Why does Cotto fight orthodox?

[ColWallace]

Why is this? The natural southpaw fights orthodox and rarely switches to his natural stance. Which punches in his arsenal does the orthodox stance bring to the fore?

PS - I know there are lots of Cotto threads right now... apologies for another one about the enigmatic PR fighter.

[HitBattousai]

You would have to ask Cotto to know for certain, but imo, it's probably because his best three punches are his left jab, his left hook to the head, and his left hook to the body. His right hand isn't weak but neither is it strong, so fighting out of the orthodox stance he maximizes the power of his jab, it allows him to put more juice behind his weaker right hand, and allows him to deliver his most devastating punch off his jab as well. If he used the southpaw stance primarily, his straight left hand would be strong, but his right jab and right hook would not be nearly as devastating as the left hand edition.

He does switch up from time to time though. His knockdown of Malignaggi was off a straight left from the southpaw stance.

[#1Assassin]

hard to say, alot of natural leftys fight orthodox. tyson, DLH etc

and ofcourse others do the oposite (right handed southpaws) like winky, dawson etc.

[Shabba Rank$]

Fighter's that do this ON PURPOSE usually want to have a strong jab, and strong hooks.

And you guessed it, one of Cotto's best punches is his left hook to the body.

[Tiozzo]

I love fighters who don't fight out of their natural stance. It gives'em an extra edge. Having your power in the hand that is the closest to your opponent is a huge advantage. In that sense, Cotto and Moorer are very similar. Moorer's jab, right hook and right uppercutt were deadly, but he had very little behind his left hand.

[Shabba Rank$]

I love fighters who don't fight out of their natural stance. It gives'em an extra edge. Having your power in the hand that is the closest to your opponent is a huge advantage. In that sense, Cotto and Moorer are very similar. Moorer's jab, right hook and right uppercutt were deadly, but he had very little behind his left hand.

I love it to. That's the only downfall is that you may not have any power in your left.

[ColWallace]

Thanks for the answers. I thought the left hook to the body would be better delivered from the southpaw stance since he can rotate his hip through with the punch. Get more leverage on it. These 'ambidextrous' fighters must put a lotta lotta time and practice into being able to fight from both stances.

[Ray*]

I think its a geat thing that they convert him, It makes the left hand a greater weapon in the long-term, His left jab and hooks like people already would make it difficult for his opponents especially the left jab. The only problem is his footwork when working off the jab.

[Toney616]

Why is this? The natural southpaw fights orthodox and rarely switches to his natural stance. Which punches in his arsenal does the orthodox stance bring to the fore?

PS - I know there are lots of Cotto threads right now... apologies for another one about the enigmatic PR fighter.

Maybe his uncle didnt know how to train a southpaw effectively, so he encouraged Miguel to fight as a orthodox fighter. I would argue that it really worked against him in the Pacquiao fight, when he threw his left jab he was basically "naked" in the ring, because Pac had nothing to fear from his right hand

[Ray*]

Maybe his uncle didnt know how to train a southpaw effectively, so he encouraged Miguel to fight as a orthodox fighter. I would argue that it really worked against him in the Pacquiao fight, when he threw his left jab he was basically "naked" in the ring, because Pac had nothing to fear from his right hand

The problem is when a converted southpaw tries to fight a southpaw it smells of disaster.