I noticed that when Cotto had success against Floyd it was when Cotto was on the back foot and Floyd was coming forward. I remember when Cotto lost to Pacquiao he was out boxing Pacquiao in some of the later rounds on the back foot and he seemed to do well against Floyd on the back foot. Still both were excellent last night and full praise should be heaped upon them both. I felt Cotto won rounds 3, 6, and 8 with 10 and 11 very close. Two HOFers putting on a great performance. Still do you think the way to beat Mayweather is to box on the back foot and throw fast flurries and then get out of the way?
He had much more success on the inside making him fight his fight, but he was able to have minor success making Floyd lead before popping out his jab again. He could/should have turned him a bit more. I think it's an important thing to be able to do; emulating Ricky Hatton every second of every round will not get you the victory.
Rewatched Mayweather vs Cotto. Watching live I scored rounds 3, 6, and 8 to Cotto, but watching again I also scored round 5 to Cotto with 10 being very close
in that fight he tried to trade with cotto thats why he got caught more tradeing is not for him he should stick to his ultra defensive style which he doing know !
I think this is what khan will try to do. I suppose nobody has really tried this against Floyd yet so we don't know for some reason even hardcore counter punchers like marquez seem to take the role of the aggressor against Floyd it's wierd
From what I recall, Cotto outboxed Mayweather in round six, and hit him with a good jab. He was also able to have success by fighting Mayweather up close, though -- I think it was round eight where he was using combinations on the inside and roughing Mayweather up a bit. That's the thing about Cotto...he's a good all round fighter, in that he can move and box, but also stand and fight, and his versatility troubled Mayweather. Normally Mayweather works a fighter out in the early rounds and neutralises them for the rest of the fight. The Cotto fight is a rare example where Mayweather's opponent actually had success late in the fight, probably because Cotto had more than one approach and his general skills were solid enough to pose issues for Mayweather. Mayweather had to throw combinations to get respect, he had to exchange one of his favourite punches (straight right) for the sweeping right to get around Cotto's guard, and he had to develop an answer for Cotto on the inside, which he eventually did by using the uppercut. Boxing Mayweather on the back foot, like Cotto did in round six, isn't easy -- you need a good jab, timing, footwork and defensive skills. I think it also burned Cotto's energy up a bit, because he couldn't maintain it for the following rounds. To answer the thread question, though...yes, I think it's possible for an opponent to trouble Mayweather using the 'back foot boxing' strategy, but to keep that up for the full twelve rounds you would have to be a top class boxer. Cotto couldn't keep it up. Judah was able to outbox and counter Mayweather for about three rounds, but Mayweather broke him down. Marquez was aggressive because he was the smaller, slower and less defensively skilled guy. He knew that he couldn't sit back and box Mayweather. To pull it off you would need a fighter like Whitaker, who had a great jab, movement, defensive skills, stamina, and his southpaw stance would also make things awkward. Most fighters try to be aggressive and pressure Mayweather because they just don't have the speed, skills and ring intelligence to box him from range.
Good post. I agree that even though Cotto did that excellent counter boxing, it appeared to take more energy from him having to move around like he did. All in all fantastic match up from 2 amazing fighters
Arguably the most fantastic technical breakdown ever witnessed on ESB :deal. Always an honour to welcome the face of ESB to any thread, the great Prof I C Chins :happy
I watched this after the Guerrero fight, so there had been over a year. I was shocked by how my memory of the fight was some grueling tough fight that Cotto was competitive in when on second watch it was nothing more than a rough-by-his-standards 117-111 win for Floyd. He won the rounds he won in one sided fashion, it was just strange watching him throw away two rounds completely, like, absolute throw away rounds. I honestly think those two rounds and the bloody nose, plus Cotto's body language throughout really do trick people into thinking this was an amazingly competitive fight (well, that and the general sentiment boxing fans show toward Floyd; hatred).
Cotto with more stamina wins It was 7-5 and every round was close Only a flaming f@g ***** thinks it was a shut out
they both had ALOT of success they beat the hell outta eachother cotto gave mayweather his tuffest fight. well besides the castillo fight i guess.