Cotto Will Not Be Tough For Mayweather

Published

13 years ago

February 10, 2012

Lee Wylie

MayweatherHatton HOGAN 233 Can you imagine if the events in the movie “Groundhog Day” really happened? Can you imagine having to live the same day, over and over and over? Boxing fans could be mistaken for thinking they were actually living the real life version of “Groundhog Day,” having to tolerate the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao negotiations, which to no surprise after repeated back and forth jockeying, have failed yet again, for about the millionth time.

As an alternative, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will now face Miguel Cotto on May 5th at the MGM in Las Vegas, in the junior welterweight division, with Mayweather moving up from welterweight.

On paper, the fight appears captivating. Cotto will be at his optimum weight, 154 pounds, he is coming off the back of a three fight winning streak, which has seen him defeat Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga and his arch-nemesis Antonio Margarito, all at 154 pounds. Miguel Cotto also gives the impression that he has improved under the guidance of Pedro Diaz and Emanuel Steward before him, adding what appears to be better movement and a solid jab to his arsenal.

And so we get to Floyd Mayweather Jr. He will be 35-years-old come fight night, an age that does not normally bode well for a defensive based fighter, who relies a lot on speed and reflexes. Floyd will also be moving up from 147 to 154, further evidence that Mayweather will be up against it on “Cinco Di Mayo.”

One does not have to be a “student of the game” to realize that Floyd Mayweather is taking a huge risk here, right?

Wrong.

When it comes to boxing, Floyd Mayweather is THE “student of the game.” Despite the fact that one of his favourite quotes is that he doesn't watch footage of his opponents prior to fights, Floyd Mayweather will know exactly how Miguel Cotto operates. He will have watched hours of footage, taken in every Miguel Cotto habit, and come May 5th, will have a blueprint on how to capitalize on them. Make no mistake, Floyd Mayweather's boxing IQ is as high as anyone in the sport, if not higher. This not only includes thinking boxers like Juan Manuel Marquez and Bernard Hopkins, but trainers like Nazim Richardson and Freddie Roach. It's one thing knowing what to do, but another thing entirely to apply it in the ring. Floyd Mayweather also has cheetah speed and reflexes to go with his brain and craft. It is merely an illusion that Mayweather is taking a risk against Cotto.

The biggest problem Miguel Cotto will have on fight night is the fact that he is a converted southpaw. More specifically, his power hand, his left hook, will be his lead hand, not the usual rear hand. Cotto's best chance to win the fight is to land his left hook, in particular his left hook to the body. In there lies the problem. Floyd Mayweather is a master at negating lead hand power punchers, such as Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz and even Ricky Hatton. Floyd's defense is designed to neutralise wide looping punches. In order for Miguel to land his left hook, he will have to be squared up to Floyd, and within close proximity. There is no way Mayweather's defensive unit allows for such a wide telegraphed punch. The only shots I've seen land flush on Mayweather are disguised straight punches, from Zab Judah, Chop Chop Corley, and Mosley.

Another problem for converted fighters is their footwork. It is one thing training your upper body to go against your natural directional movement, but to get your upper body in sync with your legs is another thing. If you watch Miguel Cotto fight, he seldom throws punches whilst moving. He moves….stops….then lets his hands go. Floyd Mayweather will have picked up on this. One can see Floyd waiting for the signal, and getting off first every time. Also, if you watch his movement on defense, he backs up in straight lines. This is because his upper body is not linked to his lower body, which leads to him being unable to turn his opponents or utilize head movement. Have a look at the very first punch Mayweather threw in his last outing against Victor Ortiz. Straight right hand, then a step away from the power punch, the right hook. Victor, a converted southpaw, is slow to move because of the confusion between upper and lower body.

If we go, a few years back Floyd Mayweather fought another Puerto Rican fighter named Henry Bruseles, a fighter who bears more than a resemblance to the style of Miguel Cotto. In this fight, we saw Bruseles try and close the distance and land his left hook, much like Cotto will try and do, only to find Mayweather's right arm positioned in such away that his elbow is covering his torso, whilst his right glove is guarding his chin. Cotto will experience this early in the fight, his left hook to head and body taken away and put in the back pocket. After a few rounds of Mayweather making sure that his opponents' primary weapon is eliminated, Mayweather will start and let his straight right hand go, one punch at a time. By the middle rounds I can envision the fight to be all but over, with Mayweather moving laterally, keeping the converted Cotto moving against his usual direction. If Mayweather starts landing clean shots at will, you can expect him to start walking Miguel down. This is Cotto at his most vulnerable, backing up, offering no head movement. While I feel the fight will end up a clear decision win for Floyd, I would not be overly shocked if Mayweather scores the late KO. He has enough power to keep any fighter honest.

Floyd Mayweather is the most versatile, adaptable fighter in boxing, no question. Should Miguel Cotto bring a Plan B or C to the table, you can guarantee Mayweather will have them worked out within a few moments. His A game is to negate his opponent's A game.

Despite the promotional work that will soon be commencing, this fight will not be competitive in this writer's opinion. Floyd Mayweather's skill level does not match his desire for a challenge. He does not take risks in or out of the ring. Every aspect of his boxing world is carefully thought-out. That's why he has selected Cotto, big box office, small chance of winning. Some people say this fight should have happened in 2007 after Mayweather defeated Ricky Hatton. In reality, the result would be the same.

Like Max Schmeling once said about Joe Louis, “I see something.” Floyd Mayweather will have already said the same words whilst looking at Miguel Cotto.

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Lee Wylie

Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

22 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

1 day ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

Published

2 days ago

January 24, 2025

David A. Avila

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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