One Last Cotto-Malignaggi Question?

[DLT]

I still havent seen the fight yet but its coming. However from alot of fans and writers Im still getting conflicting reports. Ive read so many post & articles talking about how Paulie clearly was the better boxer and made Cotto look ****** at times but just didnt have enough power, experience, and Cotto was too big.

Then I hear the other half of the people saying that Cotto beat Paulie at his own game and he was clearly the better boxer and he mostly beat Paulie by outboxing him.

Then there has been alot made of the holding. Alot of the people say that Paulie held Cotto alot and that is part of the thing that saved him but then I read other articles talking about that Cotto was the one benefiting from the holding because the ref wouldnt break them and Cotto would just kill Paulie in those holds and clinches with vicious shots.

Then I read one article saying that it was a great belt with hardly any clinches and alot of great infighting.

Then again, I read alot that says Paulie only won 2 or 3 rounds but then I read alot that says Paulie won 6 or got a draw.

I have a bad feeling that when I watch this fight that Im going to think that Paulie did alot better the others think. I think alot of fans and judges tend to be seperated on what they like. 2 people can watch the same exact thing but score something totally different because one guy loves to watch the art of boxing but the other guy will love the big shots. For example, in the Spinks & Mayorga fight you had alot of people saying Spinks made him look like a fool and others said that Mayorga clearly won and Spinks ran all night.

I try to stay in the middle. I am big on slick boxers but if a guy is doing well against a slick boxer then I will give him props. I still dont see how anyone had Hopkins winning any of the Taylor fights. I love Callazo's slick style and think he couldve beat Hatton if he wouldnt have let Hatton hold him so much at the end but he did and I think Callazo lost, so that will show you that Im not bias to the slick fighter.

I cant wait to see this Cotto fight because it sounds like one of those that can split alot of people. Look at what these 2 writers say about the fight and both of them love Cotto and pretty much hated Malignaggi. My main reason for this thread is I know people are going to be pretty much divided on what they thought about the fight but I just wanted to know who you guys think was the better "boxer"? Who Outboxed Who?
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I figured those links wouldnt work but Ill post the articles

[DLT]

Here's the 1st Article:

Cotto Schools Malignaggi!

10.06.06 - By Izyaslav “Slava” Koza: Tonight in front of a largely pro Puerto Rican crowd, Miguel Cotto its native son, gave his fellow latinos something else to celebrate besides the upcoming parade. His foe Pauli Malignaggi received a sound thrashing for all the garbage he talked before the bout, and all the posing he did for the cameras.. Interestingly enough now he won’t have to pucker his face, because Cotto gave him the equivalent of a botox injection by breaking the right part of his jaw. The pain didn’t end there as late left from Miguel landed straight on the nose and mouth of Malignaggi making both ooze blood. All in all the fight left a very satisfying feeling for me since I had picked Cotto to win and was happy with the result.

Although the commentators tried to make it seem like Malignaggi was doing pretty well to be honest I was not in agreement. Really after the knockdown in round 2 and the hard punches Malignaggi took in round 1, I think he realized Cotto was not going to get fazed by his pitter pat punches. Malignaggi’s offense then amounted to doing one of two things, where in a: he ran away and threw many fast flashy combos which landed on Cotto’s gloves and did little damage, or b.) ran in looking to tie Cotto down.

In regards to strategy “a,” the only reason the commentators believed that this sort of punching was doing damage was because Cotto seemed drained and thus indirectly seemingly bothered by the punches. In my opinion this was more a matter of him being weight drained, and thus improperly prepared for the fight. Still it is an amazing testament to his dedication that he came in roughly 2 pounds under the limit, visibly dry in the face and still managed to bring the fight to Malignaggi. Late in the fight he regained his wind, and seemingly became more motivated after he busted the rest of Malignaggi’s face and cruised comfortably till the end.

Strategy “b” from Malignaggi was met with excellent inside roughness from Cotto. For one as I mentioned in my infamous Calzaghe Lacy write up, if a guy is there to hold and tie up, the opponent must be ready to get down and dirty. Miguel Cotto seeing as he is such a tremendous fighter, was not going to let his opponent get away with grappling him. In response to these tactics Miguel tried to always twist his arms in such a way as to get Malignaggi off balance, or more importantly he employed the Mayweather Jr. patented forearm to the head, which is a great deterrent to guys looking to put their arms around you and come in to break the action. Sure it may seem dirty, but as I said many times I believe that is the only way to respond, by fighting fire with fire, when the referee does not step in and do his job. By the way I felt Smoger was totally off his game in this respect. Whenever Malignaggi would come in and grapple he would tell him to push off, even though Malignaggi was the one initiating the clinches. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around where Smoger should have told Cotto to push off, or better yet, forced Malignaggi to stop wrestling?

In any case Cotto was clearly the better fighter, even if under prepared to fight at this weight, and I tip my hat off to him for living up to high expectations. Hopefully he will move to 147, where he should be much stronger. As far as Malignaggi as I said I don’t believe he deserves all the “job well done,” kudos he got as he was there mostly to survive, possibly hoping the weight problems for Cotto might pay off late. In any case he does deserve credit as any boxer does, I am just not sure if he deserves that much that we should overlook the events of the fight.

[DLT]

Here's the 2nd Article:

Miguel Cotto defends WBO jr. welterweight belt

11.06.06 - By Frank Gonzalez Jr.: There were some exciting fights on the menu at Madison Square Garden Saturday night in New York City.

The Main Event was an interesting battle between unbeaten Jr. Welterweights as WBO Champion Miguel Cotto (27-0, 22 KO's) of Puerto Rico took on the challenger from Brooklyn, Paul Malignaggi (21-1, 5 KO's).

The Fight:

The first round was a long one. At the onset, Cotto's power punching dictated the tempo. Malignaggi was cut over his left eye from what looked like a head butt aggravated by more Cotto left hooks. By the end of the first round, Malignaggi looked en route to being routed. 10-9 Cotto.

Early in the second, Cotto floored Malignaggi early with a left hook but Malignaggi got up and showed a ton of heart as he went to what he knows-stylistic boxing. Paulie kept outside and scored with jabs and follow up right and lefts. Cotto did the most damage with less effort. 10-8 Cotto.

In the third, Malignaggi was out boxing Cotto, who still managed to land the more telling blows. Malignaggi, whose face was starting to swell by his eye and jaw, went to work and outscored Cotto with his jab and quick one-two combinations. Paulie's speedy hands were the story of round three. Cotto didn't do enough and was allowing the momentum to slip from his side. 10-9 Malignaggi.

In the fourth, Malignaggi's confidence was rising as he was beating Cotto to the punch and becoming the matador to Cotto, the bull. Cotto still managed to rock Malignaggi a couple of times when he got inside. Malignaggi scored more often but Cotto scored with more authority. I scored that round even.

The fifth round saw Malignaggi scoring more frequently and Cotto getting more frustrated as he could hardly catch the speedy challenger. The tide had turned and Malignaggi was successfully out boxing the much stronger Miguel Cotto. 10-9 Malignaggi.

Malignaggi was the busier fighter in the sixth, peppering Cotto with jabs and constantly moving out of harms way. Whenever Cotto got close, Malignaggi clinched and constantly forced him to reset. The focus shifted to Malignaggi, whose mobility and quick handedness was getting the job done. 10-9 Malignaggi.

Cotto got more aggressive in the seventh, pressing Malignaggi into the corners and letting loose with the leather. Though Paulie blocked a lot of shots, he was getting cracked enough for his face to swell to a pulp, especially near his right jaw, an indication that Cotto was having the most success with his left hand. But Malignaggi showed true heart and did his share of damage over his much stronger opponent. 10-9 Cotto.

Cotto kept up the pressure in the eighth and was scoring in spots. Malignaggi rallied at times and landed some clean shots that actually looked to stun Cotto a bit. At one point, Cotto landed a left hand and Malignaggi tripped backwards from Cotto's foot position and slipped. It was ruled a slip but it could easily have been ruled a knockdown since there was a punch involved in that loss of balance that saw him Paulie the canvas. Malignaggi gave a good account of himself late in the round, scoring almost at will. A very tough round to score-Even.

Malignaggi was landing the cleaner shots in the ninth when suddenly, the referee, Steve Smoger, halted the action to address loose tape on one of Malignaggi's gloves. The pause helped Cotto as Malignaggi was starting to unleash a crescendo of offense. The crowd booed at the interruption. When action resumed, Cotto was incapable of catching Malignaggi, who bobbed, weaved and popped his jab and little combinations successfully. Finally, Malignaggi stunned Cotto (and the crowd) with a right hand that pushed Cotto backwards. Chants of "Paulie, Paulie, Paulie!" filled the arena. This was Paulie's best round. 10-9 Malignaggi.

In the tenth, the battered looking Malignaggi was in control and frustrating Cotto by beating him to the punch and avoiding his returns. For some reason, Cotto wasn't using his jab much and Malignaggi capitalized on that mistake well. Cotto was off rhythm. 10-9 Malignaggi.

Cotto came on strong in the eleventh, rocking Malignaggi with some clean shots to the face and body. Malignaggi fought like a true warrior though Cotto stunned him twice with left hooks into his already pork chopped, right side of his jaw. Bleeding from his nose, eyes and battered, Malignaggi gave all he had. 10-9 Cotto.

The doctor looked at Malignaggi between rounds but let him continue.

In the final round, Cotto showed what a Champion does in a tough fight as he chased Malignaggi down and dominated the final round. Malignaggi, under pressure, held and often wrestled with Cotto, who ****** away at the body and head with no respect for Malignaggi's power or lack thereof. Malignaggi showed a hell of a chin and left a strong impression on the very pro Cotto crowd. 10-9 Cotto.

The official scores were read and two Judges had it 116-111, the other had it 115-112, all for Miguel Cotto, who retained his WBO Title.

Malignaggi lost the decision but won the recognition of fight fans worldwide with his big heart, slick boxing skills and unquestionable bravery under pressure.

I confess, I've not been a fan of Malignaggi. He talks too much trash prior to fights and his lack of professional conduct at the start of fights by refusing to touch gloves with opponents, talking too much crap, etc. gets under my skin. However, Malignaggi is very talented and proved that he's as tough as nails. He will be a very tough proposition for anyone in the top ten of the Jr. Welter division. At 25, he's still on the rise and likely to win a significant title sometime soon. He's got a lot to be proud of about his performance against one of the best in the division.

In contrast to his pre-fight behavior, Malignaggi was quite humble after the decision was announced, saying he'd make no excuses and that Cotto is a very strong puncher and a good fighter. He looked to be holding back the water works during the post fight interview with legendary boxing scribe, Wallace Matthews, who told Paulie that he finished in second place against the Champion, which sounds more noble than, 'you lost.'

Almost shockingly, Cotto spoke English during the post fight interview, giving due credit to Malignaggi, saying he was a very tough opponent. Matthews asked about Cotto's difficulties in making weight at 140 and whether he's ready to move up. Cotto said he is considering a move to 147, which is long overdue. When asked who he wants to fight next, he gave his standard answer, which is, "whoever his team puts in front of him."

Who expected this fight to go the distance? Not me. I figured Cotto would win by KO, somewhere after the seventh but Paulie showed the heart of a "Thunder" Gatti and the skills of a "Sweet Pea" Whitaker. It wasn't enough to beat Miguel Cotto but I seriously doubt anyone who saw this fight will take Malignaggi lightly.

It was a great fight, one that may eventually define both men in the history of Boxing. Too bad a vast majority of sports fans had to miss this fight because it was on Pay-Per-View. How about the fact that Hopkins vs. Tarver was scheduled at the same time on another PPV program? What the hell were they thinking? The Cotto Malignaggi fight should have been available to the general public for free, as it was the kind of fight so chock full of drama that it would easily help increase the fan base of this great, but mismanaged sport.

In closing, I commend both men for a tremendous fight.

[borikua]

Just see the fight man...

[DLT]

Just see the fight man...

your right about dat

[borikua]

your right about dat

Did you get a copy already?

[DLT]

Did you get a copy already?

Nah, but Mech hooked me up with one on Ebay and it has the Tarver fight and all the undercards for both fights so I should get it within a week. Hopfully its a good copy and not B.S. but if it is then I will just buy it from another dude who I know is legit but cost a littile more

[borikua]

Round by Round pics with score...

Since you already made this thread...

Round 1



Cotto 10-9

[borikua]

Round 2



Cotto 10-8

[borikua]

Round 3



Cotto 10-9