miguel cotto is very near the top of the list of being the best pound for pound fighter on the planet. he is very strong and very well conditioned. how would he do against the legendary left hooker pipino cuevas:deal
Honestly Cotto has become massively over rated based off of a win over Judah where he was rocked a couple of times. I've even heard people say he is the fighter of the year so far, wtf? He has beaten Zab Judah this year, wow! The same Judah that won a couple of rounds off Mayweather before he was beat down, yet Mayweather got alot less accolades. Cotto has a very good body attack and is a hard puncher in the mould of Chavez and Cuevas in that they don't normally knock you down with one punch but they hit very hard and beat you up over the course of a fight. Cuevas wins this, Cotto's chin hasn't proven to be that reliable and Cuevas cracks it for sure. Cuevas was better at what Cotto does and proved himself on a much higher level. Cuevas by KO
I like Cotto in this big time. He can be hurt but has shown time and again he can return fire back and win from these tough situations something I don't think Cuevas can do. When Cuevas was rocked by Hearns and Duran he folded meekly and I think once Cotto started raking his ribcage and head with hooks that he'd fold again. Cotto will have to fight through some early punishment and shaky moments to win but I think he has the heart and touch of mongrel in him (note the low blows he used when hurt against Judah) to do so. Cotto KO 7.
Theres a huge difference of class in Hearns & Duran and Cotto. Two of them are amongst the greatest fighters of all time, the other is merely a good contender at the moment. He has done nothing that allows him to be compared to them.
Cotto is an active fighter, thats why he cant be compared to them right now. If miguel picks up 2 more major wins, then he can.
Where did I compare Cotto to Hearns or Duran? I just made the point that Cuevas folded against them,and that I think Cotto has the ability and the attack to also make Pipino capitulate.That's all. I don't think Cotto has done near enough to be mentioned anywhere near Hearns or Duran (give me some credit please) but I still think he has what it takes to defeaet Cuevas.
Cotto is no where near the best P4P in the world. Major things need to happen for him to get that moniker. Cotto is the better fighter but this is boxing and he still has alot to prove, though I do think he'd win.
I took it as that when you said Cuevas folded against Duran and Hearns, he might do it against Cotto. Misunderstanding on my behalf.
Exchanging blows with a prime Cuevas would be devistating for Cotto. Before the Hearns fight Cuevas would take punches & keep on coming with bombs. Don't purely judge him from post Hearns appearences. Cotto would gets his licks in, But He would be able to take the raw power Cuevas brings. How about Quintana winding up & nailing Cotto to the ribs uncontested. Imagine Cuevas with the same delivery. Cotto would surely be nursing some broken ribs.
I never saw the Duran fight but Pipino certainly didn't fold meekly against Hearns - he took numerous power punches and ended up flat on his back. Before Hearns ruined him Cuevas was one of the most feared fighters in the world - a bone crunching puncher with a granite jaw. He's relatively slow so I can see Cotto having some early success but I don't know if Cotto can take those left hooks. It's too early to say IMO and so I will go with Cuevas KO 6.
Cuevas just stood there getting pounded by Hearns,he barely threw a punch which is why I said he folded meekly.If he'd fell on his shield throwing punches then I'd say he went down fighting but that wasn't the case. He did a little better against Duran at least letting his hands go a bit,although Duran slipped or blocked most of his punches.But he froze once Duran had him hurt in the fourth getting floored and battered until his corner called it off.Although to be fair he was far past his prime by this point,and Duran fought an excellent fight imo.