With less than two months to go until the junior-middleweight title fight between Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto, boxing fans should be scratching their heads and asking ?Why?? ?Why is Cotto jumping right into a title fight at a weight at which he?s never campaigned??, ?What does Foreman hope to achieve in defeating a former two-time welterweight champion with two recent and damaging losses on his record??, and ?Is there anything about this match-up that will get boxing fans excited enough to pack Yankee Stadium in June?? Puerto Rican fans will turn out for this fight, but what about Joe Boxing Fan? Will he see this bout as anything more than another potential blowout loss for the Pride of Caguas? Even Cotto?s most ardent supporters are well aware of how feeble and vulnerable he seemed against Manny Pacquiao. And chances are good that he will travel that road again when he faces Foreman.
Coming off that humiliating TKO loss at the hands of Pacquiao, a blown-up junior-lightweight, Cotto?s motivation for invading the 154 lb. division is his quest for a world title in a third weight class, but shouldn?t he be more focused on ridding himself of the bad taste left by his comprehensive beating suffered in his last fight? Wouldn?t it have been wiser to test the waters at 154 lbs. with a few ten rounders against journeymen rather than plunging recklessly into a weight class packed with many dangerous opponents and few big money fights? At least in the welterweight division, virtually every top ten opponent brings decent compensation, win or lose, but what?s the reward at junior-middleweight, a low-budget beating at the hands of Paul Williams, Sergio Martinez or Sergei Dzindziruk? The Junior-Middleweight is a division loaded with talent, so it?s hard to see this as anything other than Cotto trying to grab a third world title against the division?s least accomplished champion, before exiting stage left, yet, it?s odd to see him in a title fight immediately following another punishing loss ? shouldn?t his management team lined up a few ?soft touches? just to build his confidence back up? Despite the stiff upper lip maintained by Team Cotto, the fact of the matter is that he will never be the same as a result of the bloody loss to Antonio Margarito, illegal hand wrap speculation not withstanding. So where he is now in his career can be traced back to that night in July of 2008. And even before the Margarito fight, there were signs that Cotto?s career as a top fighter was on borrowed time. No fighter can fight the level of top competition Cotto has, while sustaining the level of fight-to-fight damage he has and remain an elite fighter. Even in his biggest wins, Cotto often came out looking like the loser.
Aside from taking place at the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and taken place close to Puerto Rican Day Weekend in New York City, there?s very little about this fight to get excited about. The run-up is strikingly similar to the hoopla that surround the Pacquiao-Clottey snoozer in March ? the venue of the bout dwarfs the bout itself. Only diehard boxing fans even know of Yuri Foreman, or what a talented boxer he is. Foreman?s talent is undeniable, but his box office appeal is almost non-existent. And that?s what makes it so puzzling that Top Rank would put a fight like this together, a fight in which Cotto is once again thrown into ?deep water?. If Cotto improbably wins this fight, then what? It?s hard to envision him fighting the best at 154 lbs. and surviving. Does he drop back down to 147 a big money fight comes around?
On the other hand, what if the likely scenario plays out and Foreman, blessed with lots of skill and modest power, punishes Cotto deep into the fight? Is this the type of fight Cotto wants to be remembered by, an under-the-radar affair against a talented but virtual unknown, in a division he?s never fought in before? Cotto fighting at 154 lbs. is about as surreal as Paul Williams fighting as a cruiserweight ? I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around it! Accomplished trainer, Freddie Roach put an immediate end to Pacquiao-Foreman talk almost as soon as it was leaked ? Freddie is looking out for Pacquiao?s best interests as a fighter and a person, but who?s looking out for Cotto?s?
Maybe too much is being read into Cotto?s last few fights, but it seems as though he?s being phased out of Top Rank?s plans. Why would Bob Arum pair him with Foreman after seeing his recent twelve round demolition of Cotto?s countryman, Daniel Santos? The only angle I can see is having him in position to face Margarito in a rematch(sans illegal hand wraps?) with a title to defend ? beating Foreman will make such a scenario very workable. Yes, that fight would certainly generate quite a buzz, but is it fair to Cotto? If he couldn?t withstand the onslaught of the much smaller Pacquiao, how rational is it to think he will hold up against even larger opponents like Foreman or Margarito?
At this point in time, it?s not completely unfair to consider Cotto to be ?damaged goods?, nor is it unreasonable for his promoter to milk the last bit of marketability from his career ? that?s what promoters do. However, for the sake of the fighter, throwing him into a title fight against a younger, bigger and hungrier titleholder looking to make a name for himself isn?t exactly how Top Rank should repay this fighter for his meritorious service and career. And looking back years from now, a victory over a shopworn Cotto certainly won?t be the type of stain Yuri Foreman will want to see on his resume, either.
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