This Saturday night Miguel Cotto (30-0, 25 KOs) will defend his WBA welterweight title against former three-division world champ Sugar Shane Mosley (44-4, 37 KOs). For the 27-year-old Puerto Rican this fight is a chance to etch his own name amongst legendary countrymen Wilfredo Benitez, Wilfredo Gomez and Felix Trinidad, in his big fight at a sold out Madison Square Garden, NY.
Miguel?s merciless, methodical fighting style compliments his serious, no frills personality well. Listen to him talk and it?s obvious that he is not out to become the biggest name in boxing, though he has a huge ethnic following. His quest is much simpler: to break down whoever’s in front of him, in order to be the best.
Cotto is a throwback, forcing every fighter he has faced to fold under his pressure. His take-no-prisoners style has not come without its shaky moments though. He has been hurt on several occasions, but always gets his man in the end. His fans will tell you that his ability to triumph after being hurt is his greatest attribute, a true measure of his great will.
Born into a boxing family, Miguel has certainly needed to display some of this resilience to survive along the way. His climb up the pro ranks was going as according to plan after being ousted in the first round of 2000 Olympics. Under the promotional wing of Top Rank he was handled with great care, much like six-division champ Oscar de la Hoya. In 2004 Cotto won his first significant championship by knocking out long time amateur rival Kelson Pinto of Brazil to capture the vacant WBO junior welterweight title.
In 2005 he was hurt badly by experienced vet “Chop Chop” Corley, and had to hold on early just to survive. By the fifth round he had turned things far enough in his favor to prompt the referee to stop the fight (albeit controversially) thanks to his trademark body shots and left hooks. He?d find himself in even more trouble the following year against hard punching Ricardo Torres, picking himself up off the canvas to knock out the game Colombian. It was an absolute war, and had many wondering if Cotto was damaged goods already.
Many felt that his shaky whiskers would keep Miguel from ever reaching the status that the Puerto Rican elite reached. He decided that the size advantage of fighting at 140-pounds wasn?t worth the toll it was taking on his own body, and jumped up seven pounds to welterweight. His 147-lb debut was superb one, as he knocked out undefeated southpaw Carlos Quintana in five to win the vacant WBA title in an all Puerto Rican battle. He looked sturdy, solid and devastating in the process.
But there were still whispers that Top Rank was going out of their way to avoid putting there nest egg in when any serious punchers. Then in 2007 Miguel Cotto signed to fight Zab Judah, another southpaw who’d test just whether Miguel could really stand up to a man of skill and power. The question was answered as early as the first round, as Cotto shook off the blows and came back to administer the worst beating that Zab had ever taken. The Puerto Rican simply imposed his will on the Brooklyn native, breaking him down piece by piece in his trademark fashion until the 11th round ending.
This has become the recurring theme in all of his fights. Shake off the big, sometimes stunning punches, and break the will on the man in front of him. This is what has endeared him to the proud fans of his native country, New Yorkers of Puerto Rican stock, and anyone who loves boxing. It is not just the fact that he wins every time he enters the ring; it is the manner in which he goes about his business. Unlike recent legend Felix Trinidad, Cotto does not beat his chest. He is every bit as intense and lets his fighting do the talking.
The fight with Mosley should be intense enough, and could build up an even greater buzz than the Judah fight.
Shane has been one of the fiercest competitors in the sport, in a career that has spanned world titles from lightweight up to junior middleweight, against stars ranging from Oscar de la Hoya to Fernando Vargas. The American has a stop-at-nothing approach, frequently taking difficult assignments and having rematches with men who’d beaten him soundly. Double losses to Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright seemed to have finished him, but “Sugar Shane” reminded us he belongs at the top with with a domination of Luis Collazo early this year.
At 36, it’s debatable whether he can keep up the pace or recover from Cotto’s wicked body blows, though.
The Puerto Rican superstar has passed every test put him in front of him, and has done so in exciting fashion. The victory over Judah was big. A win over an accomplished fighter as Mosley will solidify Cotto as one of today?s truly great fighters. In his country this will make him a legend.
