Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Angel Cotto - THE numero uno official ESB poll

I think Cotto can. Since I'm hoping he wins, I'm going to vote that he will.

I don't see Floyd getting a stoppage. He won't match the speed, punch or volume of Pacquiao and Cotto was never out on his feet in that fight. Unless an improbably large cut opens up or Mayweather comes out with a new offensive repertoire, Cotto will last 12.

 

That makes no sense.

 

Floyd should finish em in 10...TKO most likely.

 

Did you guys know that Mayorga outlanded Cotto in power punches landed? Mayorga landed 161 power punches out of 391 thrown, and Cotto landed 122 power punches out of 222 thrown. Jabs landed was one sided in favor of Cotto, He landed 127 jabs out of 286 thrown. Mayorga landed 15 jabs out of 131 thrown.

 

Other than possibly outjabbing Floyd[which isn't an easy task], how do you see Cotto beating Floyd?

 

floyd fights more offensively against soutpaws.

because it becomes a battle of who can get there straights off 1st.

he is more cautious against orthodox. see Marquez fight.

i dont see him stopping cotto

 

It means I'm putting faith in a fighter I'm a fan of despite the odds being against him.

 

Mayorga couldn't miss Cotto. Like I said easy work for Floyd.

 

In their last three fights:




Mayweather vs opponents[Ortiz/Mosley/Marquez]


Floyd: landed a total of 571 punches out of 1,178 punches thrown against his last three opponents. He averaged 20.4 punches landed per round out of 42 punches thrown per round[48%].

Power punches: He landed a total of 289 power punches out of 569 power punches thrown. He averaged 10.3 power punches landed per round out of 20.3 power punches thrown[50%].


Jabs: He landed a total of 282 jabs per round out of 609 jabs thrown per round against his last three opponents. He averaged 10 jabs landed per round out of 21.7 jabs thrown per round[46%].










Cotto vs opponents[Margarito/Mayorga/Foreman]

Cotto: landed a total of 574 punches out of 1,330 punches thrown against his last three opponents. He averaged 18.5 punches landed per rounds out of 43.0 thrown per round[43%].

Power punches: He landed a total of 346 power punches out of 679 power punches thrown. He averaged 11.1 power punches landed per round out of 22.0 thrown per round[50%].

Jabs: He landed a total of 228 jabs out of 651 thrown against his last three opponents. He averaged 7.3 jabs landed per round out of 21 jabs thrown per round[34%].

 

I never trust compubox. What counts is the pace and who controls it, the effect of the punches landed and which punches were thrown, the distance and angle, and the condition of each fighter.

 

Relying solely on the jab isn't going to win him the fight, but it is a way in which he can set up his offense. I've often mentioned Floyd has a habit of leaning and/or walking straight back when reacting to punches, and that's why a good jab and sometimes a straight right behind it work so well in making him retreat. Cotto has to be relaxed when he pressures, much like he was against Foreman, and efficiently control the center of the ring while cutting off exit routes and applying pressure (this is where I think Castillo, for all of his gamesmanship, failed in the rematch). I don't think Floyd can "run" from Cotto all 12 rounds, and I don't think that's his plan. When Floyd is sizing him up and timing him early, Cotto must press. The fight will inevitably end up on the inside; Floyd is sharper on the inside, but Cotto is more destructive and will have a physical advantage. One thing I notice a lot of fighters do when they attack Floyd is smother their own offense when they tag him, instead of calmly picking their shots and setting up combinations that are more difficult to anticipate. Cotto on the offensive is verry used to taking advantage of such a dynamic; he has shown much improved balance and a much tighter guard, which will help him in the clinch.

Pressing and then backing off is a good way to confuse Floyd as well. Turning southpaw while coming forward and then baiting Floyd when backing out to the center again is something I'd try to do to walk him into a left hand as he tries to land a response to win the round. Breaking rhythm is important, and switching stances without giving Floyd time to completely adjust to a southpaw stance is a great way to give fresh new looks and open up new offensive opportunities. Cotto has great timing when he turns southpaw at range, and up close, it helps him get leverage into his left-side punches.

Floyd is probably eventually going to come forward, as most guess, and this is an opportunity Cotto has to set further traps. Floyd's pressure is very controlled, and consists of carefully picked punches as he cuts off the ring. The difference we would see between Ortiz and Cotto would be that Cotto can fight off the back-foot fairly well with accuracy and balance, has great lateral movement, and isn't afraid to push back when pressured. Working off the jab while never giving Floyd an angle to plant himself and land hard punches would allow Cotto to unexpectadly become the ring general, and would give him the opportunity to again disrupt his rhythm by rushing Floyd and surprising him with hard, quick three punch combinations before restarting his movement. Assuming Cotto can win 4 of the first 6 with the offensive activity in first game-plan, being prepared with this adjustment would help him steal further rounds and land the more eye-catching blows. If turning southpaw in spots worked in the first game-plan, then doing it again in the second half might be beneficial as well, depending on what look Floyd is giving him. Pushing Floyd right back and making him taste discouraging punches may work just as well. We all realize Floyd has the superior accuracy and defense up close and has the much faster punches, but at the very least, if Cotto can't anticipate Floyd's punches, he can throw with Floyd, and it wouldn't surprise me if doing so repeatedly taxed Floyd much more than it damaged Miguel.

The trick is to maximize Cotto's dimensions, which are far more capable than anyone is giving him credit for. It's a difficult task and I understand completely why people favor Floyd, but to say Cotto can't beat Floyd without the right set of game-plans, hungry mentality, and physical preparation is absurd. Anyone has a chance to upset anyone else, and considering this test can easily be seen as his stiffest challenge since DLH, an upset would not be the strangest thing to happen in the sport of boxing.

 

I'm a Cotto fan but PBF will win by points !