Why has Cotto received so many opportunities to fight for a title following defeats?

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by 941Jeremy, Nov 25, 2017.


  1. 941Jeremy

    941Jeremy Active Member Full Member

    1,409
    910
    Sep 5, 2012
    26 of his last 27 fights including his upcoming bout will have been for a major title. Not that he hasn't earned the right to be highly ranked by organizations but it's strange to me. Loses to Margarito then immediately faces Jennings for a title, loses to Pacquiao then receives a title shot with Foreman, loses to Mayweather then gets a title shot with Trout, and loses to Canelo then faces Kamegai for a title. He's been given every opportunity to thrive in his career. Why have titles been so available for him to scoop up?
     
    lefthandlead and OvidsExile like this.
  2. Willie Maeket

    Willie Maeket "40 Acres and Mule" -General William T. Sherman Full Member

    13,856
    8,328
    Jun 22, 2015
    He has some clout and a name is better than a credit card in the boxing game.

    My question is how are guys getting shots without properly ranking for a title?

    It's all about name recognition.
     
  3. IntentionalButt

    IntentionalButt Guy wants to name his çock 'macho' that's ok by me

    396,409
    78,667
    Nov 30, 2006
    Probably because as you said, 26 of his last 27 fights will have been for a major title (since despite being a 12-rounder, nothing was on the line versus D-Rod ;)), and on just four of those occasions was he coming off a loss. As of the Jennings opportunity, he was on a two-division run of 12-0 (10) snapped by that one loss to Margarito. As of Foreman he was 14-2 (11) with the only additional loss being to everyone's p4p #2, if not 1. As of Trout he was 17-3 (14) in world title bouts and coming off a competitive loss with the consensus #1 of his generation. As of Kamegai he was 19-5 (16) and yeah, getting the lifetime achievement treatment, but not undeservedly going by the numbers.
     
    Willie Maeket and 941Jeremy like this.
  4. Farmboxer

    Farmboxer VIP Member Full Member

    86,106
    4,096
    Jul 19, 2004
    Why didn't he fight Golovkin?
     
  5. ryuken87

    ryuken87 Active Member Full Member

    1,468
    877
    Mar 8, 2014
    $$$/corruption

    Governing bodies like fighters that demand higher purses because they all take 3%.
     
  6. Scar

    Scar VIP Member Full Member

    76,098
    2,732
    Jul 20, 2004
    He's exciting and brings crowds/money.
     
  7. Brighton bomber

    Brighton bomber Loyal Member Full Member

    31,196
    29,158
    Apr 4, 2005
    He's always been a pretty decent draw and that will mean people will want to face him, everyone wants that payday. Fact is having a big fan base and a style that brings that adoration from fans will always be advantageous.

    The sanctioning bodies have been kind to him to some extent for the same reason, they want a piece of the Cotto pie.
     
  8. OvidsExile

    OvidsExile At a minimum, a huckleberry over your persimmon. Full Member

    34,461
    36,816
    Aug 28, 2012
    He sells tickets. Puerto Ricans in New York will pay to watch him eat a ham sandwich the same as Mexicans in Nevada will pay to watch Canelo do his laundry. If you have a rabid fanbase, it doesn't matter if you are good. Cash cows get title shots.
     
    Badbot, S.K and Gil Gonzalez like this.
  9. qwertyblahblah

    qwertyblahblah Boxing Addict Full Member

    4,985
    2,063
    Jan 14, 2013
    Watching that HBO feature on Cotto's career really made me miss Trinidad, and made it obvious that Cotto only became a star because he was the only top Puerto Rican boxer when Tito left, and Puerto Rican boxing needed someone to fill the vacuum. Cotto's more a representative of a demographic than an individual star.
     
    Brixton Bomber and OvidsExile like this.
  10. Serge

    Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

    78,362
    127,345
    Jul 21, 2009
    I really do feel bad for him that his dream of becoming a three-weight cripple crusher champion eluded him. If only he'd been able to temp Brook into the ring after the stabbing or at least managed to secure fights against Darren Barker and Sam Soliman so he could've at least become a unified cripple crusher at MW.
     
  11. OvidsExile

    OvidsExile At a minimum, a huckleberry over your persimmon. Full Member

    34,461
    36,816
    Aug 28, 2012
    It's not that Cotto isn't good. It's that he wasn't truly great. In the two decades which his career falls into there are about twenty-four fighters who were better than him. Therefore, it feels somewhat odd or unfair that he's been treated more handsomely than all but maybe three or four of them.
     
    tinman and Sugar 88 like this.
  12. Nonito Smoak

    Nonito Smoak Ioka>Lomo, sorry my dudes Full Member

    53,088
    6,684
    Sep 8, 2010
    Money money money moooney, monay!

    That said he's a HOF'er who almost certainly was a top worthy option almost every time.

    He isn't the only one that gets the treatment.
     
    Willie Maeket likes this.
  13. madballster

    madballster Loyal Member Full Member

    37,211
    6,762
    Jul 21, 2009
    He brings purses because he gets the Puerto Rican demographic for ratings and PPV revenue. If you bring money to the table you can get lots of title shots even if your skills are just average. Axel Schultz got 3 HW title shots with crap skills thanks to big German TV money. Cotto is 10x better so I am not surprised he got lots of world title fights on his record. Money, skillset and longevity that's what long, impressive records are all about.
     
  14. tinman

    tinman Loyal Member Full Member

    35,212
    27,901
    Feb 25, 2015
    Well if you actually examine his defeats they weren't exactly to low level fighters. Margarito may not have been a huge name, but possessed a unique workrate and chin. Pacquiao was the most accomplished fighter of the decade. Mayweather was a very highly regarded fighter as well, but Cotto was clearly past prime. And after that he was just living off of his name. He became diva Cotto after the Pacquiao beatdown. The Manny Pacquiao fight took his heart from him. He longer cared about fighting, he just wanted a paycheck. And since he had fought all the big name fighters and was Puerto Rican he had a huge fanbase. And everybody wanted the Cotto money.
     
  15. tinman

    tinman Loyal Member Full Member

    35,212
    27,901
    Feb 25, 2015
    I actually rate Cotto lower than most and Manny Pacquiao is my favorite fighter. Cotto is still a very good fighter, but more like a Carl Froch level fighter. Not a borderline ATG like many view him. To me Cotto has always been a little too cute. His technique is flashy, but a little too much flash and not enough substance. He lacks the raw physical talent to compete with the very best fighters.
     
    OvidsExile likes this.