LAS VEGAS ? Miguel Cotto doesn?t have a chance against Ricardo Mayorga. He can?t even come close to him. Cotto against Mayorga is boy vs. man, a mismatch of epic proportions.
This is a fight that Cotto has no shot to win. Moreover, Cotto is keenly aware of it.
The trash-talk game is Mayorga?s realm. Of course, when the bell rings on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and Mayorga challenges Cotto for Cotto?s World Boxing Association super welterweight title, all the words, slurs and insults may very well come back to haunt the zany Nicaraguan, who is as well known these days for smoking, drinking and overall erratic behavior as he is for his fighting ability.
Mayorga has won the war of words, a game Cotto wisely chose not to play, via first-round knockout.
Cotto, though, is an 8-1 favorite in the fight for a reason. He?s one of the iconic figures in the sport and is still improving more than a decade into his illustrious professional career.
And while Mayorga?s wacky prefight antics draw attention, his brawling style doesn?t figure to be particularly effective against a seasoned professional like Cotto, who has more than held his own against far superior brawlers.
Emanuel Steward, Cotto?s expert trainer, said his examination of Mayorga?s past fights uncovered an interesting gem. Mayorga, who turned 38 on Thursday, has slowed as he?s aged and isn?t using the wild, wind-milling, octopus-type style nearly as much as he did when he was younger.
?I had been going crazy trying to figure [Mayorga?s style] out, so we decided just to do our basic thing and not get too wrapped up in trying to figure it out,? Steward said. ?As Mayorga?s gotten older, he?s slowed down and we have noticed he?s fighting a little bit more conventionally. As we get older in life, we think a little bit before we do things. I have noticed in watching his last fight, he?s slowed down on his impulsive style of fighting.
?Regardless, basic, fundamental boxing will win. Miguel has a solid, hard left jab, which will get there faster than [Mayorga?s] wide, looping punches. The more accurate, shorter punches of Miguel will catch him while he?s throwing his wide punches.?
Mayorga and promoter Don King were the stars of a wild news conference at the MGM Grand on Wednesday, in which Mayorga ripped off his shirt and stood on the dais flexing like he was Hulk Hogan.
His abdominal muscles are rippling and it?s clear he?s put plenty of time into getting prepared, because he clearly knows it?s his last big shot. He hasn?t had a truly significant win since 2003, when he defeated the late Vernon Forrest.
Since then, Mayorga is just 4-4 and has been knocked out by Felix Trinidad in the eighth round and Oscar De La Hoya in the second.
Mayorga, who was suspended for eight months and fined $50,000 by the Nevada Athletic Commission in 2006 for using the diuretic Furosemide before his match with De La Hoya, said he?s only trained properly for four previous bouts.
?I have 39 fights [actually, 38] and of those 39 fights, I can count on one hand the number of fights where I trained for them and really dedicated myself from the heart,? Mayorga said.
He said he trained hard for his two fights with Forrest and his two with Andrew Lewis, which were for welterweight belts.
?In the rest of my fights, I was smoking, drinking liquor and with all due respect to the women, I was having intercourse on the day of the fight,? Mayorga said. ?One day I would train, the next couple of days, I wouldn?t. For the Trinidad fight, I think you will remember there were accusations and allegations of me being involved in a rape.
?That wasn?t true, but what is true is that I was running around the streets, partying, drinking and I got into a real bad car accident. For the Trinidad fight, I probably trained 21 real days.?
King credited Cotto promoter Bob Arum with providing Mayorga with the motivation to train hard for Saturday?s pay-per-view bout. Mayorga, King said, knows he?s nearing the end of his career and hearing that Arum would give him a shot at pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in November should he beat Cotto on Saturday invigorated him.
King said he?s going to bet $1 million on Mayorga, which caused more than a few snickers at the news conference. But newly crowned International Boxing Federation junior welterweight champion Zab Judah, who was stopped by Cotto in a classic 2007 bout, said it would be unwise to dismiss Mayorga altogether.
?Cotto is a good fighter, but believe me, when [Mayorga] is in shape, he can fight,? Judah said. ?He can fight, no doubt. If he?s taken it seriously, and I think he has, he can give Cotto some problems. He may surprise a lot of people.?
Cotto may raise a few eyebrows of his own. He?s in his second bout with Steward, the Hall of Fame trainer and one of the last remaining teachers in the game. Steward has marveled at Cotto?s all-around game and said his right hand has improved significantly during training camp.
The right is a patented Steward punch and he?s insisting Cotto?s right will be a big factor on Saturday.
Miguel Cotto (right) was advised not to respond to Ricardo Mayorga’s trash-talk leading up to their super welterweight bout. (Chris Farina/Top Rank)
There are very few weaknesses in Cotto?s overall game and, even when facing faster men like Judah and Shane Mosley, Cotto was able to control the action. He?s 35-2 with 28 knockouts and has won world titles at super lightweight, welterweight and super welterweight.
He was stopped by Antonio Margarito in a classic slugfest in 2008, but there have been suspicions that Margarito?s wraps were loaded, though nothing was ever proven. And he was stopped by Pacquiao in the 12th around in 2009, unable to adequately deal with Pacquiao?s blinding hand speed.
He?s 15-2 in world title fights and has 11 wins over current or former champions. It?s a r?sum? that, without much question, should land him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame when he?s done.
?He definitely deserves a place in the Hall of Fame,? said Steward. ?I?ve never known a fighter in my lifetime who has been in as many hard fights, with top, top competition, as Miguel. You can go back to the [Kelson] Pinto fight [in 2004], which was a tremendous, tremendous fight. I think it was against [Ricardo] Torres when he was down twice. Even fights he won against [Joshua] Clottey and Judah, those were brutal fights, in addition to the Pacquiao and Margarito fights.
?Even when he lost, he lost with so much dignity and pride. It?s amazing how the fans love him. Having all those great fights at 140, 147 and now in the junior middleweight division, where he may get rematches with Pacquiao and Margarito, regardless of what happens, this guy is a Hall of Famer.?
Cotto?s a Hall of Fame fighter, that is. As a trash talker, he?s a total failure. He has rarely even looked at Mayorga during their public appearances together, though he did have a bit of advice for Mayorga at the final news conference after hearing of King?s plan to make the $1 million bet.
?Mayorga can check with his promoter to see if I?m a favorite of 8-1 or 6-1,? Cotto said. ?Just check to make sure who [King] bet on. We know he?s bet on the other guys many times and not his fighters.?
King has been singing Mayorga?s praises for weeks and genuinely seems to believe Mayorga has a chance to win.
For all his bluster, though, King is a wise boxing mind and he recognizes a great fighter when he sees one. And Miguel Cotto is one of the greatest fighters of his era.
If King did bet $1 million on Mayorga, what he should do is go and bet $2 million on Cotto.
That way, at least, he?ll go home to Florida on Sunday with a bunch of extra money in his back account.
