On December 2nd 2017 Miguel Cotto had his last fight. I know this forum generally discusses older fighters. But he is now a part of history should he (and hopefully he does) stay retired. I'm just about to begin watching his career set, all 47 of his fights on DVD. Which I'm hugely looking forward too. How will history remember him?
I like Cotto, but remembering how he went to the testicles of a few opponents makes me cringe. Not a good look. But certainly a warrior and a very good fighter.
He will make it first-ballot into Canastota in 2023, along with presumably Floyd Mayweather Jr. (but not Manny Pacquiao, since he's disqualifying himself from the ballot in '23 and pushing himself to at least 2024 by furthering his campaign to a scheduled date vs. TBA in April of this year) - meaning ⅔ of the internecine rivalry triumvirate whose stature in the sport overshadowed all others during their overlapping peaks.
Oh wait, scratch that - Cotto might actually have a hard time getting in 1st ballot, now that I think of it. Andre Ward and Wladimir Klitschko both fought in 2017 and both officially retired. They only induct 3 "modern" fighters annually in the IBHOF. Cotto better hope Ward does him a favor and develops an itch he can't scratch this year, or it could be a tight race (and I like Cotto more than Ward, but can very well see why the latter would take precedence over him)...
