Lets Be honest here...What Can Cotto Do To Even Be Competitive?

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=379360

Relying solely on the jab isn't going to win him the fight, but it is a way in which he can set up his offense. I've often mentioned Floyd has a habit of leaning and/or walking straight back when reacting to punches, and that's why a good jab and sometimes a straight right behind it work so well in making him retreat. Cotto has to be relaxed when he pressures, much like he was against Foreman, and efficiently control the center of the ring while cutting off exit routes and applying pressure (this is where I think Castillo, for all of his gamesmanship, failed in the rematch). I don't think Floyd can "run" from Cotto all 12 rounds, and I don't think that's his plan. When Floyd is sizing him up and timing him early, Cotto must press. The fight will inevitably end up on the inside; Floyd is sharper on the inside, but Cotto is more destructive and will have a physical advantage. One thing I notice a lot of fighters do when they attack Floyd is smother their own offense when they tag him, instead of calmly picking their shots and setting up combinations that are more difficult to anticipate. Cotto on the offensive is verry used to taking advantage of such a dynamic; he has shown much improved balance and a much tighter guard, which will help him in the clinch.

Pressing and then backing off is a good way to confuse Floyd as well. Turning southpaw while coming forward and then baiting Floyd when backing out to the center again is something I'd try to do to walk him into a left hand as he tries to land a response to win the round. Breaking rhythm is important, and switching stances without giving Floyd time to completely adjust to a southpaw stance is a great way to give fresh new looks and open up new offensive opportunities. Cotto has great timing when he turns southpaw at range, and up close, it helps him get leverage into his left-side punches.

Floyd is probably eventually going to come forward, as most guess, and this is an opportunity Cotto has to set further traps. Floyd's pressure is very controlled, and consists of carefully picked punches as he cuts off the ring. The difference we would see between Ortiz and Cotto would be that Cotto can fight off the back-foot fairly well with accuracy and balance, has great lateral movement, and isn't afraid to push back when pressured. Working off the jab while never giving Floyd an angle to plant himself and land hard punches would allow Cotto to unexpectadly become the ring general, and would give him the opportunity to again disrupt his rhythm by rushing Floyd and surprising him with hard, quick three punch combinations before restarting his movement. Assuming Cotto can win 4 of the first 6 with the offensive activity in first game-plan, being prepared with this adjustment would help him steal further rounds and land the more eye-catching blows. If turning southpaw in spots worked in the first game-plan, then doing it again in the second half might be beneficial as well, depending on what look Floyd is giving him. Pushing Floyd right back and making him taste discouraging punches may work just as well. We all realize Floyd has the superior accuracy and defense up close and has the much faster punches, but at the very least, if Cotto can't anticipate Floyd's punches, he can throw with Floyd, and it wouldn't surprise me if doing so repeatedly taxed Floyd much more than it damaged Miguel.

The trick is to maximize Cotto's dimensions, which are far more capable than anyone is giving him credit for. It's a difficult task and I understand completely why people favor Floyd, but to say Cotto can't beat Floyd without the right set of game-plans, hungry mentality, and physical preparation is absurd. Anyone has a chance to upset anyone else, and considering this test can easily be seen as his stiffest challenge since DLH, an upset would not be the strangest thing to happen in the sport of boxing.

No way Cotto does worse than Ortiz.

 

Cotto is a huge underdog in this fight but there are considerations you have to take into account.

A shot Mosley was able to rock Floyd in the 2nd round big time. Unfortunately, he gassed after the 2nd round and was incapable of doing anything for the remainder of the fight of mounting anything like a sustainable offence. Cotto on the other hand has not declined as much as Mosely, some might even say that while his confidence/athleticism has declined slightly, he has technically become a better boxer, using certain tricks not used before in his previous fight with Marg. All in all, Cotto has as much of a chance of rocking Floyd as Shane did, only he'll have the better stamina to sustain an offence throughout the fight.

Ortiz was able to land a few punches in the 4th round against Floyd, decent punches. Had the fight not transpired the way it had, I honestly think that although May would have won a comfortable UD, we'd have seen similar intermittant spells of punches landed by Ortiz. I reckon Cotto beats Ortiz if they fought now, and on that basis, I'm saying Cotto too will be able to at least land SOME punches but not be so stupid as to do what Ortiz did but proceed with his original fight plan.

Cotto has only ever lost to pressure fighters. Floyd isn't really a pressure fighter (physically anyway).

Overall, I'd say its 80/20 in favour of May winning, but Cotto does have it in him to at least ask a few questions. Put it this way, I'd say Cotto is Floyd's biggest challenge since Castillo....

 

You're not talking boxing, you're using vague ass terms. "He's not as fast, not as smart." It's about style more than anything else.

Are you really going to argue Cotto's jab isn't that great?

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When has Cotto failed to land combinations? Weakass fighters, ok. Nobody is denying Floyd is elusive, but he does pull straight back often without offering any offense and pays for it.

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Do you think Floyd is going to control the center against Cotto the majority of the time? He gave up the center for numerous rounds against Hatton, De La Hoya, and Ortiz. It doesn't take Julio Cesar Chavez to corner Floyd. Not that it means victory, since Floyd is one of the best defensively on the inside today if not the best, but it's perfectly reasonable to expect Cotto to control the center for the first half of the fight. Floyd can't, and wouldn't want to, outrun him.

Why does Cotto have to be Sugar Ray Leonard to win rounds as a southpaw? Corely did it, Judah did it, even Mitchell had success walking him into shots from the right angle. It's not about one single thing Cotto can do, it's the different looks he can give consistently to win enough rounds while avoiding a fate-sealing adjustment from Floyd.

None of these things are "impossible" because they are things he's done before. He's pressured effectively before, he's jabbed accurately before, he's turned southpaw before, and he's counter-punched while moving laterally before. Will it be enough? We'll see. But if you're going to use the argument that Cotto "can't possibly be competitive", at least use arguments related to the particular defensive and offensive measures they actually use. Though I recommend you stop, it's only diminishing a potential accomplishment for Floyd.

 

go to the body. right hands and right hooks. stick it in his chest. nobody ever goes to his chest

 

****ing owned

I was beginning to think that there was nop hope for this forum

 

Also, it's not like Floyd doesn't have his flaws or has slipped a bit as well. Someone posted a gif of Floyd letting loose on Ortiz earlier today. That gif actually shows some of those recent flaws in Floyd's game. He's holding his chin straight up in the air and telegraphing his punches. This is something Floyd would normally have tight, but age could be getting to him. It happens to everyone.

 

Then people wonder why this fight is a few yrs too late ..

 

the one thing i don't like about cotto's camp (from what we can see) is he is still hanging is head out way in front of his feet...easy target for a guy with floyd's reach and accuracy

 

This one?

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Fighting out of a crouch can be good in close, as long as your head isn't past your lead leg. From what I've seen, he's maintaining his balance.

 

I love the way people on these forums denigrate their favourite fighter's opponents before fights and then later point to that same fighter as a great victory for their guy. Logic. Astounding.

 

he travels backwards in straight lines when pressured.

 

He has to come forward and keep the pressure on. He won't win a second going backwards.