Pacquaio vs Cotto Re-match. I think Pacquaio struggles.

Its really funny how their careers look

Cotto and Manny are both having the lingering questions of how much is left in the tank hanging over their heads

Manny for a while was labeled distracted in his camp and such but won big fights, in the last time out it seemed Manny might be as focused as ever but in the fight it appeared his body and legs let him down he faded late and lost to Bradley

is Manny slowing, or is he just figured out and facing quicker better opponents

JMM and Bradley were 2 of his faster and more crafty opponents who used movement distance and strategy

Cotto was being labeled shot until giving Floyd a very difficult time. Cotto to me is mentally rejuvenated and the new trainer is a plus but whats his physical status

my opinion is that the aggressive volume punchers who back miguel up and apply pressure can still wear him down....Floyd is the opposite of that style and i think in ways the passive counter punching Floyd allowed Miguel to be very competitive and not wear down and break down like he did in other fights

so to the Cotto Manny rematch

well this fight is a big match of iffs and was's regarding shot, and past it and focus and what not, also factor in the weight in fight 1 and the trainer of Cotto and some other factors

my opinion is Manny is really on the slide but in his next fight will come out better than his last and will make a real effort to erase that performance but i think he is on the way down so we will see a better day from Manny but not the Manny of old

Cotto will do a little better and be a little wiser and employ a better strategy maybe be better guided and more confident

the result probably like the Barrera rematch, a better and more entertaining fight but not enough to get revenge

 

I think the problem wasn't so much Cotto's guard, which was much tighter than usual; the looping, chopping rights he got hit by against Mosley was because of an opening right on the side of the head; the problem was his static upper body. His defensive head movement is often very good, but on the move. The only times Floyd hit him hard and flush was when Miguel stayed in the pocket too long, and when he was content to stay at Floyd's arm's length and absorb the blows. His guard was more effective than it might have been, but the looping shots still forced their way in at times. Still, the peekaboo benefited; shots that landed had some of the mustard taken off of them.

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I remember JMM saying that more movement in the pocket and a range would have benefited him. That round Cotto won by circling showed that he can have success attacking and then taking advantage of Floyd's reaching as he takes the lead.

 

floyd was clever though, his clever footwork enabled him to engage cotto in the pocket a lot, cotto was much happier when floyd was on the ropes, it was competitive on the ropes. at times floyd was almost teeing off on cotto when at mid/pocket range.

 

cotto overall got beter. Manny is diminishing... Cotto has double the chance of winning now.

 

Floyd can side-step very well on the outside, which is why I always stressed it as important for Cotto to control the space. Control the center on the outside, and control the action in the pocket against the ropes; getting in and out with more movement was what was lacking and allowing Floyd to tee off.

 

Well said. Cotto matches up much better against Mayweather then Pacquiao and Floyd had 10 oz gloves. He still got beat up.

Pacquiao hits harder the. floyd and his punches come froma wider variety of angles.

And suffice to say Cotto does not fight well going backwards, nor his his offense varied enough to fight Pacquiao in the middle of the ring. Hos defense is basically the high guard and he tries to absorb punches on his gloves. Thus the state of his face post fight.

Even at 154lbs, 10 oz gloves id still pick Pacquiao to come away with a comfortable victory.

 

Cotto gets KTFO again. Only chance he has is to make Pac move up and use pillow gloves like he made Mayweather do. Easy win for Pac otherwise.

 

I believe Pac struggles hard with Cotto this time around. The weight, if fought at 154lbs will play a big part in that. If Cotto box instead of brawl it will be a long night for Pacquiao.

 

Fair points, to put it simply, Cotto needs to up his jab count and lateral movements while keeping the fight from a distance.
He needs to make that jab as stiff and as quick as possible, and make sure to solve the lead left of Pac that nullified his jab the last time.

That being said, I think a 154 Cotto is much much slower and this will be like Pac mauling Margarito, only Cotto will have significantly more success if he chooses to be persistent with body-shotting Pac.
A KO is less likely to happen now, but I don't think Cotto has the workrate to outpoint Pac even at 154.

 

How does he look any different or better then he was at 147? Aside from moving his feet a little more and maybe using the jab more. He's the same fighter, albeit older, slower, heavier, and a little gunshy.

He still has the same habits, same flaws, same holes in his defenses. He still gets hit with uppercuts, he's still chinny, he still has stamina problems, still has problems with sluggers.

Watch Cotto - Margarito 1 and then watch the 2nd fight. He's the exact same fighter - the difference is he used more movement and stayed off the ropes in the second fight. Margarito obviously wasn't the same either/.

Look at his fights against Mayorga and Foreman. It took him 6 rounds to take out a C-level fighter hobbling on one leg. Would the old Cotto take that long to get him out of there? A completely shot to hell Mayorga gave him all he could handle and even stunned him a couple of times.

My point is he's still a good fighter with a lot left in the tank as he proved against Floyd, and maybe he's smarter now, but this idea that he's this totally improved / different fighter holds no water whatever.

And the idea that fighting Pacquiao at 154 suddenly changes the dynamics of this fight completely makes no sense either. Cotto had never fought above 147 at the time he fought Pac, and that fight had everything to do with styles / talent level rather then weight . The biggest question in a rematch is how's Pcquiao going to do now that he's faded. He already destroyed Cotto the first time, when it actually mattered who won.


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btw, I'll also say Cotto may be a little less left-hook happy now too. So on those grounds he has improved . But you cant discount the fact that he's naturally faded with age and two terrible beatings (the Pacquiao one was a career-ending type of beating). If you were honestly going to pick the best version of Cotto would you choose the one who beat Mosley / Judah or the one who struggled with Mayorga, Foreman, and lost against Floyd?

 

No

Cotto is a perfect opponent for Pac. Cotto is a banger and so is Pacqio only Pacquio is better.

 

Gander you're just wrong here. Better use of the right hand, quicker & more varied combination punching, better balance, tighter guard, expert lateral movement on the defensive, and a tactical guide in his camp & corner. He's clearly more prepared to fight anyone than he was post-Margarito/pre-Steward.

 

well pacquiao has been sliding since then. if cotto makes it a tough one or win this time, it would be just like a win over margarito. a win over a diminished fighter...