In an HBO Pay Per view attraction that didn?t disappoint anyone as regards what would transpire within the ropes, perhaps the final verdict was a little disconcerting for those who thought the bout was much closer than the final tallies had indicated. And with just about everyone conceding victory to Floyd ?Money? Mayweather Jr. who improves to 43-0 with 26 knockouts in what amounted to nothing less than a tremendous crowd pleasing bout against a rejuvenated looking Miguel Cotto (37-3, 30 KO?s) last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, perhaps I?m the odd man out. With Floyd no doubt convincingly winning rounds 1, 4, 11 and 12 to buckle the legs of his opponent in both the fourth and final round to come away with a unanimous decision victory by scores of 118-110, and 117-111 twice, I myself am not totally confident as to the bouts final outcome. As the challenger, I?m just not so sure that ?Money? Mayweather in fact did enough to be awarded Cotto? WBA junior middleweight belt, much less keep his unblemished record intact. Perhaps viewing this fight for a second time would change my mind, but in real time from my vantage point, the fight was much more competitive and of a two way nature than perhaps the the scorecards would lead one to believe. With Floyd being subtly effective in many of the quiet rounds so to speak, where he would roll incoming shots successfully to accurately counter in return, I thought the aggressiveness and the fact that the Puerto Rican champion, undeterred in his mission as the busier fighter in many instances, should have been awarded some of those same quiet rounds, which in and of themselves would have made it much closer in the end, if not allowed Cotto to hang on to his WBA junior middleweight belt outright. I don?t believe Cotto was given his just due as far as body work is concerned, which not only visibly slowed Mayweather Jr., but also opened Floyd up for head shots later in the bout enough to bloody his nose and cause some facial swelling to boot. Cotto? jab was quite effective as well, and although not landing flush in many instances with his follow up shots, nevertheless the defending champion put his combinations together to the point that in my eyes he did more in the close rounds than Mayweather Jr. did. Additionally, I don?t know if it played a part or not in the minds of the judges or fans alike, but a seeming oddity would repeatedly occur in that the onscreen round by round replays would tend to only show Mayweather Jr. connecting on Cotto and not the other way around. And in thinking that perhaps Cotto? reflexes would betray him and that he may have been headed the way of Kermit Citron, another victim of Antonio Margarito, trainer Pedro Diaz? scientific monitoring of his latest charge seemed to work wonders for Miguel, as he looked as good as ever if not better. The hand speed was there, and Miguel was able to briefly outbox his adversary from a distance when up on his toes, getting Mayweather Jr. out of his comfort zone and forcing Floyd to become the stalker, something very uncharacteristic of the new 154 pound champion who has now won eight world titles in five different divisions. Not to take anything away from Floyd? efforts who battled it out against a much heavier Miguel Cotto who was able to muscle ?Money? around the ring somewhat, but a disgruntled Cotto would seek refuge in his dressing room upon the immediate rendering of the final verdict, this without the benefit of a post fight interview. When confronted later on, the now former champion had this to say regarding the outcome, ?the judges said that I lost the fight, and I can?t do anything else. I have to take my defeat. I brought my best and I did my best every morning in the training camp. I did my best tonight. He knows what kind of fight Miguel Cotto brings, and so do the fans. I?m happy with my performance, and so is my family. I can?t ask for anything else.? All told, many in the crowd on hand seemed to disagree with the final decision as a torrent of boo?s would rain down from the stands during Mayweather? post fight interview with Larry Merchant. Again, if you?re the champion and you?re supposed to be soundly defeated before relinquishing your title, I don?t know this to be the case. However, this was no doubt a great fight of which surely fight fans would love to see a rematch if indeed foot dragging on the part of promoter Bob Arum continues to prevent the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout from becoming a reality. Stated Mayweather Jr. along these lines, ?this fight, I was looking to fight Manny Pacquiao. Bob Arum continues to stand in the way. Let?s see what the fans want, let?s make that fight happen. I?ve been trying to make the fight. Miguel Cotto didn?t have a problem taking random blood and urine tests, so why can?t Manny Pacquiao. If you the best, take the test.? In the end Floyd would have nothing but praise for Miguel Cotto. ?You?re a helluva champion. You?re the toughest guy I ever fought,? Mayweather told his latest counterpart. ?I knew that I was going to have to come into the ring, fight hard and execute the game plan. Cotto is a future Hall of Famer. He?s no pushover. He came to fight. He didn?t come just to survive. He came to fight. I dug down and I fought him back.? While waiting to see what?s next for free agent fighter Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather Jr.? interim schedule will be on hold as he?ll be heading off to serve time in Nevada? Clark County Jail on June 1st as a result of his recent conviction. And upon release as regards upcoming opponents, nothing is for sure except that everyone is still talking about a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. match up, a continuous source of frustration for boxing fans worldwide as these two top pound-for-pound fighters can?t seem to get it together. In no other sport have the best not been pitted against the best and only time will tell if this stellar match will ever take place. But before that happens, Manny Pacquiao has his own hands full, as he is scheduled to face off with the tough minded and extremely talented Timothy ?Desert Storm? Bradley on June 9th. This match, no given on the part the Filipino prizefighter, will prove to be just as competitive if not more so than the Mayweather-Cotto bout, with Bradley looking to make his own mark in the sport of boxing at the expense of the ?Pacman.? Co-Main Event With the final scores reading 119-109 twice, and 118-110 in favor of undefeated Mexican star Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KO?s), many are thinking that for ?Sugar? Shane Mosley (46-8-1, 39 KO?s) it?s time to hang up the gloves after losing three of his last four fights, irregardless that two of those losses have come at the hands of both Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, while he would also garner a draw in the remaining of his four most recent outings to B level fighter Sergio Mora. And it?s not that these defeats were to such high level opponents, but it?s how they have in fact come about. In Shane? last few fights it seems opponents have gotten the best of him less a result of what they have done, and more a result of what Shane was either unwilling, or unable to do. After rocking Floyd Mayweather Jr. early on like no other fighter has gotten to Floyd, Mosley would inexplicably pull his foot off the pedal to hardly throw any more punches for the remainder. And after getting whacked early on by the ?Pacman? one bout prior to his meeting with Alvarez last night, Shane went into a shell, with no offensive output to speak of. Complaining about a blister in the Pacquiao fight which later surfaced to be a ruptured achilles tendon, as well as alluding to an injury during the Mayweather fight makes you wonder what led Shane to enter the ring in the first place with major titles on the line. We can all understand delays related to injuries, but in taking fights of such magnitude while not in condition to give it your best shot is not in one?s best interest to say the least, while at the same time somewhat suspect. In any case, after an accidental clash of heads early on that left a good sized cut over young upstart Alvarez? left eye in Shane? latest attempt to win another title, Mosley failed to fervently target that cut as would have other fighters when confronted with the same situation in a major title fight. Am I suggesting that Mosley wasn?t in it to win it? Pretty much. He was either unwilling or unable to pull the trigger in a consistent manner. Anytime Shane would land something solid, he didn?t follow up on it, while simultaneously he would allow the youngster to at his own leisure whack away at the veteran fighter. Seemingly able to move his head to avoid shots, Mosley was inconsistent in doing so, leaving his face quite swollen by fights end. Not to take anything away from Alvarez who throws no less than beautiful combinations while seemingly improving at all phases of the game with each subsequent performance, but Shane doesn?t seem motivated to fight up to his potential anymore. No less than a stellar human being, calls for Shane to retire are quite warranted. Good win for Alvarez who retains his WBC junior middleweight belt while looking to the future. That future could indeed at some point entail that he fight main event attraction Floyd Mayweather Jr. should the paths of these two cross, especially now that Floyd has made his mark in the 154 pound division.
