Miguel Angel Cotto vs. Delvin Antonio Rodriguez

It's the week of, and this is getting very little attention. (probably due to being overshadowed by Klitschko vs. Povetkin on the same day...and indeed the same lengthy HBO broadcast)

Pound for pound and prime for prime, most would agree Junito was considerably greater. D-Rod, however, was a big welterweight and is a perfect strapping fit at 154 (where Cotto was slightly big for super lightweight but peaked there and was no more than average sized at welter..decidedly .small for 154...)

Both have run hot and cold in the recent past...

D-Rod on maybe his best night conquered his rival Wolak in the rematch and effectively shut down the possibility of them having a Gatti vs. Ward rivalry by dominating enough that a third installment seemed pointless. Then he got absolutely humiliated by Austin Trout and made to look D-league. 118-110 and the first ten rounds were a master class by Trout. There were even calls for Rodriguez to retire, with speculation that he couldn't have looked that bad if the Wolak battles hadn't completely ruined him. Then he moves up to middleweight and knocks out a huge strong unbeaten (but untested) guy from the Midwestern circuit who in truth is more of a super middle, and then overcame a tough scrap with Freddy Hernandez, standing up to some bombs from a notorious puncher, and edging him on a fair technical decision (I'm not sure why it's listed now on Boxrec as "TKO" :huh)

Cotto paralleled Rodriguez's journey by also exorcising a demon in late 2011 in a rematch with a bitter rival, stopping his boogeyman Margarito on cuts & swelling. Then he put up a surprisingly respectable effort challenging the p4p #1 in the world in what a few years earlier had been considered a possible mega-event and had lost its luster but still proved very entertaining and not in the least a waste of either man's time...and in fact gave a clear portcullis into how their styles would have meshed if they met a division lower while still undefeated and with demand at its highest. Then he tried his luck with Trout, coming fresh off having clowned Rodriguez. Cotto fared better head to head and forced more close rounds (IMO) but struggled visibly and lost a unanimous decision just as wide as did Rodriguez. Then he sat on the shelf for ten months, while Rodriguez has been sharpening his tools at healthy intervals.

:think

 

FWIW, their lone common opponent Austin Trout believes that it will be close with Rodriguez boxing tall and Cotto looking to get inside, ultimately picking Cotto. (scene)

I had Trout vs. Cotto much closer than Trout vs. Rodriguez, although it must be noted that was an extremely bad night at the office for Rodriguez. (both a bad styles match-up and the worst conditioned and least sharp he personally has ever looked in the ring, to my recollection)

 

Yeah, it's hard for me to imagine Cotto ever losing to a guy that was put on ***** Street by Jesse Feliciano...and the lingering memory of Cotto dialing back the clock hands to push Mayweather harder than anyone in years is still fresh in mind - but I also can't imagine Cotto moving up to middleweight and thrashing a Tahdoohanippah like D-Rod managed to...nor eating so many crushing blows from Hernandez (who IMO doesn't pack much less a wallop than Margarito) without batting an eyelash...

Cotto just isn't meant for 154lbs, but it's thoroughly impressive that he still bagged a title at the weight and made a valiant stand against Mayweather anyway. Every fiber of my being wants to balk and rail against the notion that Cotto might lose to an inferior talent but this might be a case of a past-prime A-level junior welter/welter running smack into a wall in the form of a less-faded B-level welter/junior middle...

 

Does anyone think Cotto - both cognizant of his own lifelong stamina foibles and wary of Rodriguez's ability to come on strong in the late going (and really, I can easily see them splitting this in half and getting a draw on fair cards with Cotto pressuring and whacking the body early and Rodriguez establishing his jab and tapping a steady drumbeat on Cotto's face late)...plus having linked up with a famously offensive-minded coach - might be thinking of pushing for a knockout in the first half? :think

Could that, if the plan fails, open the door for a late stoppage the other way should Cotto devote too much gas to it?