I think you could make a case that the 20th best guy of the 70's is HOF worthy. Given the number of quality fighters that fought in that decade, 20th would probably be a guy like Ken Buchanan, or a Danny Lopez. Both of those guys are in the IBHOF, and are fondly remembered.
Anyway, he'll be remembered as a former lineal middleweight champion; and a guy who was in a number of entertaining fights in the first part of this decade.
He'll be remembered as a guy who strayed south whenever he was in trouble in fights. He had the best testicle attack in boxing from the time he fought at 140 to his first few years at 147. His ruthless testicle poundings against Corley, Torres, Judah and others, were fight changing, and will be remembered for years to come.
I think he is a mixed bag Pro's: 1) Challenged himself vs the best available for the most part: Floyd, Manny, Canelo, Martinez, Margarito, etc 2) Was in some great memorable fights like Margarito, Judah, Mosley, Torres, even Floyd who doesnt have the best replay value 3) Seemed to reinvent himself after big losses: Got destroyed by Margarito and Manny only to give Floyd hell. Dominated by Trout goes on to destroy Martinez and claim the middleweight title 4) Was extremely destructive at 140 5) Beat a lot of other names that weren't elite but are recognizable like Malinaggi, Corley, Bailey, Ndou, Quintana, Clottey and Gomez 6) Extremely over performed vs Mayweather The Cons: 1)He never was the consensus #1 guy at a weight class: Never unified 140 vacant belt, won a vacant title at 147 and did not successfully unify, won a title at 154 from a defending holder but failed to unify and did not beat the top echelon guys, and despite winning the 160 lb lineal title there was a huge elephant in the room with Golovkin who Martinez avoided and Cotto avoided. I give him credit for the 160 lb title win but he was living in Golovkins shadow 2) He has 2 title fight victories, Foreman and Martinez that are tainted by existing injuries that crept up during the fight 3) Controversies in the Clottey fight, the slam and the scorecards Pros outweigh the cons massively Then there is the last part, Margarito I. I dont believe it is totally proven that Antonio Margarito cheated. It is one of my more controversial opinions on boxing. I dont feel like dragging that issue fully out I just dont want to turn this thread into that. Regarding the fight I will say: 1) He avenged it 2) He went on to do great things afterwards: Gritty fight vs Pacquiao, very competitive with Floyd, beat Martinez, competitive with Canelo 3) He fought bravely vs Margarito and was boxing extremely well and may even have had the lead until the last round. 4) I really hate the people that call him a coward for kneeling vs Margarito as he gave it everything he had, took a beating, was cut up and battered and showed heart in other fights. This is also under the assumption of the fight was on the level
Hes a pretty damn good fighter. But ultimately he will be remembered as the guy who dipped the knee and quit. And then got sent to the hospital by a blown up Featherweight.
The amount of hate and "kneeguel" type posts on this thread is a joke. So many fans are an embarrassment to boxing, and frankly, aren't deserving of the blood these guys spill and the physical trauma they endure for our entertainment.
Fair enough, but how many threads are there about them here and how many posters in this forum know anything about them?
Well Miguel Cotto isnt a normal " very good" fighter. Most of the time only the "greats" are remembered by many for many years. But since Cotto was involved in the controversial Margarito fight that changes things. The brick or no brick thing will live on. And Manny Pacquiaos ascent up the weights was probably the most talked about thing in boxing during Cottos career. And Cotto was on the receiving end of probably the pinnacle of Pacquiaos weight climb. So he will be remembered for that. Its impossible to talk about Pacquiaos career without mentioning Cotto.
Yeah, it's like how people mention Ken Buchanan when they talk about Duran or Little Red Lopez when they talk about Salvador Sanchez. I think Drew hit the nail on the head when he compared Cotto to them.
I'll remember him as a worldclass fighter with vulnerabilities in the chin department but not in the heart dept. He's HOF for sure. Casuals will remember him for beating a demonized and disgraced (rightfully) Margarito in the rematch.
Warrior that openly spit on catchweights, turned overpaid diva that forced catchweights he always hated on his opponents. He once was my favorite fighter, that changed a lot in his later career.
Gives fans back to back fight of the year candidates against the who's who of boxing for over a decade straight, takes an inhuman combined amount of punishment over his career in the process......and gets **** on by fans who have never laced up a glove in their life. Just as I expected from the general forum. Had this thread been posted in classic or the thread title been asked in a boxing gym the answers would be much more respectful.
