Mayweather and Cotto

[Pat_Lowe]

After Cotto's recent win over Judah he has gained quite alot of hype, it wasn't just his win over Judah, it was the way he did it that garnered all this. He beat him up in a manner remincisint of Julio Cesar Chavez and Pipino Cuevas. What has been starting to get to me though is the massive overrating he is gaining.

Cotto is a good fighter and a good contender (Mayweather being the champion at 147). He is improving with each fight and is looking to be give Mayweather a bit of a challenge. The thing is though, that Cotto isn't champ, and his biggest win is over Judah. Yet people are saying that he is the best at 147 and he is at the moment fighter of the year (I read that in a recent thread, it seemed the concensus). This is a ridiculous assertion that I do not agree with in any way. Yes Cotto is upping his competition and Judah is a step in the right direction but how does this win make him fighter of the year? Judah is for all purposes coming off 2 straight losses and a year suspension. I'm not trying to downgrade his win, I'm just trying to put it into perspective and find out how on earth this makes him fighter of the year.

Look at a comparison, Floyd Mayweather is coming off a win over De La Hoya. De La Hoya had also been off for a year but he was at least coming off a win over a decent fighter. Mayweather also jumped up a division (like Cotto), but unlike Cotto, Mayweather is naturally about 135-140 pounds. He has bulked up in order to compete at larger weights. Cotto routinely comes into the ring as a light middleweight or middleweight. De La Hoya is recognised as a great fighter who will be enshrined in the HOF asap. Why is Mayweather not considered fighter of the year? I understand he is disliked alot because of his actions outside the ring but who cares. Sugar Ray Robinson, possibly the greatest of all time was an asshole outside the ring, he was hell to negotiate with and he beat up his wife. Carlos Monzon was even worse yet he is regarded by many as the greatest middleweight.

I believe one of the reasons Cotto has gained such massive hype is not really because of his wins, but because of the large base of boxing fans who hate Floyd Mayweather. It is similar to Calzaghe in regards to Jeff Lacy. Cotto is becoming a tool used by Mayweather detractors. For example many posters state that Mayweather cherry picks his opponents yet in the same sentence they mention how Cotto is willing to fight anyone. Where is the evidence this is the case? I don't think Cotto has fought a fight in recent times where he wasn't the favourite. His record has been built up slowly and he is being consistently fed harder opponents, but he doesn't and hasn't fought everyone...or for that matter anyone really. As previously mentioned his best win is over Judah who the aformentioned Mayweather beat handily also. Until Cotto fights the names he has mentioned then I will not put him in the category as a fighter who takes on anyone and everyone. Its quite possible his next opponent won't be that great. After a good win over Quintana, he fought a relatively dissapointing opponent in Otkay Urkal.

Thats pretty much my rant finished. For the record I am somewhat of a Cotto fan, his style reminds me of one of my favourite fighters in Julio Cesar Chavez. I'm also a fan of Mayweather though and I recognise that someone with his skills comes along rarely. I believe it is arguable Mayweather is perhaps the greatest fighter ever (In terms of skills). He is the complete package and despite his character outside the ring (which I don't really mind because it doesn't affect me personally and he is known to be quite a gentleman to fans) he should be appreciated at the moment because it could be a while before we see another fighter like him.

[jlrivera81]

Actually, Cotto hasnt been favored to win many of his last fights. Ever since his fight against Torres and Corley, people have been picking against him b/c of his so-called "suspect chin." Many people thought Paulie and Quintana would box circles around him. Many also believed that Zab was too strong, too fast, and far more the superior boxer. Cotto proved all the doubters wrong. Going back a little further, most had Abdullev favored to beat Cotto.

[Pat_Lowe]

Actually, Cotto hasnt been favored to win many of his last fights. Ever since his fight against Torres and Corley, people have been picking against him b/c of his so-called "suspect chin." Many people thought Paulie and Quintana would box circles around him. Many also believed that Zab was too strong, too fast, and far more the superior boxer. Cotto proved all the doubters wrong. Going back a little further, most had Abdullev favored to beat Cotto.

If you had the odds for the fight I believe he has been the favourite in the fights. Many people thought De La Hoya would beat Mayweather but he was not the favourite, in fact I believe it was 3 to 1 against De La Hoya

[jlrivera81]

i feel you. so you are talking about the betting odds in vegas???? i was just talking about what i got from many boxing fans on websites, but i suppose that is a very small amount of people compared to betting lines.

[Caper]

After Cotto's recent win over Judah he has gained quite alot of hype, it wasn't just his win over Judah, it was the way he did it that garnered all this. He beat him up in a manner remincisint of Julio Cesar Chavez and Pipino Cuevas. What has been starting to get to me though is the massive overrating he is gaining.

Cotto is a good fighter and a good contender (Mayweather being the champion at 147). He is improving with each fight and is looking to be give Mayweather a bit of a challenge. The thing is though, that Cotto isn't champ, and his biggest win is over Judah. Yet people are saying that he is the best at 147 and he is at the moment fighter of the year (I read that in a recent thread, it seemed the concensus). This is a ridiculous assertion that I do not agree with in any way. Yes Cotto is upping his competition and Judah is a step in the right direction but how does this win make him fighter of the year? Judah is for all purposes coming off 2 straight losses and a year suspension. I'm not trying to downgrade his win, I'm just trying to put it into perspective and find out how on earth this makes him fighter of the year.

Look at a comparison, Floyd Mayweather is coming off a win over De La Hoya. De La Hoya had also been off for a year but he was at least coming off a win over a decent fighter. Mayweather also jumped up a division (like Cotto), but unlike Cotto, Mayweather is naturally about 135-140 pounds. He has bulked up in order to compete at larger weights. Cotto routinely comes into the ring as a light middleweight or middleweight. De La Hoya is recognised as a great fighter who will be enshrined in the HOF asap. Why is Mayweather not considered fighter of the year? I understand he is disliked alot because of his actions outside the ring but who cares. Sugar Ray Robinson, possibly the greatest of all time was an asshole outside the ring, he was hell to negotiate with and he beat up his wife. Carlos Monzon was even worse yet he is regarded by many as the greatest middleweight.

I believe one of the reasons Cotto has gained such massive hype is not really because of his wins, but because of the large base of boxing fans who hate Floyd Mayweather. It is similar to Calzaghe in regards to Jeff Lacy. Cotto is becoming a tool used by Mayweather detractors. For example many posters state that Mayweather cherry picks his opponents yet in the same sentence they mention how Cotto is willing to fight anyone. Where is the evidence this is the case? I don't think Cotto has fought a fight in recent times where he wasn't the favourite. His record has been built up slowly and he is being consistently fed harder opponents, but he doesn't and hasn't fought everyone...or for that matter anyone really. As previously mentioned his best win is over Judah who the aformentioned Mayweather beat handily also. Until Cotto fights the names he has mentioned then I will not put him in the category as a fighter who takes on anyone and everyone. Its quite possible his next opponent won't be that great. After a good win over Quintana, he fought a relatively dissapointing opponent in Otkay Urkal.

Thats pretty much my rant finished. For the record I am somewhat of a Cotto fan, his style reminds me of one of my favourite fighters in Julio Cesar Chavez. I'm also a fan of Mayweather though and I recognise that someone with his skills comes along rarely. I believe it is arguable Mayweather is perhaps the greatest fighter ever (In terms of skills). He is the complete package and despite his character outside the ring (which I don't really mind because it doesn't affect me personally and he is known to be quite a gentleman to fans) he should be appreciated at the moment because it could be a while before we see another fighter like him.

Intresting, I've yet to see someone rate Cotto the no. 1 WW at the moment. I've seen plenty at second place but none that have placed him on top. I think Cotto is rated just fine amoungst the ESB family, I guess that's just my opinion. I don't see Cotto as an up and comer I think his in the inner circle now and needs to dig his way to the top, he has the comp in this intense division if he can be the man once all the dust clears he gets #1 p4p status. Any fighter that's about 3 fights away from that kind of status is far from a rookie still trying to prove himself.

[Pat_Lowe]

Last time I checked Cotto was WBA Welterweight champion

And I disagree, I believe Cotto is already a great fighter, if you can't see it that's your problem. He's been destroying opponents for quite a while now. And he has a very solid resume. It's not like he's been fighting bums, just not other great fighters thus far. Take away De La Hoya (tho it's arguable whether he's all that great at this point in time) and Mayweather's recent level of competition is the same, if not worse than Cotto's.

If Cotto doesn't deserve to contend for fighter of the year with his two KO's over solid opposition, then Mayweather ain't got no right either on the back of that dismal effort vs De La Hoya. Lol he certainly shouldn't be any certainty. If he backs it up with a good W over Hatton, or Cotto later this year, OK, I'd agree he should be favorite then, but the DLH W alone ain't enough, especially as it wasn't that impressive.

Until then Fighter of the year is up for grabs. For me the frontrunners are Wlad, JMM and his bro, winner of Calzaghe/Kessler, winner of Pavlik/Taylor, Hatton, Cotto, Paul Williams, Mosley, Donaire, Mayweather. Anyone of those can win it, dependant on what these guys do in the 2nd half of the year. Pacquiao could also make a late bid if he destroys MAB (who gave JMM a great fight this year).

Being WBA welterweight champion makes him a contender. The unification of the WBC and WBA titles is what creates a linear champion. In the case of the welterweight division now Mayweather is the champion, the other titleholders (thats what they are, there can only be one champion) are just contenders.

Cotto is not a great fighter right now, if you are thinking along the same lines that I am. In order to be great you must prove it at the highest level, beating other great fighters or enough really good fighters. Cotto has not done that, he hasn't been fighting bums but his best wins are over Judah and Malignanni (fuck the spelling). That is not great material. That is contender material and puts him with a decent enough backing to have a shot at fighting Floyd Mayweather. Cotto has beaten the contenders (some of them) Now lets see him fight some champions eg. Mayweather, Hatton, Mosley, Winky. These fighters are champs. Not Quintana and Urkal. Honestly Cotto isn't to being great right now.

That fact that Cotto has been 'destroying' opponents is irrelevant. You can't penalise a fighter for not having punching power or a particular stlye. If thats the case then Chavez, Cuevas and Hagler are the greatest of all time. Mayweather scored a pretty dominant win over Judah whilst Cotto took him out (after being rocked at least once) and beat him up. Both those wins are equal in my books. Its well known Mayweather doesn't have much punching power at welterweight, it ain't his natural class. A shutout is as definitive as a knockout, perhaps more so.

I wasn't actually stating that Mayweather should be fighter of the year, I was making a comparison between him and Cotto. Misunderstanding there. I believe Wladamir Klitschko is on his way to be fighter of the year this year. I don't Pacquaio deserves it this year, a win over Barrera won't prove much in my opinion. He already beat him badly, a win over Marquez on the other hand would raise his stock alot. Maybe someone like Ivan Calderon deserves a mention, I'd have to look up his record. Taylor, despite being controversial, has wins over Wright, Ouma, Spinks and possibly Pavlik. He would be fighter of the year for me if he beats Pavlik.

[whatfruit]

I think everyone want to see mayweather fight Cotto becasue cotto excuse my french is ONE HARD MOTHER FUCKER who can take a shit load of punishment but caN Also thrown huge bombs with accuracy and devastating effect. The odds against cotto against Judah actually had Judah the favoriate and then changed a few days before the fight to make cotto the favourite I rember this bbecasue i was going to lay some cash on cotto when the odds changed and i was cursing myself for days after he won.

Some people argue that Mayweather only won a decision over Judah and Cotto Knocked him out so intrest is immidiately sparked ALSO Cotto is a pure pressure fighter who is quick, young and entering his prime. I personally dont know who would win. But one thing is for sure is that mayweather would have taken one of the beatings of his carrear.

[obedt]

Cotto is looking to fight Mosley next. If he wins that fight (big if; that's a pick 'em IMHO) I can't see how anyone would consider as anything other than great, and a top fighter.

I think Cotto is currently in the discussion as far as Fighter of the Year, but he trails Rafael Marquez as well as a few others.

[ayala]

Well when you compare fighters they both have faced Cotto wins on better terms.When you look at Chop Chop Corley Cotto tko in 5 and Mayweather ud ,Victoriano Sosa Cotto tko in 4 Mayweather ud ,****** Juuko Cotto tko 5 Mayweather tko 9 ,Zab Judah Cotto tko 11 Mayweather ud.I f they ever boxed I like Cotto there by tko 11