Alvarez will impose his will and strength in the mid rounds and begin backing Cotto up?and when Cotto backs up, he is done?
?Cotto rooters like the Puerto Rican to out-box the Mexican, maybe out-maneuver him?but Atlas points to Cotto?s last three outings.??Michael Woods
?I think it will be an exciting fight, but I clearly think Canelo will win, and I even see him winning by knockout. I don?t think Cotto can deal with [the] youth, strength and speed of Canelo.??Amir Khan
?The location of the fight also favors Alvarez. The Mexican has been victorious in five of his six Las Vegas outings, whereas Cotto has lost three of his last four contests in Sin City.??Boxing News Staff
On October 26, boxing fans across the world will be treated to the highly-anticipated clash of two titans, Miguel Cotto vs. Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez. It?s a battle between Puerto Rico?s most decorated fighter Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) and Mexican superstar Canelo (45-1-1, 32 KOs).
Prediction
The old Cotto was a stalking monster who could stop his opponents with a withering body attack punctuated with savage left hooks. The post-Margarito Cotto was something less, made more tentative by Margarito?s sustained late round slaughter. The rejuvenated Cotto has now come back under Freddie Roach to be more aggressive using great foot work and technique to get the job done. The issue is whether the new version is like the old version and the thinking here, notwithstanding Freddie Roach head games, is that it is not.
Here is what the always-quotable Teddy Atlas had to say about Cotto and I could not agree more:
?His last three have been a mirage. I?m not knocking Cotto, I like him?but Sergio Martinez was a shot fighter, Delvin Rodriguez, great kid, but never been on that level, and shot. And Daniel Geale, he was dead at that weight, under middleweight, older?.and he?d submitted before, showed he would do that, against Golovkin. That?s not the Cotto that everyone thinks he is now. I?m not buying it. This fight against Canelo will tell me if the last three were a mirage, or Cotto is as good as some say now.?
As for a prime Canelo (who is poised to emerge as still another Mexican boxing icon with a win), he is naturally bigger and stronger than Miguel. Indeed, a comparison of their respective legs make this difference manifest. Moreover, even though he is a veteran in his own right with plenty of experience while winning on a consistent basis., he is much younger?25 to Cotto?s 34.
Three other things:
1) Canelo (with a nod to Gabe Bracero) is coming off what arguably will be the KO of the year over James Kirkland. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LehQX1bbGQk and note how Saul sagely looks at Kirkland?s midsection but delivers the blistering blow upstairs. 2) Canelo is not Geale; Canelo has never been floored. 3) Canelo beat Austin Trout. Cotto lost to Austin Trout.
Trevor Murray concludes in an October 13, 2015 article in Bleacher Report:
?At 25 years old, Alvarez is almost a decade younger than his adversary. Now entering his peak years in the sport, there could not be a better time for ?Canelo? to oppose Cotto. Saul?s superfight with Mayweather in 2013 seemingly came too early for the Juanacatl?n idol, who was still developing on the big stage. Having learned invaluable lessons from his one and only defeat, Alvarez will feel supremely confident heading into his second truly elite-level encounter.?
In the end, I predict Alvarez will impose his will and strength (led by punishing jabs and withering hooks) in the mid rounds and begin backing Cotto up?and when Cotto backs up, he is done. Canelo, who has registered six KOs in his most recent ten outings, should be able to close the gap and catch a back-peddling Cotto in the late rounds, ending matters in a decisive and possibly even destructive manner.
Ted Sares is one of the world?s oldest active power lifters and holds several world and North American records. He enjoys writing about boxing.
