Only 20+ days left, Canelo bout to get schooled!!!

Dustin Nichols might go down to 160 and beat GGG with a checkjab...

 

I'm surprised people see this as a given to Canelo too. It's a 50/50 fight.

 

his weight games are costing him his stamina. I know first hand how hard it is to perform when you have to cut unnatural number of pounds to squeeze into a division you do not belong at.

 

Does it even matter? By doing so they essentially take all power away from the lineal status at that weight. IBO championship will be more meaningful than the lineal recognition.

 

Both guys are good all rounders and can fight in different ways. For me, the fight will be decided on how Canelo fights.

Canelo turned into a boxer in his run up to the Mayweather fight. He had a close win over Trout which was impressive really considering he beat Trout at his own game. Unfortunately this led him to try to fight Mayweather in a similar style and forgo his one big advantage in the fight - size. Outboxing Trout is one thing, but trying to outbox Mayweather is something else entirely.

In his fights with Lara and Kirkland, Canelo, seems to have regressed tactically. He was more of a flat footed stalker. This was able to work against Lara as Lara, whilst a superb technician, isn't the most durable and can't really go to a plan B if plan A isn't working.

Against Cotto, what tactics Canelo uses, and i believe he will need to use a variety of gameplans, will ultimately determine the fight as Canelo will have the size and power advantage.

Whilst Canelo isn't bad at cutting the ring of he can't just shuffle forward with a high guard, hoping to pick of Cotto's shots, corner him, then land his own shots. If he does this Cotto will just dart in, unload his own shots and spin off to the side. Rinse and repeat.

Canelo has to use his jab to set up his own attacks as well as to disrupt Cotto's own attacks. He also has to bring back his counter punching which he has not done as much lately. Like i said earlier, he can't just expect to hold a high guard, soak up Cotto's shots then unload his own because Cotto won't be there once he has let his 2-3 shots go. Canelo needs to time him coming in.

This is a huge fight for Canelo against a mainstream elite fighter. The Trout, Lara, Kirkland and a few other wins were good, but, this is a fight that can trully push his stock higher and he has an opponent that can bring out the best in him. This fight should tell us a lot about Canelo, particularly his mentality and ability to adapt in the ring. Cotto isn't Mayweather, but he is still a great fighter and a fighter who can show a lot of different things in the ring. Canelo has shown that he can do a lot of different things in the ring, too, over the course of his career. Now he is in a fight were he will need to bring all of his skills into a single fight.

If he gets his tactics right and fights smart then i'm going for Canelo; late stoppage or 116-112 type of decision.

 

Cotto may win this one easily. He will move all night unless he hurts Canelo. I had it a 50/50 fight before but the more I think about it the more confident I am that Cotto wins.

The keys: better footwork and more importantly, better accuracy. Most other categories they are fairly even, but I don't think Canelo has the work rate necessary to win.

 

I'm with the OP. Cotto gonna hurt Opie and take him out.

 

What are the betting lines on this fight?