Too early to write off Cotto?

He has a good defense, not a top tier defense, but good defense nonetheless... His biggest defensive foible is his tendency to drop his right when he is being evasive and slipping a string of punches; it lets him see the punches but against fast fighters like Pacquiao it is FAR too risky.

I find it funny that you mention Margarito when Cotto was defending very effectively for the bulk of the fight against him. The problem with the Margarito fight, ignoring the hand wrap controversy, was his stamina running out during the last third of the match. This was arguably because Cotto received a good shot to the nose, breaking it and disrupting his breathing for the rest of the match. Once he slowed down, Margarito was able to corner him more effectively and tag him with big shots.

Once again; he doesn't have AMAZING defense, but he has good defense. I would say easily better than Pacquiaos...

Cotto's biggest problem, and has always been his biggest problem, is that his chin isn't ultra durable. Sure he can take some big shots, but he is capable of being hurt... But that is partly what makes him so fun to watch...

 

It's simple, he need a new trainer if he wants to get back to where he was.