Boxing Scribe Vivek Wallace brings his Left-Hook Lounge mailbag to FightHype.com, answering questions for fans and giving his own unique perspective on all the latest current events in boxing. This week, check out his response to fans as they discuss last Saturday’s rematches between Miguel Cotto and Cotto Margarito, Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko, and much more.
Carlos H. (Orlando, FL): I think Miguel Cotto looked as good as I’ve seen him in a long time. How would you rate his performance and what would you like to see from him next?
Vivek W.: I was very happy to see Miguel Cotto respond the way he did in this fight. He said being in New York would make all the difference, and whether it was truly the case or not, it certainly ended in a good enough fashion to keep that mindset alive. I thought he looked great overall, but like always, there are both pros and cons to be assessed. On the “pro” side, I thought he boxed beautifully! He used his jab in spurts, his shot selection for the most part was very good, and he made a conscious effort to keep the action in the ring. The flipside to this is that he showed us once again that he can be swayed by overwhelming power.
Margarito didn’t look nearly as fluid as he did years in the past, but when he started to land and cut the ring off, Cotto truly appeared to be frustrated, and there were a few occasions it seemed as if he was beginning to look a little unsure of himself. These things are gonna happen from time to time, so I don’t know that it pays to be too overly critical, but it does make me wonder how Cotto would fare against a fighter who’s more fundamentally sound and not as likely to bruise up so early. His performance on this particular night was great. How he looks against the ‘next’ level is another story. Pacquiao looked world-class against this same concrete-footed, slow-thumping Antonio Margarito. He looked vastly different against an aged and vetted Juan Manuel Marquez.
