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IF Canelo Isn’t Weak At The Weight, He Should Dismantle Cotto

Today’s middleweight clash between lineal title holder Miguel Cotto 40-4 (33) and challenger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 45-1-1 (32) should be everything that the over-hyped super fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao wasn’t, despite it being at a 155 pound catch-weight.
No, the catch-weight for once shouldn’t be a big deal since neither fighter has ever fought above 155 pounds. Truth be told, Cotto is a legitimate welterweight right now and Alvarez is a full-fledged junior middleweight, but not for much longer.
The anticipation for Cotto-Alvarez has been festering for the past year, and there’s a two, perhaps three-pronged reason for that, starting with the fact that both Miguel and Saul are viewed by the boxing public as being aggressive fighters who look to win exclusively by knockout. It’s doubtful that you’ll find many observers or fans that see the fight being left up to the three judges. So when you look at it that way, on paper it has to be an action packed, fan-friendly tussle.
Another reason why the fight should do well regarding PPV numbers is that you have the biggest Puerto Rican star in boxing, Cotto, 35, confronting the biggest Mexican star in boxing, Alvarez, 25, with a legitimate world title on the line with the winner, at least in the mind of the public, the next man up for boxing’s newest emerging star, the IBO/WBA/IBF middleweight title holder Gennady Golovkin 34-0 (31).
In boxing, the closest you can get to Yankees-Red Sox, Bears-Packers, Celtics-Lakers, Alabama-Auburn or Duke-North Carolina is Puerto Rico vs. Mexico. So you better believe on November 21, 2015 at the Mandalay Resort in Las Vegas both Cotto and Alvarez will be supported by a monumental contingent of loyal fans.
And then there’s the third dynamic that is no doubt a factor in the fight, and that is how good, although I think it’s more of an illusion, that Cotto has looked under the tutelage of head trainer Freddie Roach the last two years. After losing two bouts in a row, Roach took over training Cotto and now Miguel is riding a three bout win streak and has defeated former middleweight champ Sergio Martinez and title challenger Daniel Geale. Not only did Cotto defeat them, he stopped both of them in catch-weight bouts. However, both Martinez and Geale had to come in under the middleweight limit of 160. Martinez was on his last legs and was down in his three previous bouts before facing Cotto and I believe having to cut an extra pound or two was the straw that broke him. As for Geale, he looked like a skeleton with eyes when he weighed in at 157 the day before the fight. So I for one am not a believer in Cotto being as good as he’s looked in his last two bouts. I think he beat a shopworn Martinez, who was already finished, and a drained Geale who was never elite, not even remotely.
Now there have been some whispers Alvarez has struggled to get down to weight, and if that’s true, everything goes out the window. But, if Alvarez isn’t drained at the weight, he should dismantle Cotto inside the scheduled 12-rounds. And there are a plethora of reasons for that, beginning with Alvarez’s size advantage. Saul is taller, has a longer reach and puts his punches together better. And on the night of the fight he could weigh north of 170 pounds compared to Cotto, who will most likely be 10 pounds lighter when they proceed to touch gloves. Yes, Canelo is the naturally bigger man.
Not only is Alvarez bigger, he’s also the better two handed puncher, as we saw in the beating he administered to the hard punching James Kirkland in his last bout. Canelo hurt and dropped Kirkland with both hands and fought terrifically in retreat when Kirkland was bringing the heat. Austin Trout and Alfonso Gomez fought both and both conveyed to ESPN.com that Alvarez is the harder puncher.
Also, Cotto only has one finishing punch, his left hook to the head or body. The only problem with that is Miguel cannot really get much on it if his feet aren’t set underneath him or if he’s moving back, and I think Canelo is going to make him go back. In fact I don’t even think Cotto will attempt to force Alvarez back because he has to figure Alvarez has the bigger guns and doesn’t want to tempt fate by moving into his power. In addition to having the bigger guns, Alvarez has a more imaginative offense and can hurt Cotto fighting as the attacker or stepping off to the side and countering.
If you’re Cotto, how do you attack Alvarez? If you bring it, you’re engaging with a fighter who has bigger power and on both sides. If Miguel tries to trade with Alvarez he’ll be in trouble. He’ll be in trouble because Canelo not only hits harder but he has the better chin. Cotto has been stopped twice and hurt on more than a few occasions by other elite fighters he’s fought. Alvarez has never been stopped and stood up well and fought back after eating James Kirkland Sunday best hooks, which are harder than anything Cotto has in his arsenal. Should Cotto chose to box Alvarez like he did Martinez until he gets tired, good luck because Canelo still has young legs underneath him and won’t fall all over the place when barely touched like Martinez did.
I also believe Alvarez has to be more hungry and better motivated than Cotto. Miguel has had a hall-of-fame career and has won and lost the signature fights of his career. Beating Alvarez can only enhance Cotto’s legacy but losing to him will not hurt it a bit. Alvarez doesn’t have that luxury. He’s had one signature fight during his career that anyone remembers and that was against Floyd Mayweather two years ago. Against Mayweather, Alvarez barely competed and maybe won one round. The stench of that bout hasn’t left him and it’s still the fight he’s most remembered for. In order to rid that memory he must beat Cotto, and the more decidedly the better.
When taking everything into consideration, I don’t think Cotto has been born again under Freddie Roach. I think it is more a case of brilliant management and being at the right place at the right time. Well, I think time runs out 11/21/15. Canelo has the style and power coupled with youth and the right mindset to send Cotto into retirement for good.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its money’s worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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