Ricardo Mayorga is no stranger to playing the role of the spoiler.
After all his first title-winning effort was then considered a pretty notable upset when he blasted out Guyana’s Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis in five rounds in their rematch in March of 2002 to seize the WBA welterweight championship. Lewis had gained some clout for his shifty southpaw style and ringing power but against Mayorga he was overwhelmed and chopped down to size, with the Nicaraguan relishing every minute of his conquest.
Eight months later Mayorga again spoiled the plans of many when he emphatically blasted out Augusta, Georgia’s Vernon Forrest in three intense rounds. Forrest was riding a career high after being the first man to defeat ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley half a year earlier but all of his technique and skill was deemed relatively ineffective against Mayorga’s crude and suffocating attack, as he fell prey to a crippling right hand that had him tasting canvas in the third.
<--- Slideshow: Images of Mayorga, Cotto, Bob Arum and Don King in L.A.
As oddly-inspiring as those victories may have been, several years have passed since Mayorga could truly be called a world class fighter and at 37 years old he is a notable underdog heading into his clash against WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto this Saturday night. Mayorga faces off with the Puerto Rican star at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in a fight that is surely looked at as a do or die opportunity for the foul-mouthed Nicaraguan.
Mayorga is very familiar with Cotto’s resume and feels the Caguas fighter is actually the one who is ripe for the picking.
“I train from the heart and I’ve given 110 percent,” Mayorga told the press yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles. “All the Puerto Ricans coming to the fight will leave as Ricardo Mayorga fans. The best time of his career was when he fought at 140 [pounds]. When he came up to 47 and 54, that’s when he made the mistake.”
Mayorga very well may have a point, as Cotto looked like a polished and lethal machine in tearing through a colorful list of foes during his days as a junior welterweight and has since suffered the only two losses of his career after moving up to the welterweight rankings. Cotto was stopped in eleven rounds in July of 2008 by a surging Antonio Margarito and again saw himself being halted late in battle less than a year and a half later by Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao.
News flash: Miguel Cotto says Mayorga fight is business as usual
Speaking with images of those bouts in his head, Mayorga issued up a bold prediction for this weekend’s affair.
“The concept is; go for the knockout, not just the win,” he continued. “I’m coming here to not only beat Cotto but to knock him out. Don’t take a knee on me like you did with Margarito. Let me finish punishing you. I come from a country where women give birth to men.”
As the press conference rolled on Mayorga became even more vocal, pulling up his shirt to show Cotto just how great of shape he is in with the fight less than a week away. While Cotto didn’t appear to be visually enticed, it is worth noting that Mayorga weighed over 162 pounds for his last bout, a December TKO over Michael Walker, and him coming in pristine condition helps to show just how competitive this one could be.
There are so many angles you could take with a fight like this but sometimes the less talk the better. Mayorga closed up his verbal berating by simple telling Cotto what he can expect in between the ropes come March 12th. ?Look at these fists. You will see these Saturday night up close.?
