Cotto vs Mosley was the peak and destruction of Cotto

Cotto isnt stupid. As far as im concerned he's a great fighter and a warrior. But he knows his limitations. Despite his excellent early career it was very clear Cotto was fragile. He was hurt badly vs Corley. Described his bout with Ndou as one of the toughest fights he ever had. Got badly hurt by punchers like Torres and likewise got on his bike vs Shane.

Bottom line is Cotto has been in the ring with some of boxings best. Theres no shame at all in fighting the way he did vs Margo Shane or Pac. We can dissect and deliberate it all night but these guys (bar Margo for his cheating) are studs and ATG's. Cotto brought his best. Unfortunately that wasnt good enough.

 

And why do you think he gave Cotto's power respect? Maybe because Cotto has power.

Cotto is just very leaky with his defence. And against a
relentless power puncher you cant afford to have leaky defence.

 

Cotto just isn't a smart fighter he refuses to strategically clinch to break up rhythm or buy time. He's easily taken out of his gameplan as well. He also retreats too much when pressured.

 

excellent post imo. i agree 100%

 

Hmm. I think he just ran into a pair of offensive buzzsaws and a rugged defensive counter puncher, all of whom had the style and physicality to keep him from marching forward effectively.

Incidentally, I also think this is starting to explain why he stayed at 140 for as long as he did.

 

Yes, it was the peak of his career but not for that reason. A fighter has a short peak in which his skills and experience are not yet eroded by the punishment he has absorbed. The cumulative effects of so many tough fights slowed him down just enough that the superior quickness of Pacman was magnified. Yes, it was the peak of his career but not for that reason.

 

Margarito changed Cotto. Also, ripping his corner to shreds was probably the icing on the cake. He had begun getting caught more (and put down) as he went up in class of opponents. That was cool, because what he lacked in skill or physical gifts was made up for by a solid strategy.

Cotto looked great against Mosley, the faster harder puncher. He did exactly what he had to do. More importantly he went in with a plan and executed. Get off first then use MOVEMENT.

Margarito? Again, he did exactly what he was supposed to do. Problem is, that it didn't work. His conditioning stopped him from "getting off". He couldn't throw, Margarito closed in and executed. That was the first time I saw the, "running". It even began to surface against Clottey.

I think his problem is much like Zab's. Once you get into the elite class of WWs, the division is going to favor the naturally bigger guy. Especially the well conditioned one. The smaller guy eventually just can't keep the big guy off of him. Without a plan it is worse. Manny may be small, but his speed and conditioning make it seem like you are fighting a bigger guy.

I think Cotto will forever be remembered as a great and proud PR warrior. He is just past it now. He should get on some cards in PR and give his fans love. PR set PPV records.

 

I agree. I am a fan and I was disgusted when I saw his attitude against Gomez. I thought he would learn from the MArgarito figh, bu he didn't.

 

Word of advice, don't leave comments like these when your avatar is a picture of Mosley. Fair enough you a Mosley fan, but just because your man got beat by Cotto, don't say 'he didn't look good against Mosley atall' and 'he got a gift'. Your comment overall is actually fairly understandable, but the other comments make your a complete idiot bullshitter.

 

Keep your advice rookie.

 

you mean the jab pacquiao kept countering with his right hook?. watch the second round more clearly and you will notice that cotto stops jabbing around the last minute of the second round because he keeps getting countered.

 

Just saying how it is 'rookie'.

 

Cotto simply outboxed and out smarted Mosely. The Mosely fight was the best in his career. He made Mosely look old in that fight. Cotto used his youth and strength to beat Mosely.

 

Cotto could have beat Pac if he would have stayed with his boxing and throwing hard shots to the body especially when Pac decided to lean on the ropes.

Cotto's jabs were lethal against Pac, but he made a mistake when he got away from it and decided to engage Pac in a war. You can't beat Pac in a war, he is the best attack style fighter today. Pac has a hard chin, he's very fast and he punches hard.

 

Instead of using clinches as a way of breaking an opponents flurry, what Cotto seemingly does is pulling his opponent's head down, to prevent his opponent's arms from swinging at right angle. I saw this action more often against his shorter foes (Judah, Pac). Watch, that as his opponents gets into a offensive rythm, cotto throws a sort of half-hearted jab/hook w/ his lead hand, then grabs the neck and pulls down. Looks better than clinching, IMHO, and gets him a few seconds of rest at least.