Predictions: Miguel Cotto va Ricardo Mayorga

WBA Light Middleweight title, March 12th at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Showtime PPV.

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Betting Odds

Cotto 1/12 Mayorga 6/1

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymq3uZqa0ms[/ame]


Miguel "Junito" Cotto
Caguas, Puerto Rico
30 years old
5,7ft 67inch
35-2 (28KO's)
Former WBO Light Welterweight Champion (5 Defences)
Former WBA & WBO Welterweight Champion (5 Defences)
Current WBA Light Middleweight Champion
The RING No.3, ESB No.3, Boxrec No.1

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Notable Fights
TKO9 Win Yuri Foreman
TKO12 Loss Manny Pacquiao
SD12 Win Joshua Clottey
TKO11 Loss Antonio Margorito
UD12 Win Shane Mosley
TKO11 Win Zab Judah
UD12 Win Paulie Mallignaggi
KO7 Win Ricardo Torress


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATlGT0c8i4M[/ame]


Amateur Career
125-23
2000 Olympian

What he said
“I don’t care what he (Mayorga) is saying about me. He’s always going to be talking but, as everyone knows, the fight starts when you enter the ring and that’s where I’m going to win the fight; in the ring.”

“I’m going everywhere. I’m going to the body. I’m going upstairs. I just want to give the fans the best fight possible. I just want to prepare to give the fans the best fight possible."

“I never make any excuses; and the same thing with this fight. I’m coming and I’m going to be prepared for what I need to do to win."

“I feel like I’ve had a great career. It’s been very productive. I know it’s near the end of it, but I feel like it’s the beginning. I feel great and I feel like I have a lot left in me before I go.”

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Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga
Managua, Nicaragua
37 years old
5,9ft 70 inch
29-7 (23KO's)
Former WBC & WBA Welterweight Champion (2 Defences)
Former WBC Light Middleweight Champion
WBA No.6, ​

Boxrec No.46

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Notable Fights
TKO9 Win Michael Walker
KO12 Loss Shane Mosley
MD12 Win Fernando Vargas
TKO6 Loss Oscar De La Hoya
TKO8 Loss Felix Trinidad
MD Loss Cory Spinks
MD12 Win Vernon Forrest
TKO3 Win Veron Forrest

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9EDXem7s8[/ame]


Amateur Career
103-17

What he said

“I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life. I feel like I’ve had the best camp of my career. I feel so disciplined for this fight that I’d fight tomorrow if I had to.

“This is the fight where I’m going to impose my will so much so that – because I want that fight so bad with (Manny) Pacquiao – that if I don’t beat Cotto by knockout and I happen to beat him by decision then I don’t feel like I’m deserving of a fight with Pacquiao. So that’s how strongly I feel I’m going to win this fight."

“Manny is a human being just like everyone else. He’s not invincible like God. The advantage he has is that when people step into the ring with him they fight with fear and they are very tentative. I would not come in with any fear and would not be tentative."

“When I knock out Manny Pacquiao I will become the most famous fighter of all time. So that’s what I want and am working for.”


The Fight

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The Fight

It may not be the best two fighters in the world, fighting in there primes, but we know we will get excitment when these two Latin warriors clash on March 12th.

Both have been fan favourites for years due to there fearless, exciting, come forward agrressive boxing styles. Ferocious punchers expecially to the body. The fight has been billed "Relentless" and thats exactly what we will get.

But for everything they have in common inside the ring, outside of it there pollar opposites. Cotto is the softly spoken silent warrior, has been smart with his money outside of the ring always respectful of his opponent. To say Mayorga has been disrespectful to his opponents would be an understatement. He is the big mouthed, beer drinking, chain smoking hardcore partying South American and we love and hate him for it.

Many would say Mayorga has mad his name and fame purley based on his out of ring antics. This would be unfair as he is an acomplished boxer that has beaten and competed with severall hall of fame boxers. In his last major fight he out hustled and fought Shane Mosley for 11 rounds before being sparked out in the 12th. Shane Mosley went on to dominate Antonio Margorito in his career best performance 4 months later.

Cotto's career has been up and down in recent years. He strung together an impressive unbeaten run picking up belts at 140 and 147lbs, becoming a the new Puerto Rican star replacing Felix Trinidad, but lost by stoppage to Antonio Margorito in suspicious circumstances in 2008. Since then he came back with a few wins picking up world titles but failed to impress agaisnt Joshua Clottey and lost by a landslide to Manny Pacquiao, the only world class fighters he has faced.

Mayorga is certainly the bigger man, and he will be up for it. He has beaten better boxers than Cotto and broken men with bigger hearts. But what does he have left. The same can be asked of Cotto. He has built a life for himself outside of boxing, is he prepared to go to War again?

With Emmanuel Steward in his corner many would expect Cotto to try and box at a fast pace that Mayorga cannot keep up with and wear the older man down to a late stoppage, but nobody would be foolish enough to count El Matador completley out of it.

How do you have it?

Undercard

Miguel Vasquez vs Lenny Zappavigna (IBF Lightweight)
Pawel Wolak vs Yuri Foreman (10x3 Light Middleweight)
Joshua Clottey vs Calvin Green (10x3 Light Middleweight)

 

I think Cotto stoppage but I am gonna put a wedge on Mayorga at 6/1. Reckon you will get a bit more for the stoppage to.

 

Clottey should pick up an easy win. Wolak i would expect to beat foreman via UD. Vasquez should outbox LZ to a wide points or late stoppage.