Cotto vs. Lara

[Mr. Fantastic]

Lara is made to order for Cotto. I got Cotto winning clearly on this one if they ever fought.

[Bushbaby]

Miguel has two losses on his record: Marg and Manny. Margarito, on his best day, is a relentless fighter -- as he was agianst Cotto. Lara's nothing like him. Manny's Manny. Erislandy's nothing like him either. Who is?

The closest comparable fighter to Lara in Miguel's resume is Joshua Clottey. He and Lara ball up in the same high guard when being attacked. The important difference is that Clottey throws more combinations, while Erislandy tends to be more of a one-two type of fighter. Josh had the fight with Cotto in his grasp, but allowed Miguel to snatch it from him.

I still think Cotto's got the edge in a match-up with Lara. But Miguel's a little faded, having absorbed a lot of punishment in the last few years. Cotto was in a war against Marg, took a lot of punishment in a win against Clottey and got hammered versus Pacquiao. Erislandy might just prove that he's too much for the gutsy Cotto at this stage in Miguel's career, as he did with Williams.

Yeah thanks for basically agreeing with everything except the bold bro!!

[ny123]

Miguel has two losses on his record: Marg and Manny. Margarito, on his best day, is a relentless fighter -- as he was agianst Cotto. Lara's nothing like him. Manny's Manny. Erislandy's nothing like him either. Who is?

The closest comparable fighter to Lara in Miguel's resume is Joshua Clottey. He and Lara ball up in the same high guard when being attacked. The important difference is that Clottey throws more combinations, while Erislandy tends to be more of a one-two type of fighter. Josh had the fight with Cotto in his grasp, but allowed Miguel to snatch it from him.

I still think Cotto's got the edge in a match-up with Lara. But Miguel's a little faded, having absorbed a lot of punishment in the last few years. Cotto was in a war against Marg, took a lot of punishment in a win against Clottey and got hammered versus Pacquiao. Erislandy might just prove that he's too much for the gutsy Cotto at this stage in Miguel's career, as he did with Williams.

I disagree that Clottey is the guy who Lara compares to on Cottos resume imo I see a lot more of Quintana in Lara rather than Clottey.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I disagree that Clottey is the guy who Lara compares to on Cottos resume imo I see a lot more of Quintana in Lara rather than Clottey.

Both southpaws, Lara and Quintana. But I still see more Clottey than Quintana in Lara.

[Pullcounter]

Who you got?

close fight imho... cotto gets the nodd...

[dannyl15]

I'd say Cotto, but Lara gives him a run for his money.

[b0ndsj0ns20]

I disagree that Clottey is the guy who Lara compares to on Cottos resume imo I see a lot more of Quintana in Lara rather than Clottey.

I think that's a good comparison, but I think he is a faster, more skilled, better Quintana. I think he is one of those guys who's performances will rise with his competition level. It appears he almost gets bored in the ring at times. I've noticed this with some of the other Cuban fighters, other than Gamboa who is all action all the time. PW pressured him the whole fight forcing him to fight more and he rose to the occasion. I think the same would happen against Cotto.

[dannyl15]

That makes one of us, Ruben. lol

Erislandy is still growing as a pro. The fight with P. Will, despite the outrageous decision, was tremendous experience for Lara. Even the fight with Molina was good work for Erislandy. Cotto might be a little faded, but I think he has enough left to edge out Lara. Of course, I thought Williams would be too much for Erislandy...and I was (happily) proven wrong. I see Miguel winning a decision over Lara.

I agree with everything you said

[bojangles1987]

Lara's a low activity boxer, Cotto's never had trouble with that. I have enough faith in what Cotto has left to pick him by decision.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I think that's a good comparison, but I think he is a faster, more skilled, better Quintana. I think he is one of those guys who's performances will rise with his competition level. It appears he almost gets bored in the ring at times. I've noticed this with some of the other Cuban fighters, other than Gamboa who is all action all the time. PW pressured him the whole fight forcing him to fight more and he rose to the occasion. I think the same would happen against Cotto.

When I got to the part about "it appears he almost gets bored in the ring at times," I thought to myself exactly what you said next. I've even seen it with Gamboa. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that a couple of Yuri's knockdowns are attributable to lack of focus. It could be a nasty byproduct of fighting all those amateur fights. These former Cuban amateur stars fought a ton of fights against weak opposition. They might've developed a stubborn "coasting" attitude. Too much amateur experience is detrimental to a pro fighter.