Cotto-Margarito

Totally agee with this, cotto was so superior in the 1st 6 rounds and hitting margarito that much and it just made no impression, he knows he cannot stop margo walking through him and that therefore he is unlikely to ever beat him

 

Yeah. I really expected Margo to be the one who got busted up in the fight, but the fact that he took any number of crazy powershots without seeming to even notice that they were landing on his person seemed to take the fight out of Cotto. The fact that he would almost casually throw 130 punches a round probably had an impact, too.

I was picking Cotto, and I was wrong.

Tried to look for a way to describe Margo's performace, and the only word that I could think of that really suited was..."inevitable". Like death, taxes, and the Yankees in the playoffs, the effects of Margo's constant pressure is...inevitable.

And that makes him a scary, scary fighter.

 

Yeah, so it goes.

Personally I never make end all detailed thesis like predictions on boxing fights, especially online.

The sport is way too unpredictable for that, as a dozen fights this year alone show.

 

He is scary.

Speaking of emotions, I think sad applies because I don't think Marg is going to be around for long.

He's been fighting since he was... what... 15? 17?

He's already eaten the shots of power punchers and maulers like Cintron and Cotto multiple times. And you just don't make a career out of that and have longevity, sadly.

 

Yes the age old philosophy for rematches which often rings true. I keep hearing Cotto is far more talented and Cotto fought wrong and Cotto has the room for improvement to win but if someone put a gun to my head i'd HATE to be riding on Cotto. There were some interesting signs and periods in the Mosely fight and they resurfaced under pressure here.

 

Cotto fought the right fight IMO. He wasn't standing with Margarito for too long. He moved, used his jab, threw combinations and generally got his tactics spot on. However, Margarito's persistence troubled him for short periods of the fight then down the stretch those short periods became long periods. Margarito's power up close done the damage and it slowed Cotto down. Cotto could have adjusted himself accordingly at times, but it was Margarito who gets the plaudits rather than Cotto being critisized.

 

Where were the famed Cotto bodypunches?

 

JT he could have went downstairs more often, yes. But with saying he fought 'wrong' it's like saying he went about his business in the opposite manner in which he should have in tactical sense. That wasn't the case. He was always going to have to trade at times to try and get Margarito's respect and not be negative. Sometimes he had no option but to fire back flat-footed, thus becoming a better target for Margarito while doing so.

 

Exactly what I wanted to happen, happened! YES! That fight was awesome! I was going ****in nuts in the 11th. That was so worth 50 bucks.

 

JT I wondered that myself, I thought that would be one of his keys to winning.

I'm one that thought Cotto would win also, re the above he didn't go to the body at all which amazed me. It was Margo who did an exellent job going to the body. Kellerman and lamply were going crazy on Cotto's clean punching, but anyone can see they he wasn't setting down on them as he usually does.

My points on why Cotto lost, though if he changed tactics I can't say it would have changed the outcome;

*Though Cotto boxed well , he wasn't able to set down on his punches as he usually does, because he was too set on moving out of the way.
*Margo did allot of good body work, Cotto did none (which is one of his strong points)
*Cotto never ever tried to back up Margo and assert himself, he let Margo dictate the pace. Cotto never changed tempo at all in the fight, nothing to disrupt Margo's come forward rythem.
*Maybe had Migel come forward bombs away, he may had dented Margo who knows.

As far as Cotto's chin, it's obvioulsy good. Margo's however maybe in the Lamotta/Hagler level

Manny stewart called it in the early rounds (can cotto keep up the movement against such a big tough guy)

My Hats off to Tony, he fought a great fight.

A rematch Hmm

 

*Yes Cotto boxed well and never sat down on his punches as he usually does because of the fighter in front on him. If Cotto took more risks and traded he would have been giving Margarito more opportunities to land the type of punches he craved. While Cotto was moving laterally he wasn't being caught often. Very seldom was he caught at long range by Margarito's right hand while on the move. That was one knock on Margarito for me. Not enough right hands at arms length. Considering he was taller with longer reach that punch would have made things easier for him while he was closing the distance. Margarito's right cross, his best punch IMO.

*Cotto did go to the body, but as you rightly said not often enough. This was one aspect of his game which he needed to show more of against Margarito. We all know what a great chin Margarito had before the opening bell rang, so the body should have been targeted on a regular basis.

*Cotto backing up Margarito would have been suicidal. Again it ties in with the first point I addressed. It's about playing the percentage game correctly. When Cotto stood and traded he did it optionally during periods of the fight. He couldn't be on the move for the entire fight. At times Cotto was always going to stand his ground as he's not a pure boxer. It's not in his make-up to stick behind the jab throughout a contest. Margarito simply gave Cotto no alternative but to exchange because of the pressure and aggression being applied, at times.

*Thats in hindsight and a guess. But IMO if he came forward 'bombs away' the fight would have finished earlier. Margarito's punch resistance and power were too much as was shown down the stretch. So with Cotto standing in there looking for a war during the early rounds he's just giving Margarito what he wants sooner rather than later. Although going to the body right from the get-go during the early stages of a war might have been to Cotto' advantage. I doubt it.

 

I Appreciate your reply,

It does seem that Cotto went into the fight for some reason thinking he was Mayweather, and also that he could not stand with Margo early on without testing him.

I just don't get why he abandoned any type of body attack early on, or for that matter at any point in the fight. Margo on the other hand didn't.

I did qualify my analysis by saying it may not have changed the outcome.

 

Cotto has improved a lot over the last couple of years and became more adaptable. The reason he was 'thinking he was Mayweather' ? Thats the type of strategy he needed to show against Margarito. His defense, slipping, countering, his jab even more so, those are improved areas of his game. If you have more tools, why not use them. But flashes of a Chavez he needed to show at times of course to test Margarito.

IMO he testing Margarito early without being ouright wreckless.

 

I guess that's my point. he never tested margo, He never tried to impose his will on him and try to check margo's coming forward.

Where was the I'm coming forward behind my jab leading, with a right to the body and left to the ribcage. he just did'nt seem to try it. It was just counters off the back foot at the head, at the end of his range.

I don't think he would have to had been reckless doing so.

 

I guess that's my point. he never tested margo, He never tried to impose his will on him and try to check margo's coming forward.

Where was the I'm coming forward behind my jab leading, with a right to the body and left to the ribcage. he just did'nt seem to try it. It was just counters off the back foot at the head, at the end of his range.

I don't think he would have to had been reckless doing so.