Miguel Cotto proved the critics and the cynics wrong in beating Yuri Foreman for an alphabet title in the first boxing event staged at the famed New York Yankee baseball park in front of 20,727 fans, which was the first in the team’s new stadium.
Cotto bested a game Foreman, who fought through pain and controversy surrounding his knee injury, an injury which prompted Foreman’s corner to throw in the towel, only to see referee Arthur Mercante order the fight to continue.
Mercante pleased the crowd, but Cotto saw blood and closed the show in the ninth round on a beautiful body shot that when thrown reminded all of a prime Cotto.
Regardless of if Cotto, who earned his third title in a third weight class, looked like a beast or a bum in his return, as some media didn’t give new trainer Emmanuel Steward much credit and felt that Cotto got hit too often by the non-hard hitter in Foreman, at this point in time, this fact is undeniable: Miguel Cotto is back on the scene.
The good thing in Cotto’s case is his many options. By entering and winning his first fight in the 154 division, Cotto opened up a world of options for future fights. Cotto knows it, promoter Bob Arum knows it, and hopefully it leads to a few more highlight fights for the future Hall of Famer.
The most ludicrous would be a return bout against Manny Pacquiao. If Cotto/Pacquiao II were to occur, the prime Pac Man might hurt Cotto even worse than he did in the first go around.
I won’t even write about possible matches against Paul Williams, Floyd Mayweather or Sergio Martinez, as I see the same outcomes in those fights as one against Pacquiao, just to a lesser extent.
There are plenty more suitable fight scenarios on the table, which all could serve as good fights and entertaining, drama filled events with major story lines lurking in the shadows. I’ll preview these possible fights with my picks of who would win:
Miguel Cotto v. Manny Pacquiao
No. Don’t do it.
My Pick: Manny Pacquiao.
Miguel Cotto v. Kermit Cintron
The match would be Puerto Rico vs. Puerto Rico on the heels of the country-pride inducing FIFA World Cup.
The fight should be easy enough to put together between promoters Bob Arum and Lou DiBella, as both would definitely be interested in staging a promotion geared towards both fighters Puerto Rican fan base with a destination of New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Also, a juicy storyline would be that longtime Cintron trainer Emmanuel Steward provided his services to Cotto in his rejuvenation bout, and would be a sort of grudge match between fighter and former trainer.
My Pick: Cotto
Miguel Cotto v. Shane Mosley
Most would like to see Cotto/Mosley II based on the debated decision when they battled in November 2007.
It was a competitive battle throughout, with Mosley getting the nod by the scores of 116-113 and 115-113 twice in a fight that featured no knockdowns at MSG.
I see the bout as a bit of a no win for either fighter, as Cotto may want to lure Mosley up to the 154 class, where Mosley no doubt would feel comfortable given his prior past in the division, yet a win over Cotto, even in winning a title, doesn’t do much for Mosley. Neither does a win over Mosley do much for Cotto.
Albeit, seeing Cotto/Mosley II on the marquee outside MSG would definitely be a sell. Entertaining fight? Yes. Meaningful implications for either fighter? No.
My pick: Mosley
Miguel Cotto v. Andre Berto
This is a plausible choice and the obvious storyline would be the ?changing of the guard’, ?passing of the baton’, ?crossroads fight’.
However, even though Cotto has definitely waged many wars in his career, the Puerto Rican is still only 29 years old and currently has a mental edge in his step since scoring a win in the ring again and with a new trainer. Cotto may indeed have his swagger back.
Against Berto, I see Cotto being competitive and if victorious, once again entering him into the top ten welterweight list. A win could provide a marquee bout against the elite in his former decision. Cotto has said himself he would weigh his best options in either class.
Flipping the script though, I see Berto getting a much needed highlight win over Cotto. The young title holder is full of potential, and was seemingly ready for the big stage in a bout against Mosley before tragedy struck his native Haiti.
Berto blasted veteran Quintana in his next scheduled fight, and against Cotto, I see ?Baby Frazier’ effectively trading big blows and boxing with Cotto en route to a decision victory.
Most would probably saw this fight would be a pick em’ type fight, as a good case could be made for either fighter.
My Pick: Berto
Miguel Cotto v. Antonio Margarito
I would say three times yes on this fight.
Yes, yes, and yes.
This would be a grudge match to the highest extent that a grudge match can be called a grudge match.
That’s grudge match times three.
Just thinking of the possible title of the fight is entertaining: ?Unloaded Gloves’, ?Time Served’, or ?Hand Wrap Redemption’. I really like that last one, and I’m sure readers could make up better ones than I.
Really though, it would be a great opportunity for Cotto to avenge his first career loss, as well as a great opportunity for Margarito to prove that he can beat Cotto, this time with a more thorough look at the hand wrapping process.
I like this match very much, and hope that of all other possible fights mentioned, that this one gets made.
My pick: Cotto
THROUGH MY EYES
So Mayweather made comments that he “might take a couple of years off”. Why would he possibly do that? Oh yeah, in the same fashion that he took time off from fighting in the welterweight division in 2007 and 2008, then retired and came back in late 2009. The welterweight division is still ripe, and a Mayweather tactic is to let it cool off a bit before trying to win in it? Southern California fighters Sergio Mora and John Molina will be in action soon? James Kirkland gets released from prison in October. That’s good news; the guy is young and makes mistakes just like the rest of us. He’s 25-0 with 22 KO’s, so he’s got talent. You know what they say though: the saddest thing in life is wasted talent? Rules or no rules, I think more members of media didn’t like Mercante’s call than those that did? Thompson Boxing returns with its spectacular Southern California cards on Friday. No one does it quite like this company when it comes down to showcasing exciting local prospects? Taking a line from Jay-Z, Manny Pacquiao should say this: This fights got 99 problems, but a drug test ain’t one?
