The "Heir Apparent" Curse

[ProBox1]

I've come to a conclusion "no fighter is immune to getting knocked out" after all they are only human. Flesh and bone just like the rest of us. Of course, degrees of punch resistance in fighters vary a great deal for which I know there are dozens of physiological explanations and theories. However, if one thing has been proven in over a century of prize fighting it is that anyone can be hurt by a punch they do not see coming; WBO super lightweight champion Miguel Cotto was made all to abundantly aware of this inescapable aspect of his chosen profession this past Saturday night as he was brought back down to earth with not quite an almighty crash but rather an unnerving thump. [details]

[Dropkick]

"..Curse of Heir Apparent"

Boy Rick Reeno nailed that one. Anyone can take a nap fighting any opponent. This one was a shocker.

[delroy02]

Boxing has proved over the years that on one night anything can happen. It does not matter if your chins great or if you have all the skill in the world. If you get caught right then all that skill can be for nothing

[Jose Rizal]

Saying - like that writer did - that Cotto has been exposed is like saying that 95% (maybe even higher) of all professional boxers have been exposed. Any pro, no matter how good he is bound to get rocked by a punch sooner or later, if not knocked down or knocked out. Boxers after all are mere mortals. Although trained to take and deliver punishment, I have yet to hear of a boxer with an invincible chin. Even Mayweather's top notch albeit slippery defense was penetrated by Corley in their fight and hurt to some extent, though not as much as Cotto was. Cotto wasn't even knocked down, showed heart to stay on his feet, recovered and proceeded to KO the other guy (with some help from that inept ref). The first time he gets seriously hurt and he’s suddenly a vulnerable walking knockdown waiting to happen. I think it’s a little too early to hop off his bandwagon just yet.

[ProBox1]

Boy Rick Reeno nailed that one. Anyone can take a nap fighting any opponent. This one was a shocker.

I didnt write that article. My general feeling is that when a fighter gets rocked that bad by a fighter who is not a big puncher and came into a bout extra light, bad things will happen in the future. Let's not forget Cotto had a weight advantage over Corley by almost 20 pounds.

People want to bring up Mayweather getting rocked by Corley, the difference is that Mayweather quickly recovered and Cotto was out on his feet for almost two minutes. Cotto almost went down, but had the mindset to grab on to Corley when he got hit. Another difference is that Cotto is not a 140 pounder, the guy is a legit welter/junior middleweight. Mayweather on the other hand is fighting at his natural weight. Cotto will eventually move up to 147, 154 and 160 and face fighters who have ten times the punching power of Corley. The guy comes in weighing like a middleweight for a junior welterweight fight and you could tell the size difference.

Everyone gets rocked sooner or later, but it doesnt usually happen when facing a light hitting opponent who weighs nearly 20 pounds less.