After tough defeats in 08, both fighters are set for major fights this fall which will go along way in determining if they will meet the expectations placed upon them early in their careers.
Welcome back to the Showdown, I’ve been off the past few weeks consumed with vacation and moving. We’re back now and this week we’ll be looking at the careers of Kelly Pavlik and Miguel Cotto. We’ll be determining which one is more likely to reclaim the glory that surrounded their career going into 2008.
Both men were on the fast track to mainstream stardom before they were cut down in brutal fashion by Hopkins and Margarito. Now both have serious fights lined in the fall which will go a long way into determining if they can recapture that faded glory and become the superstars, many believed they were destined to be. Now, just to clarify I am in no way ragging on either one of them. They are both two of the top fighters in the world today, but one can not argue that they had been expected to not just be accomplished fighters but rather fighters who transcended the sport in the vein of DLH, Sugar Ray Leonard, or Julio Cesar Chavez. So now that we’ve got that clarified, it’s on to the showdown!
Miguel Cotto: When I first laid my eyes on Miguel in 2003, I instantly assumed I was witnessing the birth of a star that would eventually be bigger than that of Felix Trinidad. He had all which one looks for in a breakout star, a marketable look, explosive power, and a crowd-pleasing style which would eventually make him the type of star that comes along once every few years. His rise was slow and methodical, but it was in his best interest as he still had some flaws to work out as was evidenced when DeMarcus Corley came within inches of upsetting the young star in early 2005. He rebounded from that encounter by dismantling amateur rival Muhammad Abdulaev in front of a large crowd at Madison Square Garden. However, the flaws in his game would appear again only a few months later when the then unknown Ricardo Torres was able to tame the bull in a grueling seven round raw which again saw Cotto appear vulnerable.
My doubts, naturally began to rise, but they were just as quickly vanquished when Cotto dismantled Carlos Quintana in brutal fashion and was then able to submit Zab Judah in equally brutal fashion. If that was not enough he then dethroned Shane Mosley in a fight that served as his introduction into the p4p elite. The win catapulted Cotto into a new found level of fame which had him appear in several, mainstream magazine articles which had been meant to tap into the non – Latino market. Of course, we know what happened. I’m not going to go into details about the Margarito fight because it’s been debated endlessly in the past few months. What I will say is that regardless if their were loaded gloves or not, Miguel Cotto landed many brutal shots on Margarito that did not hurt the man. Shane Mosley only a few months later would prove that Margarito was indeed capable of being taken out early and this proves to Cotto’s major problem. This entire time, I naturally assumed that he had devastating power but it seems to have been slightly overrated.
If I was wrong to assume Cotto was a major power puncher than is he capable of being one of the elite in the sport? Take the Clottey fight, I had the fight a draw in the fight but what undoubtedly was telling was the fact that it was Cotto’s heart which won him that fight and not his skill set. Clottey was clearly the faster and arguably more skilled fighter who pulled off the breaks late in the fight allowing Cotto to take the victory. It’s impressive that he showed the heart of a champion but what will heart get you when you square off with Manny Pacquiao?
Cotto is a very skilled fighter ,but I am no longer sold on the fact that he is an elite fighter. If he wants to extend his fan base to those outside of the Latino community he is going to have to beat Pacquiao. He is no longer blessed with an unblemished record that makes people stop, and notice, so he’s going to have to take the glory away from Pacquiao and I do not believe he can do that. He is not even close when it comes to speed and if he is incapable of hurting Pacquiao, then their little reason to believe he can pull off the upset. Ultimately, time will tell but it appears that as of now his skill level is more Macho Camacho than a prime Felix Trinidad.
Kelly Pavlik: If there are doubts in your mind about Cotto, then certainly there are bigger doubts about just how talented Kelly Pavlik is. He was soundly out boxed and worked by a 43 year old man. If that was not enough his two most notable wins have come against fighters(Taylor and Miranda) who in their subsequent outings have only lowered their name values with poor performances.
This is a sharp turn from the months leading up to the Hopkins fight where Pavlik was featured in Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, and profiled by other mainstream media outlets. We all know the reason why Pavlik was viewed as a possible star in the making. Sure he appeared to be a very good fighter with heavy hands but let’s be real, the color of his skin had Bob Arum seeing dollar signs. If one could make money off the Mexican community support of Mexican Fighters, one could only imagine the value of a white fighter. If you somehow disagree with that assessment all I need to say in response is Gerry Cooney.
Pavlik will have to work on technique if he is going to be a star. Hopkins outclassed him, and even Jermain Taylor was able to outwork him, if it wasn’t for his poor conditioning, I believe he would have beaten Pavlik in the second fight. Despite this flaw, I think Pavlik has a bright future if only for the reason that the division is somewhat barren with notable opponents as of the moment. Which is why he is taking on Paul Williams, who I believe to be a favorable match up for Pavlik, Williams is a dominant force but he’s also still got his own flaws as Carlos Quintana can attest ,too. Williams also is going to be fighting a man who has a reach advantage over him which will be key in determining how much of William’s dominance comes from his size.
If he can get past Williams then the only other, real option looking at him is Arthur Abraham and after that, their’s not much else. It is highly possible that if Pavlik can scrap out wins against these two men he could coast for a few years much in the way Roy Jones was able to for much of the late 90’s.
The Verdict: If I had to choose who I think is the better-p4p fighter, I’d naturally pick Cotto with little hesitation but the fact is he is staring down the number one fighter in the world and the welterweight landscape that awaits him after is almost as daunting. Kelly Pavlik has the advantage of being a white fighter in a relatively weak division. If he can get by Williams and Abraham, and that is a big if he’ll be in a major position to make large amounts of cash. I’m going with Pavlik, but of course that could very well change by the end of this year. Until next week…
