When the fight was made, the result in the minds of many was a foregone conclusion that Mayweather would emerge victorious. This fight like many others, was seen as a prelude or a recluse to a fight with Manny Pacquiao. In my own prediction here just a few days ago, I picked Mayweather to win for an assortment of reasons. And while my prediction proved correct, the path to victory for Mayweather was no walk in the park.
Floyd Mayweather was guaranteed to earn $32 million dollars before any pay-per-view was bought. Cotto for his troubles would take home $8 million before all of the $60/$70 dollar orders were brought in from homes around the world. And while this fight was the biggest single pay day of Miguel Cotto's career, he didn't fight like someone there for a check.
Cotto started early working behind the jab, trying to find his range and eventually got Mayweather pressed against the ropes. He worked to the body and then went upstairs and down. Early on Cotto was able to land with the jab, along with a couple of grazing hooks. By the fourth round he had Mayweather's head touching the back of his neck and blood trickling out of his nose for the duration of the fight.
What impressed me even more than the jabs that Cotto was able to land, and the work to the body, was that he made Mayweather fight. Mayweather is notorious for fighting going backwards, seemingly enjoying his back against the ropes. He did that and employed his shoulder role and right hand parry. However, Cotto was relentless in throwing combinations against Mayweather even though he might have missed eight out of ten times. Cotto's pressure, and his improved stamina and endurance forced Mayweather to go on the offensive. He forced Mayweather to dog it out and everyone in the arena was pleased to see Mayweather in a bit of duress.
Yet, there was one problem in the strategy of Miguel Cotto. There was another flaw in what he allowed Mayweather to do. At certain points in the fight, Cotto looked to bounce on his toes in the middle of the ring and box with Mayweather, but stopped jabbing. Big mistake. This is where Mayweather easily took control of the fight, shooting jabs and straight right hands between the gloves. The fatal flaw was continuously allowing Mayweather to crack him over the side of the head with a clubbing overhand right. Cotto caught a considerable amount of those big right hands on the gloves, but that's all he did. After the first round there was a little strawberry over his left temple and by fights end, his entire left side looked like a strawberry topped cheesecake. Cotto didn't try to parry the punch or slide out of the way. From the looks of it, he punched himself in the face more than Mayweather did by just putting up his glove.
If Cotto would have stuck to simply trying to press Mayweather into the ropes and hammer him to the body and land whatever, whenever he could. The decision might have been closer, or he might have even been able to squeak out a victory. I know a win for Cotto seems like a long stretch, but he hit Mayweather more than anyone has since Zab Judah. Mayweather called Cotto a tough competitor and applauded Cotto saying that "he came to fight." When asked about the punishment he took, he mentioned the fans saying, "this is what the fans want to see." Adding that, "I'm older now and putting on a good show is important."
Whether Cotto's success was attributed to his own skill and determination or Mayweather's allowance of action, I choose the former. It was a great fight and makes a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight all the more intriguing. Mayweather decimated Juan Manuel Marquez, a fighter who seems to have Pacquiao's number because he's never really looked good against Marquez. Manny Pacquiao did however beat the living daylights out of Cotto, making his face look like a piece of raw meat beaten with a bat, while taking far less punishment from Cotto than Mayweather did last night.
Will we see Mayweather vs Pacquiao? I'm not sure. From the money-splits, to issues with Bob Arum, blood testing, Mayweather's June 1 date with prison, and Manny's admission of retirement sooner rather than later. We can take a little solace in the fact that this fight was awesome. And at this point, there's really no legitimate reason why Pacquiao and Mayweather shouldn't be scheduled this fall or early 2013.
Until next write...
Comment and check out my debut novel, The Virgin Surgeon
No comments:
Post a Comment