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Comments Thread For: Miguel Cotto-Daniel Geale: Pre-Fight Report Card

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  • Comments Thread For: Miguel Cotto-Daniel Geale: Pre-Fight Report Card

    by Cliff Rold - The weight is over.

    After much chatter about the 157 lb. catchweight for this Saturday’s Middleweight title bout, both men stepped on the scales and that was that. Geale hit his target. Cotto came in well below 157.

    We’ve got a fight.

    What kind of fight? We will know that soon enough. Cotto, making the first defense of the title he wrested from Sergio Martinez last June, has plenty on the line. A big money showdown with “Canelo” Alvarez seems a likely destination for the fall. He just has to avoid falling Saturday night to get there.

    As in-between opponents go, he didn’t pick a patsy. Even with a catchweight, Geale is an accomplished Middleweight in this era. He unified two titles in the class and went on the road to win both of them. Had he faced Cotto coming off his win over Felix Sturm, he might be favored. Instead Geale is two fights removed from the lone knockout loss of his career to Gennady Golovkin and he definitely isn’t.

    Can the Australian pull the upset?

    Despite the deserved criticism of the catchweight in this fight, Cotto deserves credit for at least facing a man still universally seen as one of the top ten Middleweights in the sport. Middleweight isn’t the strongest or deepest class in boxing but there are good fighters there. Geale has been one for several years.

    Will he be his good self in the ring on Saturday or will the extra loss of pounds prove prohibitive to his chances? Let’s assume he’s close to form until we see something that proves otherwise. If Geale isn’t throwing much and has dead legs, we’ll see that early on. It would be off form. [Click Here To Read More]

  • #2
    His activity level has dropped in his last few fights I think. Gotta check compubox again... but yea, don't think he's throwing as much as he used to. Not like a huge amount, but that's what gave him the edge in some fights

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    • #3
      A lot of people are hoping for the upset.

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      • #4
        Surprising pick Cliff - I'm hoping that you got that Teddy Atlas bug this time

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        • #5
          Cotto has an excellent offensive arsenal, he should beat geale fairly easy.

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          • #6
            Geale an A in intagibles?

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            • #7
              I have no faith in Geales chin holding against any puncher despite only being stopped once & that is without him likely being drained but I can see why some might think Geale's fidgety style and movement may cause some issues here.

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              • #8
                There are two areas where I differ with Cliff: Cotto's Speed and Cotto/Geale's intangibles. The post fight grades for those categories will probably look like this:

                Grades
                Post Fight: Speed - Cotto A-; Geale B
                Post Fight: Intangibles - Cotto A; Geale B+

                Some disregard the Martinez fight due to Sergio being in the state his knees are in (stripping him of one of his best assets), but I learned more about the Freddie Roach-trained Cotto from that fight.

                Speed: Cotto's speed (especially hand and foot speed) will prove to be the best at Middleweight and he's going to reinforce that opinion against Geale, who has good speed for the division. He hasn't gotten faster, he's maintained his speed, while his opponents are generally slower middleweights.

                Intangibles: The main differences I see in Cotto after linking up with Roach are his ring generalship and body punching. Cotto is aggressively taking control of center ring, making it a point to take and remain in possession of it (e.g. turning/tossing/manhandling Sergio to the ropes during clinches when SM would try to turn the tables). Cotto's still on his toes a lot during fights, but it's a smart, aggressive approach, instead of the smart, passive approach he was using with Diaz (which lost him that Trout fight). Also, Cotto's going to the body again; it was understandable why he wasn't going to the body anymore because it's hard to go to the body when you're boxing on your toes and/or back pedaling. If that continues, it's going to do him a world of difference.

                Geale's a good middleweight, but if he were on Cotto's level as far as intangibles, he would have found an extra gear against Barker and not fought scared then exited himself in the 3rd round of his biggest fight (a fight he was competitive in sans the KDs). Cotto's conditioning in the later rounds (when he tends to fade/cede control of fights... curious to see if he reverts to this if he's not dominating the fight) and lack of concussive power at Middleweight might save Geale from getting stopped due to accumulation or white towel, but Cotto is going to win a clear cut decision against Geale.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by dan_cov View Post
                  I have no faith in Geales chin holding against any puncher despite only being stopped once & that is without him likely being drained but I can see why some might think Geale's fidgety style and movement may cause some issues here.
                  In my case it's not faith, it's hope

                  I respect Cotto's career, but his recent behavior is lamentable at best.

                  By the way, I am still wondering if Cotto is the first man in boxing to defend a lineal title against a challenger who got tko'ed by the mandatory challenger for the same title?.

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                  • #10
                    No fighter has troubled Cotto with Jabs, not even Floyd. So I disagree with the reason on why would Geale beat Cotto. I would give Geale a chamce because he is naturally bigger and if he keeps a good workrate he can beat Cotto.

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