Prediction: Cotto Wins Easy


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Prediction: Cotto Wins Easy

By Dan Horgan (Nov 6, 2007) DoghouseBoxing

Miguel Cotto is a machine. The 27 year old Puerto Rican has blasted through all of 30 of his opponents in his six year career, and he looks stronger than ever in his new welterweight body.

On Saturday, Cotto will square off against future Hall of Fame lock Shane Mosley at Madison Square Garden on HBO PPV. Many view the bout as a great match up between one of the sport's hardest hitters (Cotto) and one of the its fastest and most fluid punchers (Mosley). But despite the expert analysis that this fight

will be close, Cotto will walk away with another dominating performance and establish himself as a legitimate pound for pound stalwart.

We've seen this situation played out so many times before: Cotto takes a step up in competition, and he passes his test tenfold. He did it against veteran Cesar Bezan in 2003 (TKO 11); he did it against hard-hitter Randall Bailey in 2004 (TKO 6); he did it against the slick Carlos Quintana in 2006 (TKO 5); and, he did in June by beating the always dangerous Zab Judah via 11th round TKO. Saturday night won't be any different.

Cotto has made a habit out of banging opponents' bodies in the early rounds and breaking them down late. He's so strong at 147 that the strategy works against nearly any welterweight in the world; against Mosley, the approach will be especially effective because it will take away from Mosley's speed.

Mosley, 35, will need to have a career best night in order to beat Cotto. ‘Sugar’ is still effective in the late stages of his career, but the younger Cotto will simply be too strong for Mosley to handle. My final prediction: Cotto TKO 11.

Where to After This?

Assuming he wins Saturday, Cotto will find himself with a myriad of options to better his career. He could very well get the winner of Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton on December 8, and if he's really lucky, he could find his name in the mix for Oscar De La Hoya's May 3 opponent.

Cotto could also grant a rematch to either Zab Judah or Carlos Quintana, or he could set his sights on the winner of the likely February match up of Paul Williams vs. Kermit Cintron.

But Cotto has been one of the most active elite fighters of the 21st century. We sure wouldn't blame him if he wanted to take a nice long rest.

Dan Horgan's Book, Bringing Back Boxing, A Young Journalist's Attempt to Revive the Sweet Science, will be released on Lulu.com in the coming weeks!

Questions or comments,
e-mail

Dan at: danhorgan2@gmail.com
Dan's archives at: www.myspace.com/danhorganboxing

Questions or comments,
e-mail

Dan at: danhorgan2@gmail.com
Dan's archives at: www.myspace.com/danhorganboxing