Following on from McGrain's excellent upload of some more rare Cokes footage in the other thread, I thought this would be an ideal time for some H2H considerations. (I started taking a mix of Welters from different eras but ended up with too many, and modern welterweights provide a range of styles...) So can any of the following beat him? Tito Trinidad - Cokes TKO11 the plodding slugger De la Hoya - Cokes is probably just a notch above DLH in most departments, UD12/15 for me Mayweather - I don't rate Mayweather as highly as most above 130 or so, but how does Cokes deal with this stylistic challenge? Pacquiao - Can Cokes enforce his deeper skillset or will Pacquiao be too difficult to pin down? If you think none of the above have the beating of him, how far can he go against these? Lloyd Honeyghan Emile Griffith Billy Graham
It's a real head**** so i'll just say one or two things. First, I like De La Hoya's chances against Cokes. He has the right kind of jab range to make things pretty tough for Cokes and although his defence isn't all that he's a cautious stylist which is a good thing to be against a crafty counter puncher trying to draw you into his space, which is where Cokes landed his best stuff. I'm not saying that Oscar is better, I just have a sneaking suspicion that Oscar is wrong for him for these reasons. Oscar was able to push Mayweather around for a short step, and although I don't go so far as to compare the two in any serious way, some of what they want is identical...i'd go for an Oscar decision over 12. 15, I wouldn't be backing Oscar. Trinidad, I agree he should beat. Of course, we all know that Trinidad can knock Cokes out, but that's not what i'd be predicting if they were matched. Mayweather is very bad oil for Cokes, but I think that Cokes would be a very very good pick to upset Pacquiao, who would be favourite. Cokes is a deluxe counter-puncher in the same mould as Marquez, and whilst I honestly don't think Cokes's combination punching is any smoother in terms of points gathering and damage than Marquez's are, he does hit harder and may be more compact...if Cokes was still there after 6 or 7 I think the pendulum would start to swing his way and more. Griffith? Negative.
I can see where you're coming from with DLH. One of the things that worries me about Cokes is that he doesn't get great extension on his punches, apart from his right hand (which isn't always going to be throwable), so DLH dances and jabs then maybe we'd just see a static Cokes struggling to get off. Agree about Mayweather. Pacquiao I think is a little under-rated H2H at 147. I think he showed great versatility against DLH which seems to get written off. Maybe Cokes could time him, maybe not. Pacquiao certainly isn't as forthcoming for a counter-puncher as people think though IMO.
