Cotto's legacy?

Like when Mosley clinched Margarito. I like Judah too but he accomplished more than people realize. He's a former champ in 2 divisions which is not something to be ashamed of but like Cotto I wouldn't consider him great but at their best they're a problem for anyone.

 

I have mention this many times, right now in boxing vacant titles is the norm esp. with the ridiculous fees and rules. What counts is defending them and Cotto did that with great opposition. And just a reminder I had a list which listed fighters from Sugar Ray Robinson to Bernard Hopkins winning vacant titles. Are we going to discredit them. I doubt we will. Defending titles is what gets my respect, maybe others feel different.

 

I like Cotto a lot and am pulling for him but on a p4p list he doesn't break top one hundred and on an ATG welterweight list I don't know as he breaks top 25. I'd have to sit down and do a list but I doubt it. There's been too many welters. We're talking Robinson, Armstrong, Basilio, Gavilan, and so many old time guys. Even the last crop of prime Mosley, DLH, Trinidad and Forrest. Sorry. Very good fighter, no walk in the park for most champs but just not on their level.

 

Cotto has a legacy? :huh

Cotto is a very good fighter, but he has not accomplished anything worth noting to label it as a "legacy."

 

Just because it's normal shouldn't make it alright. To me, vacant titles are cool when you're first winning belts, but sooner or later you have to beat beltholders and legit champions to get belts. I wouldn't mind if all fighters just decided to use one belt or none at all. At the end of the day vacant titles mean even less now than they used to, because there are so many belts out to begin with and they mean less now.

Ray Robinson was in an era where you had to fight others anyway to retain your championship status, unlike today. Getting a vacant belt today comes from a fighter getting stripped for no real reason in most cases. How much validity can that belt truly have? Those are different situations in my opinion.

 

147 is so stacked historically that Cotto will be lucky to get anywhere near a top 20 or even top 30 placement. His wins are Urkal, Quintana, Judah, a damn close decision over Mosley, Gomez, Jennings, and a highly debatable victory over Clottey. Meanwhile he has losses to Margarito and Pac.

6-2 lifetime at 147 does not make him an ATG welter. (And no, I'm not counting fights from like his first 10 bouts, before he learned how to make the 140 limit. We're talking after he became a world class fighter only.) He'll be remembered well for exciting fights and always being willing to fight the best, and he should get all the props in the world for that, being a warrior, and a stand-up guy. But he's not an ATG in my opinion.

At 140 you have a better chance of arguing that he can get into a top 20 list.

 

I'm a Shane fan and swore he won too, but I can see Cotto winning just not UD

 

Cotto IMO.

 

So Cotto didn't face legit opposition from defending his belt? How many belts were available in the Sugar Ray Robinson era compare today? Today's fighters are fighting for more vacant belts than ever, because there are a lot of them out there. Now do you know how expensive these fees are to hold just one belt, let alone two belts and then follow ridiculous rules and penalties. Todays fighters sometimes even get paid more for stepping aside from being a mandatory, than actually fighting sometimes. What counts is defending your belt vacant or not, if you dislike vacant belts I guess you basically dislike a lotttt of fighters and the sport of boxing. Vacant belt is not only when a fighter gets strip. Sometimes a fighter moves on to another weight class or simply doesn't want to pay any fees and several other reasons. Cotto has had the chance to fight fighters who held titles. Clottey is an example where he held the IBF title, but they fought for Cotto's WBO. I also believe Mosley was the WBC interim champ when he beat Collazo.

 

****in jokeratsch

 

cotto is one of my favourite boxers. i enjoy watching his performance, enjoy it better when he wins! he will defo be an HOFer.