walk for Cotto....Please remember these responses ppl like i will mine if Marg. somehow wins........