Hypothetical : Had Cotto beat Margarito in 08...

2008 Oscar at what weight? 150? maybe? that Oscar would lose a competetive UD.

Margarito would fade into retirement.

DLH would retire after losing to Cotto.

Pacquiao would stay 135lb to fight?

Hatton would fight Marquez and lose a UD

Mosley would still end up sour and shot.

 

Miguel Cotto - Cotto beats De la Zombie
Antonio Margarito - Still gets drubbed by Mosley
Oscar De La Hoya - retires
Manny Pacquaio - Fights Hatton at 140
Ricky Hatton - Fights Pac at 140
Sugar Shane Mosley - Drubs Margarito, rematches Cotto and loses a tough UD

 

Paul Williams is missing from that scenario...

 

Wills had moved up by '08

 

It goes like this...

Margarito Vs. Cotto II
(Because Arum loves rematches)

Everything else Prob plays out as usual.
All the rest were Golden Boy Promoted fighters.

 

Cotto did'nt beat Margarito, so the hypothetical is void!

Cotto did'nt even beat Mosley imo prior to the Margarito fight.

Had DLH fought Cotto, DLH imo would have beaten Cotto.
The advantage DLH would have over Cotto is his height and reach.
Stamina becomes a non-issue in this matchup as both fighters fade.

DLH tko 10 Cotto! Yep, even the faded version of DLH that fought Forbes imo beats Cotto.

 

I have to agree with this and take it one step further. If Pac wanted to fight Cotto coming off a ODLH win, he doesn't get the catch weight. Cotto gets to defend at the full limit.

 

Would'nt have mattered! To much activity from Pacquiao that a few lbs would'nt have made much difference.
Activity is what got Cotto beat by even a mollases slow Margarito, the one that had two eyes to see!

 

If Cotto had won that night,Nazim the snitch wouldn't have ****ed everything up and we might still be enjoying Tony and his sexy/filthy wife this weekend.
Assuming he went to GBP of course.

 

Nope!
Margarito's face first, take 4 to give 1, is'nt made for longevity.

Margarito by now would have been a non-factor regardless.

 

Deep down I knew that Divac,but my tongue was firmly in my cheek with that post.
A loss to Cotto would've led to a rematch with Paul Williams IMO.

 

Cotto beats up the 2008 drained zombie Oscar at 147, probably a painful UD or late TKO. Oscar then retires.

Arum delivers a barnburner in the form of Clottey/Margarito II, with Margarito winning because Clottey never brings it in a big-fight situation. Margarito becomes IBF Champ (again.)

It's too soon for a Mosley/Cotto rematch or a Cotto/Margarito rematch, so Mosley ends up fighting Berto instead. And Mosley kicks his ass and becomes WBC Champ once more.

Cotto gets to fight someone random to become WBA/WBO Champ after Paul Williams moves up and vacates that belt.

Hatton gets to hang onto the 140 belt awhile longer.

Without anyone left to move up against, Manny takes another lightweight fight late in 2008, maybe against Campbell, or stays on the shelf before fighting a Marquez Rubber Match at lightweight for the unified title in early/mid 2009.

Now, whatever happens next is greatly dependent on who wins that. If he wins, Manny probably gets to move up and turn Hatton's lights out, and then only reach the welterweight ranks in 2010. If he loses, him and Marquez continue to fight at 135-140 for a few years, with the eventual goal being another big money title fight/4th fight to snap a 1-1-1 tie.

Meanwhile, in 2009, Cotto either rematches Mosley or rematches Margarito, probably Mosley, after Mosley screws up the plan of Cotto/Margarito II by beating him in a title unification/set up for the big 4 belt unification with Cotto.

Whoever comes out on top of that eventually gets offered a big bucks Mayweather fight late in 2009 or early in 2010, around the same time Pacquiao finally gets up to welterweight and picks up a vacant belt or two by way of Mayweather's inactivity leading to strippings, assuming he gets through Marquez in one or two tries in 135/140. What we know for sure is Hatton would have lost out to one of those guys if JMM or Pac were gunning for him. The latest Ricky hangs onto his belt is late 2009.

In short, the only things we know for sure is that Pacquiao doesn't become a megastar if Cotto beats Margarito (Pacquiao still could have achieved further greatness in higher weights, but I don't think he becomes a global icon as quickly as he did in our timeline than in this hypothetical without the DLH win.) Mayweather's career is pretty much the same. Either Cotto or Shane gets a gigantic payday at the end of 2009 (and maybe Shane isn't quite as bled dry by Jin if that happens), Oscar is retired, and Hatton is beltless at the end of 2009. Everything else after that, including a possible Mayweather/Pacquiao showdown, is pure guesswork that is more difficult to project.

 

If De La Hoya went down to 147. He would have had lost to any top 15 welterweight.