I am really looking forward to this weekend's fight between Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto and Ghana's Joshua Clottey for Cotto's WBO Welterweight title. It took me awhile to appreciate Miguel Cotto..I was not an instant fan like most. But he won me over with the massive beating he gave to Paula Malignaggi. Then again I am a fan of anyone who can beat Malignaggi (I think I even like John Ruiz more than him!!!). Cotto's aggressive style and punching power make him entertaining to watch but I think he still has holes in his defense that make him vulnerable to punchers. Cotto seems to use his offense as his defense. Clottey while not a huge puncher is a very strong guy. He is not particularly fast but will keep on coming. What the two fighters have in common is that they both have only really lost to Antonio Margarito. For Cotto that is his only loss, and for Clottey...he has one other loss by disqualification to Carlos Baldomir in a fight he was leading in...so Margarito is his only real loss. Those are pretty good records considering how tough Margarito is. Both fighters started out fast against Margarito winning the early rounds then faded as the fight went on. Cotto really took a beating by Margarito getting stopped in the 11th round...but now that win is under question since the "hand wrapping scandal" Margarito was involved with in the Shane Mosley fight. And Clottey was outboxing Margarito early in their fight but injured his right hand and was unable to use it effectively for the second half of the fight and he lost the decision. The big factor for me in this fight is how much was taken out of Cotto in the Margarito fight. Many times when a fighter takes a beating like that they are never the same afterwards. He did look like the old Cotto in winning his last fight against Michael Jennings for the vacant WBO title....but then Jennings didn't really put up any resistance. It was a good fight for Cotto to take after his loss. Clottey has been on a roll since losing that decision to Margarito winning his last 5 fights...one being a good win over the late Diego Corrales and his last one against Zab Judah. I can really see this fight going either way and that's what makes for a great fight...when you are not entirely sure who will take it. I believe Cotto should be able to take a decision...if he is the same Cotto as before the Margarito fight. But if that fight damaged him as it might have, then I could see Clottey getting a late round TKO. Either way it will be exciting to watch.
And for anyone who has never seen the great Cotto/Malignaggi fight...here is a photo that gives an example of Cotto's power.
Cotto needs to stay off of the ropes. If Clottey is able to use his footwork to cut off the ring and batter Cotto against the ropes I believe the accumulation will be too much for Cotto. Furthermore, Clottey needs to invest in body punches early. Cotto is good at spinning off of guys and countering with his left hook. Clottey needs to take away his legs to prevent him from doing so. However in saying that, I still believe Cotto will outwork Clottey and win a decision.
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