The bottomless pit Cotto now finds himself

When Miguel Cotto awakes in the morning, he will do so knowing that he is staring down the barrel of 24 more rounds against a fighter in which he fought magnificantly in the first 10 rounds - and got knocked out in the 11th - if he wants to regain his soul.

This goes beyond just losing a fight as Cotto fought as well as he possibly can tonight, he landed frequent massive and clean shots, he ducked and rolled punches, defended, moved, jabbed, etc...and it was not enough. Cotto's corner did everything they could before the fight to get him prepared and their strategy and cut work during the fight was top notch...and it was not enough

By every measure of a fighter and a man, Cotto put his best foot forward tonight and has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. But I wonder, as I am sure Cotto does, if he really can beat Margo over the 24 rounds required to regain his place in the boxing world. And if not, where does he go from here?

One more thing, regardless of who Cotto fights next - whether it be Margo, Paul Williams or a fighter off the ESB board! - he will have to do it without the supreme confidence and self belief that comes with being and unbeaten champion who has slayed all previous comers. That in and of itself has been enough to break men in the past, will Cotto be different?

 

Losing a fight the way Cotto did tonight does absolutely nothing to diminish him as a warrior and fighter in my eyes. What it does do, though, is it causes me to wonder if Cotto can be the legit 147lb king in a post-Mayweather world or if he will forever be a fighter that sweats class and professionalism but is lacking just that little bit of magic that separates the all-time greats from the very goods.

Either way, tonight represented all that can be right in the boxing world when you have two game, prime, hungry fighters who are willing to do anything to win. This kind of fight will get my PPV dollar each and every time.

 

Margo's loss to Paul Williams in no way compares to the loss Cotto had tonight. Williams outworked Margo, was physically bigger and able to use his right shoulder to push Margo away and Margo wasn't able to find his range until late in the fight and then Williams showed he has a chin as well.

I had Cotto winning on my card and I felt that he had landed the much better shots and yet, Margo kept coming and won the fight. What about Margo-Cotto II would be different than what we saw tonight? I think a second fight would go much the way of Pac-Morales II in which Morales gave everything he had to win the first fought and couldn't call upon that level of reserve to survive in the second (or third).

 

I am not saying that the fighter isn't allowed to lose, but its the manner in which Cotto lost that is troubling. What can he better or differently in the second fight than he did tonight.

Had Cotto got caught by a piped right hand, well, that happens and fixing that problem is something you can work on. But getting leveled after spending 10 rounds winning a war doesn't leave a fighter with a lot of room for changes or improvements.

Had this been an MMA fight, I would feel the same way and that is, if Cotto and Margo fight 10 times, Margo wins 10 times.