After eleven years as a professional fighter and twenty world title bouts, I think we can safely say that we’ve found Miguel Cotto’s place in boxing.
Sporting a mega-impressive 17-3 record in world title fights, Cotto’s only defeats have come against, arguably, the two best fighters in the world– Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. His third loss, to Antonio Margarito, is shrouded in doubt because of Margarito’s attempted use of plaster-laced hand wraps in a subsequent bout against Shane Mosley. The Margarito loss, in any case, was avenged a little over three years later in an exciting RTD 10 victory.
So, that leaves the Puerto Rican battler with marquee wins over Shane Mosley, Joshua Clottey, Zab Judah, Paulie Malignaggi, Carlos Quintana, Yuri Foreman, and DeMarcus Corley. His most impressive performance, however, may have been last Saturday’s tougher-than-expected unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather.
Overall, Cotto has been a class act– a stellar example of a fighter taking on all challengers and making an effort to put forth an entertaining fight. There’s really not much room for criticism when it comes to the former three-division world champ. His biggest setbacks have come from situations beyond his control.
One could point to the notorious chaos in his camp that often had him essentially training himself for many of his big fights. One could also point a finger at his long-time former promoter, Top Rank, who didn’t back him up in the shadows of the Margarito beating and allowed him to be pushed around and taken advantage of during the Pacquiao negotiations. But through it all, Cotto has acted with class, fought with dignity, and has rarely, ever, uttered a word of complaint.
This is by no means a eulogy for the career of Miguel Cotto. The fighter from Caguas, Puerto Rico has rejuvenated himself with the win over Margarito and the tough bout with Mayweather. At 31, there are still many big fights ahead and many chances to further cement his status as one of this era’s very best. He may be an old 31 after all of his wars and tough battles, but he’s still a viable main stage fighter.
Still, reality demands things be put in perspective. For every Michael Jordan, there’s a Scotty Pippen– one step below, but still worthy of the label, “Great.”
As a man, Miguel Cotto deserves nothing but the utmost credit for being among this era’s very best. As a fighter, however, he’s one step below elite– But, really, there’s nothing wrong with that.
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Paul Magno was a licensed official in the state of Michoacan, Mexico and a close follower of the sport for more than thirty years. He is also a contributor to Fox Sports. In the past, Paul has done work for Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules and Eastside Boxing.
