We are live inside of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for tonight’s WBA junior middleweight title tilt between champion Miguel Cotto and challenger Ricardo Mayorga. There is a palpable buzz in the air and an estimated 10,000 partisans are expected to be filling into the arena by the night’s end.
The Cotto-Mayorga fight is an interesting one because of the clash of fighting styles between each man as well as the stark contrast in demeanor between the two pugilists. Wanting to get an insider’s perspective before the fight goes down, I reached out to veteran HBO analyst Larry Merchant to get his take.
While always one for a good fight, Merchant couldn’t hide his skepticism as he analyzed the bout.
“We’ve got a guy who hasn’t fought in two and a half years and didn’t train while he was fighting regularly, so I’m not sure what kind of shape Mayorga is going to come into the fight,” a blunt Merchant started off. “Maybe for a few rounds he can be dangerous and I’m sure Cotto is well aware of it, being trained by Emanuel Steward.”
The only two losses on Cotto’s ledger are his punishing TKO defeats to Antonio Margarito in July of 2008 and Manny Pacquiao a year and a half later. In each fight Cotto absorbed serious amounts of punishment, was dropped twice, and eventually stopped late.
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Each contest was debilitating in its own right but to his credit Cotto bounced back strongly last June with a 9th round stoppage over Yuri Foreman at Yankee Stadium. Merchant believes that part of Cotto’s mild rejuvenation is the fact that he was able to restore himself mentally, fully convincing himself that his loss to Margarito was a fluke because of the hand wrap controversy that later plagued the Tijuana brawler.
“Those kind of killer fights can take a lot out of a fighter,” Merchant continued. “But he was young, in his prime. I think a lot of those type of fights are emotional and mental rather than physical, and I think he has every reason to believe the Margarito fight was tainted. I’m sure he does believe that and that the only real loss that he suffered was to Pacquiao but he did get some serious damage in the fight against Margarito. He’s had plenty of time since that time to recover.”
If Cotto finds a way to defeat Mayorga, as is expected given the heavy odds in his favor, all signs point to a summer showdown with Margarito, likely in the New Jersey area. For Cotto it would be a chance at redemption and a huge night, but Merchant just can’t get up for it.
“I think he can make some money,” Merchant quipped. “I think he may think he can even score. I don’t think it’s a great thing for boxing when a guy who has committed the worst sin in boxing, loading gloves, is given another chance to make millions of dollars.”
But before any of that Cotto has business to take care of tonight here in Las Vegas. The Nicaraguan in front of him is as wild and unpredictable as they come, and his stout chin and underrated power could make for an interesting night.
Should be fun but Merchant was sure to be as logical as possible when predicting a winner.
“Mayorga is a guy who is unorthodox and strong and crazy enough to be a challenge for a while. But I think a fighter as smart as Cotto, who showed that he had boxing ability as well as being a good offensive fighter, should be able to control the ring.”
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
