On May 5th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this author?s #1 pound for pound boxer Floyd ?Money? Mayweather (42-0 with 26 KO?s) will face WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Miguel Angel Cotto (37-2 with 30 KO?s). Mayweather will be fighting at 154 lbs for only the second time in his career, the first time being his split decision victory over future Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya back in 2007 exactly five years ago to the day of the Cotto fight. It was rumored that Floyd actually weighed in below the 150 pound official weight for the Oscar fight and they rounded it up to 150 lbs. It wouldn?t surprise me at all if Floyd came in well below 154 lbs for this fight as well in order to retain as much speed and quickness as possible.
One thing I have always admired about Mayweather is that he never leaves his comfort zone in regards to fighting weight. He is always in shape, he never kills himself to make weight, and never gains weight for the sake of doing so when he fights above his natural fighting weight. I did criticize him when he weighed in 2 pounds above the contractual weight in his fight against Juan Manual Marquez because it was unprofessional. Floyd deserves credit for not asking Cotto to squeeze down below his comfortable fighting weight the way that Pacquiao?s camp asked Cotto and others to do. I believe that if you are fighting for a man?s title the champion should be able to weigh in at the maximum allowable weight, otherwise fight him in a non title fight at a catch-weight. It?s unjust to ask a champion to put his belt on the line while fighting at a disadvantage to boot.
Against Cotto, Mayweather will be facing a man who has rejuvenated his career subsequent to being stopped and losing his 0 in what most people now view as an unfair fight against Antonio Margarito, and later being stopped in the 12th round against all time great Manny Pacquiao in a fight that Cotto started strongly before succumbing to the pressure, speed and all around explosiveness of the Pacman. After those losses, Cotto did what most fighters do after losing for the first time, especially by knockout: he made some major changes. Miguel went to the tattoo parlor and got some ink, replaced his longtime trainer/uncle Evangelista Cotto with legendary Hall of Famer Emanual Steward, subsequently ditched Steward after two good victories, and replaced him with Pedro Ruiz Diaz. It is still not 100% clear why Steward was replaced, some say it was a money issue while others say it was a geographical one. Who knows? At any rate, Steward did a great job helping Miguel return to form and tighten up a few things from a technical standpoint and brought him back to championship form, regaining his confidence in the process. What more could you ask of a trainer?
Cotto looked fantastic in his last fight which was a rematch against Margarito, adding new wrinkles to his game and demonstrating that he was capable of smothering and cleverly clinching a strong, dangerous opponent on the inside while conserving energy and avoiding being hit with the same body shots and uppercuts he absorbed in their first encounter. This was crucial in order to preclude the same result as the first fight from occurring. This redemption victory was also very important from a mental standpoint because it proved that Cotto has the heart and intestinal fortitude to handle adversity and to overcome it. As many experts have said, boxing is at least 75% mental. Miguel fought a very intelligent fight and looked extremely sharp. This victory was very impressive.
Mayweather is coming of a 4th round KO victory over former WBC Welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-3 with 22 KO?s). Ortiz is the antithesis of both Cotto and Mayweather in the mental category as he has proven in his last few fights to be sorely lacking in the mental toughness/discipline category. After blatantly and inexplicably headbutting Mayweather in the 4th round after pressuring Floyd to the ropes and landing a good combination, Ortiz kissed Floyd on the cheek and hugged him on multiple occasions only to be hit with not one but two punches while his hands were down. Referee Joe Cortez motioned and verbally commanded the fighters to resume fighting and Ortiz stared over at the referee who was looking at someone ringside and got hit with two hard punches in the process. Up until that point, Mayweather looked very sharp despite a considerable layoff and was controlling the fight with brilliant counterpunching and masterful defense that has become legendary.
By the time they step into the ring, Mayweather who turned 35 today will have been off for almost 8 months which is nothing compared to the almost 1 ? years he was off prior to the Ortiz fight and the near 2 year layoff prior to the Marquez fight. If Floyd were a horse he would be that rare horse that can run fresh off a long layoff and win the Kentucky Derby by 6 lengths without breaking a sweat. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a very special fighter.
Given the fact that Cotto is stronger and more comfortable than ever, and has regained his form and added some new weapons to his arsenal, a victory over him despite the fact that this fight should have happened 5 years ago will undoubtedly add to Mayweather?s lofty legacy. If Mayweather beats Cotto and subsequent to a short jail stint, goes on to defeat Pacquiao (who will hopefully make it past Bradley which will be a very tough fight) and ends his career with a victory over current linear Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez he will be in the conversation with Sugar Ray Robinson as the best ever. Yes, despite the fact that Floyd has cleverly avoided multiple threats throughout his career, he still amazingly has the opportunity to enter the G.O.A.T. conversation. The big question becomes: Will he have the nuts to face those guys and risk his 0? We know that just about everyone with the surname ?Mayweather? is at least a little nuts, but being nuts and having nuts are two totally different things.
