Cotto: a subpar performance against Clottey

As one of the rising superstars of boxing, Miguel Cotto is a fighter boxing aficionados always put under the microscope. He has a great loyal following, especially among his fellow Puerto Ricans. He is considered by them as their next Felix Trinidad.
What’s not to like!? He fights with intensity and dynamite in his fists. When it’s a Cotto match, it is certain that you will witness pain. He hits the body like no other. H
e may not knock you out immediately but he will surely chop you til’ you drop. Many have succumbed to his body attacks. No one seemed to be tough enough against his painful pressure. He lost to Margarito but most people considered that Cotto was cheated that time.
His left hooks to the body often define his wins. Most opponents wilt in the later rounds because of the hurt. Others can’t breathe correctly anymore. Some got KO’d because they left their head unguarded just to protect the sides of their body. Shane Mosley, as tough as he is, felt the power from those shots. Those left hooks threw off Mosley’s timing and strategy. These performances made Cotto a pound for pound player.

So, what happened in the Clottey fight???

Although Cotto won that, it is still a controversial decision. Almost seemed fixed. A judge scored 116-111 for Cotto which is absurd. Okay, I’ll give that match to Cotto. He may have won more rounds but he looked like a beaten fighter. Cotto won the match but seemingly, Clottey won the fight.

Fortunately for Cotto, he got the benefit of the flush knockdown of Clottey near the end of round one, the round which will most likely go to Clottey if he wasn’t knocked down. Cotto got a nasty cut from a headbutt but he did have several moments where he clobbered Clottey against the corner. Clottey seemed to let the Puerto Rican corner him and never really tried to get out of there. Clottey welcomed Cotto’s barrage. Clottey was unfazed. He did a good job of not showing the effects of Cotto’s wicked attacks. Clottey’s toughness seemed to demoralize Cotto. And you could feel that the momentum was shifting. You could see that Clottey was not bothered by Cotto’s power. Cotto, on the other hand, seemed to doubt himself. Clottey repeatedly hit him with straight rights. Clottey was the faster fighter and he hit hard. Cotto obviously felt it and he used his boxing skills to avoid those power shots. Cotto made an effort not to get trapped in corners. Cotto was on his bike. A dancing Cotto is a losing Cotto.

Unfortunately for Clottey, he just didn’t attack enough. He got lazy in the offense and that cost him the fight. But it was quite clear that he could’ve beaten Cotto. If I were Cotto, I will avoid a rematch against Clottey, at least for now.

Considering the Margarito fight, that was the second time where I could see Cotto get discouraged. Cotto shrinks when his opponents were super tough and hits as hard. Margarito can’t hit him during the early rounds. Cotto made a clinic out of Margo. He boxed well and hit the Mexican with powerful shots. The Tijuana Tornado still relentless and pushed forward, he can’t be dropped. Cotto was backpedaling. It was the first time I saw him do that. Cheating or not, Antonio Margarito demoralized Cotto with toughness.

In analysis, Cotto won’t beat Pacquiao with that performance. Pacman is just as tough and very hard to hit because of his footspeed. Pacman will only frustrate Cotto.