Those Who See A Mayorga Victory.....

From reading certain threads since the announcment of ''Relentless'', I get the impression that many of you here envisage a victory for the ever exuberant Nicaraguan, Ricardo Mayorga. I have a question for those of you who believe this: Why?

I'll admit, I've always been quite an avid follower of Cotto(as are many), but I've always been able to put personal preference to one side and look at things objectively. And when I look at this bout objectively, I can not see how Mayorga can be favoured. If you're only as good as your last fight, then saying Mayorga is past his best is a gross understatement. He was lucky he pulled that 9th round out of his ass against Walker, because if not he may have been only a few minutes removed from a loss or draw. To Michael Walker. Who had lost 5 of his last 6 prior to facing El Matador. A prime Mayorga has a more than great chance of defeating Cotto, but this is no prime Mayorga, which I think we can all agree on. Breathing out of his ass after four rounds and constantly headhunting isn't going to be the best recipe when it comes to fighting Cotto, who seems to be improving his defence under Steward and has always been a deadly body puncher.

Dont get me wrong, I know Miguel is past his best, but he most definitely has enough to defeat some of the best at his weight. Can the same be said for Mayorga? Of course not. So, back to my initial question: Those of you who envisage Mayorga winning, why do you believe so?

 

Margarito, however, had stamina in abundance. Has Mayorga? No. He was seriously gassed against Michael Walker before coming up with the knockout, add to that, Cotto will throw, and land, to the body. A lot.

 

So, essentially, Mayorga is getting picked based on the proverbial punchers chance.

 

Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao: A fighter well into his 30's, moving down in weight, who recently looked unimpressive in defeating a former super-featherweight, against a younger, faster champion who was rated 1/2 on P4P lists.

Barrera vs Pacquiao: Pacquiao was a world champion coming up in weight, KO'ing any opponent stepping into the ring with him and an absolute whirlwind in the lower weights. An unlikely victory, but certainly quite feesible.

Pavlik vs Hopkins: Pavlik was very underwhelming when he last moved up in weight before the fight, going dangerously close with Jermain Taylor. Hopkins is a fighter who always seems to defy the odds, coupled with a very favourable style match-up made a possible win a good possibility.

Now, Ricardo Mayorga just went life and death with Michael Walker, and may well have lost the fight if not for finding the knockout blows. Cotto on the other hand has just beaten Yuri Foreman relatively easily(and Foreman beats Mayorga IMO) en route to winning another world title. You say I've made a pointless thread, but comparing Mayorga to Pacquiao and Hopkins is a bit pointless dont you think?

 

Not in this case. Mayorga is hardly comparable to Pacquiao or Hopkins is he? Plus, the circumstances differ. Pacquiao a world champion moving up in weight, Hopkins arguably coming off a win over Calzaghe. Mayorga was lucky to beat Michael Walker.