MAYWEATHER-COTTO

What up Dougie,
Just got done watching the fights. I must say, this is the first time I feel I’ve got my money’s worth with a Floyd Mayweather PPV. Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised since I always get my money’s worth from Miguel Cotto. What a fight. I had it 115-114 Mayweather and could have seen it a few points more for Mayweather. How did you see it?

A lot of people think Saul Alvarez is a good look for Floyd after that fight. Am I the only one who thinks that Canelo doesn’t have the experience that made the fight competitive for Cotto?

Anyway, I could care less about the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight now. And best believe Floyd won’t bring Sergio Martinez’s name up again after that fight. – Bobby

Mayweather did what I thought he would do against Cotto and his performance on Saturday night is one of his best in my opinion. He defended his status as arguably the best boxer in the sport. However, if he wants to prove that he’s more than a hall of famer he should challenge Martinez and fight the middleweight champ – it’s fine if they meet at 154 pounds – as soon as possible. Apart from Pacquiao, Martinez is the only active fighter in and around Mayweather’s weight classes who is worthy of fighting the undefeated American.

I don’t expect to see that fight but one can always hope. I’ve given up hope on Pacquiao-Mayweather ever happening. There’s too much money, too many egos and too much bad blood involved in the negotiation process for that dream fight to take place.

I agree that Alvarez is not ready to step in with Mayweather, despite having 41 pro bouts under his belt. His performance against Mosley shows that he’s got the right attitude and some formidable offensive tools to work with, but his talent level and his style will leave him vulnerable to Mayweather’s elite brand of sharp shooting. If the young man is smart, he’ll wait for Mayweather to get another year or two older before pursuing that super fight.

How did I see Mayweather-Cotto? I saw a competitive fight (which is what I expected), but I don’t think it was as close as you saw it. I scored it 116-112 for Mayweather (or eight rounds to four). I scored rounds three, six, eight and 10 for Cotto. I thought the seventh round was close, but I scored it for Mayweather, who landed the cleaner punches throughout the fight.

Cotto did well – he got his jab off in spots, he pounded Mayweather whenever the 5-to-1 favorite’s back touched the ropes, and he made Floyd miss – but I don’t think he did enough in any round to assume control of the bout. I thought he covered up too much as he walked forward, didn’t jab enough and wasn’t as smart with his body punching as he needed to be. I expected more counter hooks from Cotto, too. Of course, this is much easier said than done. Mayweather is a f___ing Rubik’s Cube in the ring. Cotto’s smarter than most of my boxing writer peers have been willing to give him credit for over the years, but his ring IQ is not above genius level.

GOOD FIGHT BECAUSE OF COTTO

Too often people discredit a fighter’s performance by saying that the reason they had such success is because the opponent was old, slipping, didn’t prepare well, or underestimated the task. None of that is the case for the fight this weekend. That was a very good, top flight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on display, and because of the things that COTTO worked on, we were able to see the good competitive fight that you were expecting.

Now, it is a testament to Floyd that on paper he can lose 3-4 rounds to a world-class, large, big-fight experienced fighter and it is a big uproar, or cause for concern. But even the rounds that Floyd won, Cotto gave him hell with, and I think it is all because he improved in the area that was his biggest liability: defense. His “D” was on point and he wasn’t eating as many right hands as people expected, and in turn he didn’t tire as much as he sometimes does and was able to put in good work, especially to the body, which in turn actually had Floyd fighting with his hands down due to fatigue at some points late in the fight, which was astonishing to me. Shouts out to Floyd for pulling through and winning a clear decision vs Miguel Cotto at 154. But shouts out to Cotto for the will AND skill he brought into that ring. Let’s not take ANYTHING away from that badass Puerto Rican by crediting any of his success to something that Mayweather lacked on that particular night. And Floyd “giving the fans what they wanted” was a pretty BS reason for his nose getting bloodied. I mean, it’s boxing, mfers get hit. But Floyd didn’t give Miguel any opportunities, Miguel TOOK them. – Jabre

I agree 100 percent, Jabre. (Cool name, by the way. How do you pronounce it?) Both fighters deserve a lot of credit. And I don’t see any reason for anybody – aside from asinine Pacquiao and Mayweather fans, who are incapable of expressing anything beyond their own racism and insecurities – to be anything but pleased by what took place in the ring on Saturday.

We should all be impressed with the skill and effort that Mayweather and Cotto put forth, and we should all be grateful that a major pay-per-view prize fight actually delivered and lived up to its hype. That’s good for the sport.

The fans and media in an “uproar” or in “shock” because Cotto put up a good fight are either guilty of underestimating the Puerto Rican or overestimating Mayweather (or both) coming into this fight.

Fans and media who think Pacquiao has some kind of edge over Mayweather nowbecause he defeated Cotto in one-sided fashion in 2009 need to get a clue and study the concept of “styles make fights.” They also need to take into consideration that Cotto basically trained himself for the Pacquiao fight. (You are absolutely right that Cotto has improved his technique – especially his defense – thanks to two camps with Emanuel Steward and two with Pedro Diaz.) Fans and media who think Mayweather will eat Pacquiao for lunch because Floyd dominated Juan Manuel Marquez and the Filipino hero has always struggled with the Mexican master also need to get a clue and study up on how different styles play out in the ring.

In the meantime, I’m just going to enjoy the fact that

1. boxing did well in the U.S. (in terms of entertainment value and revenue generated) on May 5,

2. Cotto proved to the sports media that he’s not shot, ordinary or a Puerto Rican version of Ricky Hatton,

3. Mayweather decided to challenge himself and fought hard to earn his victory (not that Cotto gave him any choice).

And hopefully, after Floyd does his time, he’ll get right back in training and seek out another worthy opponent for his next fight.

GOOD NIGHT OF PPV BOXING

Hey Doug,

I am still digesting what I witnessed Saturday night. I’ve gotta say that I had a good time (pizza, beer, good friends and boxing…it just don’t get no better than that). To save space I will condense my commentary on the early bouts. First fight was fun with an unexpected outcome. The second fight was a snooze fest we could have done without….but on to the good stuff.

Saul Alvarez answered some questions and opened the door to some bigger events in the future for himself. Despite the early cut he kept his cool and continued to take it to Shane Mosley in an aggressive and disciplined way. The kid definitely has the old boxing intangible of “heart.” Thepeople that handle him have to resist the temptation to move him too quickly. Let him develop a little more and he can accomplish greater things down the line. As for Mosley, he did a credible job in the ring. He said he came to fight and he did. Why he didn’t bring that same mindset to the Pacquiao fight I’ll never know….he STILL owes me the $65 that I paid to see his non-effort in THAT fight. Guess he didn’t want to get KO’d in front of his trophy girlfriend. I did not see her Saturday night so maybe that is why he fought a little harder…. but back to the Alvarez fight. Shane’s power never seemed to bother Alvarez in the least. The kid has a good chin. Hopefully, this will be Mosley’s last time out. He has nothing more to prove and he shouldn’t become a stepping stone for anymore up-and-coming kids.

Onto the main event: Cotto definitely stepped up to the plate. I doubted whether he could win even though I was for him all the way. He took it to Floyd and MADE him fight. Floyd’s comment after the fight that he wanted to give the fans action was so much BS. If he could have made it a blowout he would have. Floyd was as sharp as ever. His skills are undeniable but his power did not seem to deter Cotto at all. Mayweather has the defensive answer for the left hook and straight right. You just can’t nail him with those shots, BUT he is troubled by the straight hard jab. When Cotto used it (to use an old Tex Cobb quote) he had Floyd “blinkin.” That’s what bloodied Floyd’s nose. I wonder if it might have even been broken. I wish Cotto had been a little busier but as Jim Lampely said, he was probably too tired in the later rounds. Floyd was unusually nice in the after fight interview. Perhaps he had been humbledjust a little and shown that he is mortal after all. Who knows what is next for Floyd but after what I saw Saturday, I think Martinez would give him life and death. If Tim Bradley doesn’t head butt Manny to death next month, I see Manny giving him quite a scrap as well. Ya gotta love it!

Oh well….. I’m off to see The Avengers movie. ÔÇö David, Nashville

I had to put off seeing The Avengers this weekend because of the “Ring Kings” event, which was hard, but I’m going to see it this week. I’ve only heard good things about it.

It’s a pleasant change to hear mostly good things about a major boxing pay-per-view show the day after the event took place.

Cotto’s heavy jab is the main reason I thought the Puerto Rican veteran could compete with Mayweather. He needed to work it more than he did on Saturday. However, I gotta give credit to Mayweather who began the fight by working a busy well-timed jab, beating Cotto to that particular punch and perhaps causing the defending beltholder to temporarily abandon it.

All I know is that when Cotto fired the jab, he usually landed it, and it probably gave Mayweather flashbacks to the first Jose Luis Castillo fight. One of the many things Castillo did right in that bout was work a steady, consistent jab as he gradually cut the ring off.

However, it should be noted that Castillo, who weighed around 147 pounds the night of their first bout, was considerably bigger and stronger than Mayweather at the time. Mayweather has matured into a full-bodied welterweight and Cotto isn’t a natural junior middleweight, so the Puerto Rican star didn’t enjoy the same size and strength advantages that Castillo had.

I think Mayweather’s underrated physical strength and power were factors in Saturday’s fight. Mayweather COULD hurt Cotto, as he proved in the final round. I believe Cotto realized this early in the bout, which is why he was more cautious with his offense than usual and made sure to cover up well whenever he stalked inside of Mayweather’s range.

Regarding Alvarez-Mosley, Canelo exceeded my expectations. I thought Mosley would present more of a threat than he did. And I believe the version of Shane that showed up on Saturday could beat many 154-pound contenders. However, Alvarez dominated the game veteran. He’s definitely got heart, world-class poise and solid technique and skills. All he lacks is the special brand of ring maturity that comes with facing prime world-class opposition. Canelo has defeated second- and third-tier contenders (Rhodes and Gomez) and faded former champs/beltholders (Mosley, Baldomir, Cintron and Ndou), but until he soundly defeats a few bona-fide top-10 junior middleweight contenders in their prime, I won’t believe he’s ready for the elite fighters he wishes to fight.

Oh, and I agree that Cotto forced Mayweather to fight hard. It wasn’t a “choice” that Floyd made “for the fans.”

AFTERMATH

Hey Doug,

So there you have it. The better man lost to the better fighter. But boy, did Cotto give Mr. Money some really serious hell. Good for him. I just had to love the way Mayweather shook his head and gestured how he supposedly didn’t feel Cotto’s crunching shots during those middle rounds. But hey Floyd, your bloodied nose said it all. Actually that was the first time I seen Floyd with so much as a lumped hair let alone bleeding with a lumpy face.

In all fairness I’ll still give “Pink” Floyd his due. (Nickname derived from that pink shirt Floyd sometimes wears which makes him look like jumbo-sized bottle of Pepto-bismal.) He kept fighting back and even had Cotto on wobbly pins legs with that crunching left-uppercut. Cotto doesn’t seem to handle those left-uppercuts all too well does he? My only complaint of the night? Listening to those HBO stooges loudly sucking up to Floyd’s ass. Their ass-sucking commentary was almost as vomit-inducing as those stupid pre-fight interviews and 24/7 shows.

But lame commentary aside, it was one of boxing’s better pay-per-view shows we had lately. We all know where Floyd will be heading to lick his wounds. But what about Cotto after he’s done doing his own little post-fight recovery? He’s obviously still a world-class fighter. Maybe fights against guys like Saul Alvarez or Erisandy Lara. What do you think? – Todd The Teminator

I think Alvarez is the biggest fight out there for Cotto (aside from a rematch with Pacquiao). That fight would do very healthy PPV numbers because of the dedicated national followings both boxers have and their particular cultural rivalry (Puerto Rico vs. Mexico). I think Cotto-Alvarez could sellout Madison Square Garden, Staples Center, or the MGM Grand. And because of their styles, I think the fight would deliver action, which is what fans want.

Cotto-Lara would not do well at the box office and Cotto would likely get sparked. (I’m not dissing Cotto, I think the Cuban’s southpaw style gives anyone, including Mayweather, fits.)

Cotto vs. Kirkland would be fun. I’d buy a ticket to that fight.

I’m not a Mayweather fan (I know, big revelation), but I have no problem giving him his due for a good fight and a gutty effort against Cotto. I enjoyed the fight and the broadcast. I wasn’t bothered by the HBO commentary. Heavy analingus seems par for the course with the cable network whenever Mayweather is involved. They’ve been rimming his booty hole so hard for so long I don’t even notice anymore.

It’s no big deal. It’s to be expected. HBO follows the money, and right now, millions of dollars are blowing out of Mayweather’s shiny black butt. So they’re gonna deliver some rather wet kisses to that area every chance they get. They worshipped Oscar De La Hoya’s narrow-but-golden ass for two decades. It’s Floyd’s turn.

If Canelo keeps winning, Lampley, Merchant, Kellerman, Steward, Papa & Co. will be stuffing their faces between his freckled biscuits. Hallelujah!

It is indeed rare to see Mayweather bleed. Check out his first lightweight bout – against Emanuel Augustus (Burton at the time) – if you want to see more. The celebrated journeyman bloodied the mouth of an offense-minded Mayweather in that 2000 gem (which I was witnessed from press row.)