I have never thought of Cotto as a "counter puncher"

:good:yep

 

In your defense it's probably possible to make a short gif that makes Margarito look like a counterpunching genius. Umm, I think it might be possible.... As long as it was really short.

 

Yep.

 

:rofl

What about the .gif of Margarito slipping punches?

 

Oh man, people come up with the funniest ****ing ****.

 

Thats why I say PRIMARILY. Cotto is not a counter puncher in style by nature like Floyd or Marquez, but he can counterpunch.

 

Interestingly enough, sometimes Cotto does go into a philly shell. Not frequently, but still, it did show up early on.

 

This is where it becomes important to be clear on what we're talking about. I mean, most elite fighters CAN counterpunch. That's just the nature of fighting. If you CAN'T counterpunch, eventually that limitation will catch up to you and you won't make the elite level. One of the current methods for making up for a lack of counterpunching ability, or ability in general, is to load one's gloves (see Antonio "Rockgloves" Margarito).

Mike Tyson, for instance, is known as the quintessential aggressive fighter, but at the same time if you missed he would make you pay. While his game wasn't built on counterpunching, obviously he had the ability to.

A "counterpuncher" by trade is someone whose gameplan is centered on making an opponent miss. Any elite CAN counterpunch, but to be labelled a "counterpuncher" is to carry out a style that is based on counterpunching.

 

Yeah, he will do that sometimes.

Everyone deserves a tuneup sometimes, but man, Gomez had no business being in that fight.

 

Cotto is not primarily a counterpuncher but he can take advantage of his opponents openings. If manny gets too wild while going on offense, Cotto will make him pay with
his crisp accurate punches.

 

Yep. In the post above that I provided, based on that type of definition (which is how I strictly define "counterpuncher"), Cotto is not a counterpuncher in my opinion either.

 

Cotto is not a one trick pony. He stalks, boxes, and can counter punch. That is how he was dealing with Mosely. Mosely was faster, but used timing, counters, and foot movement to stay on top. I agree that his "game" isn't counter punching per se. He throws up "the muffs" if the heat is dialed up too high. (Look for a lot of upper cuts from Manny.)

As the bigger man though will Counter Punching even be the issue? Manny should never be that close. Cotto has shown that he can box a guy. Manny will need to close distance. Make Manny pay for real estate, give angles, back off, and do it again. Go in for the kill in the later rounds.