Cotto Is Not The Same Since Margarito??

Well I agree that Cotto is not the same since Margarito. Of course not, nobody would be after such a beating. But is he not a great fighter anymore? False. (In my eyes he is great, so **** off if you disagree)

Cotto has moved on from his loss and shed the ghosts of Margarito and that happened during his fight vs Clottey. Cotto has convinced himself that his performance vs Clottey proves he has in fact moved on and still has what it takes to beat the best. As long as Miguel Cotto believes this, that makes him an even more dangerous fighter than before the loss to Margarito.

So true, he is not the same fighter, he is more than that.

 

I think Cotto isnt as confident in his abilities after the Margo fight....Maybe a little gun shy but I think he hasn't lost too much and should take whatever Manny can throw and then some

 

I'm undecided about this, but it seems he is a tad bit less careless and less aggressive. I believe he is far from damaged goods, its hard to tell about his mental state though since he's only had 2 fights since, and in the Clottey fight he had to deal with the cut.

Just observation about how he's looked physically....
It looks like Cotto had more "pop" or snap in his punches prior Margarito, but I've also noticed his chest, shoulders, arms, and back dont look as bulky since Margarito. Someone else mentioned, I believe Capitan, that he stopped lifting weights, perhaps that could have attributed to this?
Look at how his punches looked in the Gomez fight from opening bell.It seemed like Cotto ate his spinach leading up to that fight, because his punches were sharp and explosive, and he simply made it look like another Joe's Vs Pros episode on Spike T.V. Add to that his punches in the Mosley fight, he was pretty sharp and looked fast, matched Mosley's hand speed, IMO, although Mosley did look a bit "off", he was giving it to Cotto and laid off when Cotto started fighting back and getting the better of the exchanges.

Comparison: Cotto vs Quintana vs Cotto vs Jennings
VS Quintana -
- was aggressive from the opening bell
- stayed in Quintana's chest all night long and was very aggressive in cutting off the ring
- did NOT go back up when Quintana threw punches at him

VS Gomez
- started fast, clear aggressor since the beginning
- threw many punches, down stairs and up stairs
- explosive, sharp, show boating, really confident
- never backed up

VS Jennings
- less aggressive
- stayed more on the outside against the taller opponent with the longer reach
- went backwards at times when his opponent fired shots (why? Jennings wasn't much of a threat)

My point is he could of employed the same game plan he did in the Quintana fight and had Jennings out of there in 3 rounds. To me, he looked somewhat hesitant early then again he just came out of that war with Margarito and maybe wanted to get some rounds in.

I think the fight against Clottey will be tricky to compare against for many reasons, Cotto had the cut which clearly affected him, Clottey was a counter puncher, good defense, could nullify a good offensive fighter.

 

First of all, he's had one true test since the Margo loss. Cloteey will make anyone look hesitant/bad. He has an extremely akward style for ANYONE. It was smart of Cotto to not be as aggressive with Clottey because of wasted punches on Clotteys defense. He fought a solid fight with a massive gash over his eye. Not to mention Clottey is a huge welterweight.

Its just like when people say Floyd runs and doesnt fight...what do you want him to do open up, throw hundreds of punches that dont land just so he can look aggressive and take the chance of being countered and knocked out? Boxing isnt a sport of guys trying to see who can take a better punch, its about who is the better fighter..who can dish out mor epunishment then they take in return.

Cotto is smart by changing the style of how he fights based on who he is fighting. Otherwise he would be a one dimensional brawler and would have more than 1 loss. Dont be stupid.

 

True i think he got better

 

Not many fighters can lose a fight the way Cotto did against Margarito and get better. Usually there is some effect. It just gets easier to get that fighter to the stoppage point. Not many guys got better after knockouts. Hearns was a fighter who learned a little and persevered better than most guys do at that top level after a big knockout. Terry Norris also, but usually they diminish. Donald Curry is a story of a guy who went down big time with each knockout loss. I have always been curious what would have happened had prime welterweight Curry fought McCallum instead of fighting Honeyghan in Sept. of 1986.

 

It will all be clear after the fight. I bet if Pacquiao takes Cotto out this line of thinking is going to be the most popular choice for an explanation from the other side of the fence.

Don't get me wrong, it may be true for all we know. Or not. But always there are two guys in a fight. So probably, just a guess, when a guy gets a brutal beating, maybe it's primarily because of the other guy in the ring? ...and I'm not talking about the ref.

 

It's hard to tell. Against Jennings he was easing himself back in, against Clottey he was dealing with a bad cut and a MASSIVE opponent, with fast hands and a solid guard.

How do you think Manny would do against Clottey?

I think Cotto's a little more careful now - certainly he's mixing his gameplan up. I think the Pacqauio fight will tell us what level he's back to. If his timing and all-round game are off, it could be ugly for him. But he's clearly not gun-shy - he took some of Clottey's best punches and kept timing him, landing quick jabs and body shots.

 

good post:thumbsup

 

Yup . . . not the same . . . He is now 1 year and 4 months older than the Cotto that fought Margarito. :yep