If this rematch comes off what could Cotto do differently this time? For the first 5 or 6 rounds Cotto was boxing great, hitting Margarito almost at will but he couldn't seem to put a dent in him and it looked like he lost heart after 6 rounds when he realised this. Margaito isn't the best of technical boxers but his chin is ridiculous and his constant stalking of Cotto while taking big shots that he just brushed off broke Cotto's spirit. If Cotto went into the rematch with the attitude of just outboxing Margarito for 12 rounds then could he win this one fairly comfortable by UD or is this just one stylistic matchup that he just can't win?
Bad matchup for Cotto. Cotto seems to fade in fights where as Margarito turns it on in the later rounds. I feel Margarito will KO Cotto sooner. I am seeing a 7th round stoppage in the rematch. Cotto also has that peek a boo defense and Margarito will have a feel day with that with uppercuts and body shots like in the first fight.
Much as I would want to see Cotto somehow improve his performance for the sake of a good show, this is a fact I don't think there's ever going to be any way around. ^ Agreed.
I agree with Mex Leg and San Rafael. I think that boxing was what Cotto was trying to do. It didnt work for him because he could not keep up that pace for the rest of the fight. I think this is a styilistic match up and I cant think of anything Cotto could do differently. If he had more stamina to keep up the pace, maybe he would be able to pull off a victory. I have noticed that its hard for Cotto to throw his trade mark body punch at fighters who come forward to him with power (example Mosley and Margo). With his every other opponents it was easy for him to land those body punches. Margo attacks the body too so that might have been a problem for Cotto. I think Margo has his number.
Cotto begins to fade after 6 rds in a tough close contest were heavy leather is coming his way. He did this against Shane and the same thing happened vs Margarito. Cotto begins training again in Nov. for a fight in Feb he mentioned he would like for it to be for a Championship and the names Berto and Clottey were mentioned, they are combing through a list as we speak to find an opponent. The fight wil be be in Atlantic City or Puerto Rico. I read this in the sports section of a P.R. newspaper El nuevo Dia.
Margo knows he can take whatever Cotto gives, He will come more confident, and the pressure will be all over Cotto. They pretty much know each others' game. Only way Cotto wins this is if he controls the phase and strengthen his stamina.
i honestly belive getting in a fight with someone as strong as clottey after a life and death match with margarito is the stupidest thing cotto could do. Clottey can take a punch better than margarito and Cotto would lose the will to win again, verdicts still out on berto but he looks the real deal so far
cotto can beat all the welterweights out there not named Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Paul Williams. Hell I even think Cintron might get a punch in on the easily hitable cotto and knock him sppark out
(1) Go to the body - Margarito is a machine, so I'm not too sure if it would significantly slow him down, as it would do other fighters (wouldn't hurt to try though). Cotto is one of the best body-punchers in the business and this is a form of attack that he failed to employ first time around. If anything it would give Margarito something extra to worry about. (2) Don't hang about on the ropes so much - Sometimes you gotta go there, but Cotto seemed to base his gameplan in the first fight around slipping up and down the ropes and scoring with counters. It worked really well for the first half of the contest, but when Margarito got into the flow of the fight Cotto was forced to play rope-a-dope, just standing in the one spot and trying to use upper body movement to dodge the mass of punches that were coming his way (and upper body movement is severely restricted when you have the ropes on your back). If he fights Margarito again he has to utilise the rest of the ring more, try and bounce around the centre of the canvas a bit, use his superior footwork to turn Margarito and even grab hold when he needs to. Fighters like Margarito are always gonna give Cotto trouble (like Lovemore Ndou did), but if he uses the right tactics he can win. Cotto's stamina over the 12 round distance is suspect though, and against these seemingly unhurtable pressure fighters he may have to build a big early lead before giving up rounds down the stretch to get the decision.
