Cotto is damaged and it will show on Nov. 14th

[El Angel]

If he didn't have the massive cut that was clearly bothering him, I would have doubts also. But when he cornered Clottey and was bullying him, past prime Cotto probably couldn't do that. He may have had some questions about himself, but I think he answered by winning against a big and hard chinned WW. I think he's still a prime Cotto, but on November 14th we will know for sure.

[Webber676]

2:47 MARK...Championship rounds of the Clottey fight...Miguel throwing 6 punch body head combo's countering beautifully and doing it alll with good speed...in the championship rounds....What exactly shows him being "damaged"...Just the fact that he was fast enough to counter Clottey in the 10th 11th and 12th should show that the man still has all of his mental faculties....If you brian is mush the first thing to go is muscle twitch...and you can't counter effectively with out having the fast muscle twitch reflexes to land first...Cotto is fine.

like i said 2:47 mark.

I believe that Cotto is damaged and I saw a lot of troubling things going back to the Jennings fight. Here's a little rundown of my observations:

- He doesn't use his defense to set up his offense as much as he did in the past. He displayed a lot of subtle skills against Mosley, Judah, and Quintana with regard to slipping punches and coming back with counterpunches. When thrown at now, he almost always covers up and has to reset completely. He’s become a more basic fighter without this dimension.

- His right hand has little snap on it and it comes off very odd (refer to the Jennings fight for reference). It’s just straight. His personal trainer, Phil Landman, said he tore his rotator cuff in preparation for Jennings because he tried to do too much, too soon. That’s the reason for it. In fact, he just doesn’t look as fast, or as coordinated as he used to.

- He throws uppercuts from range. He hasn’t stepped in to throw a compact inside uppercut since the Margarito fight. Everything is a leap-in uppercut from either mid-range or long-range, and everytime, he misses the target.

- He’s heavier on his front foot than he was previously. His knees/legs have lost some bounce and he’s more flatfooted than ever before. And he doesn’t push-off the backfoot and step with the frontfoot on each punch now to create maximum leverage and power. Refer to the Judah and Quintana fights to see how Cotto used to be able to propel himself forward, almost to the point where he was leaping. Ever since the Margarito fight, he hasn’t shown the legs to do that. Simply put, he’s more static and stationary and doesn’t look as sturdy on his legs. This is the most worrying sign for me.

- Cotto was never the kind of fighter who could stop on a dime and punch; he always needed some time to get set, and that time has increased just slightly. I doubt he’s as well equipped to deal with movement and speed as he was when he fought guys like Quintana, Judah, and Mosley. Bad news if he can’t close distance quickly against Pacquiao.

- His defensive reflexes and overall reflexes/reaction times appear to be slowing. It’s not to the point where he can be labeled a shot fighter by any means, though, but there has been a decline. This slowing of reflexes has forced him to take more blows and cleaner blows than ever. He can’t lessen the impact by slightly rolling with a punch.

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IMO, Cotto is clearly past his best. Just watch his pre-Jennings/Clottey fights, recent fights and even his past training sessions hitting the mitts compared to the ones now. Night and day how much better he looked. He appeared to be ultra-confident and that confidence just isn’t all there anymore. However, while he’s physically on the downside, a good trainer would help him extend his career more than somebody like Joe Santiago. If he takes a serious beating from Pacquiao, he ought to think about calling it a day sometime soon (which I think he will anyways, as he’s said). And this is coming from a big Cotto fan.

Well said buddy, thats exactly the way I see it. I dont know if we have to have some kind of special sense or its that some fan and experts dont want to accept it but just watching at the films make this common sense.

Cotto is my second favorite figher after Pacman alone with Pavlik and I want he to do well. So I just hope he dont take a bad beating from Pacman the kind the send him into retirement. But again Pacquiao is merciless finisher and the referee as Cotto corner should look very close in order to avoid unnecessary punishment.

[TintaBoricua]

I have reviewed Cotto-Clottey fight so many times and go back to review his likes vs Judah, Ricardo Torres and others fights and believe me, he is no longer the same figher he used to be.

Now he looks at times confused, concerned, slower and hittable. In his last fight against tough Clottey it was not just the enormous gash but all this variables. I saw him wining the fight really but the only reason why he won was because Clottey dedicated himself to mimic Margarito and forgot punch... bit time mistake!!! Cotto was there for the taking and Clottey was just chasing and chasing and doing nothing, I think Ivan Carderon or Malignaggi would have finished Cotto at that stage.

Now expect on Nov. 14th Manny Pacquiao to once again show how to finish your man when is there for the taking.

I swear...I stopped reading right there.

[Nuurzhaelan]

Pacquiao avatar together with a post like that and you expect anyone to take you seriously?

[rambov]

I think he's a little "little" shot. I'm not sure. He started to look a bit Evanderish during the clottey fight.

He's way to young to be shot. I hope that it is not true..

[Ringlory]

Well said buddy, thats exactly the way I see it. I dont know if we have to have some kind of special sense or its that some fan and experts dont want to accept it but just watching at the films make this common sense.

Cotto is my second favorite figher after Pacman alone with Pavlik and I want he to do well. So I just hope he dont take a bad beating from Pacman the kind the send him into retirement. But again Pacquiao is merciless finisher and the referee as Cotto corner should look very close in order to avoid unnecessary punishment.

Well said. These are two of the most courageous fighters in the business and two of my favorite as well. I didn't want them to fight each other, because they have both been through many wars while others take it easy. I don't find that fair, but I just hope none of them gets seriously hurt where it will affect them in other fights or later in their life.

[Bonafide]

I have reviewed Cotto-Clottey fight so many times and go back to review his likes vs Judah, Ricardo Torres and others fights and believe me, he is no longer the same figher he used to be.

Now he looks at times confused, concerned, slower and hittable. In his last fight against tough Clottey it was not just the enormous gash but all this variables. I saw him wining the fight really but the only reason why he won was because Clottey dedicated himself to mimic Margarito and forgot punch... bit time mistake!!! Cotto was there for the taking and Clottey was just chasing and chasing and doing nothing, I think Ivan Carderon or Malignaggi would have finished Cotto at that stage.

Now expect on Nov. 14th Manny Pacquiao to once again show how to finish your man when is there for the taking.

I agree. In the Clottey fight he had visions of Margarito in his head. The ghost of Margarito was haunting Cotto that night just like Teddy Atlas says on a youtube interview I watched. The openings will be there for Manny all night. You will see a cautious start but once Manny realizes he can land pretty much at will then it will be good night Miguel. I like Miguel...he's a class act but this fight will probably send him into retirement or at least drop his stock.

[johncods]

So if he loses he's shot and if he wins he's not??

[ny123]

I swear...I stopped reading right there.

exactly malignaggi or calderon would have finished him off wtf kind of crack is the ts smoking?

[alexpz]

So if he loses he's shot and if he wins he's not??

If Cotto loses he isn't shot perhaps Manny is way better than him. If Cotto wins that shows that he is way better than Manny. Something like that..