When Cotto Brings Out the Best In Mosley, Will Mosley Bring Out the Worst In Cotto?

When Cotto Brings Out the Best In Mosley, Will Mosley Bring Out the Worst In Cotto?

By Coyote Duran (Sept 18, 2007) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © Everlast)

There must be a crippling anxiety that comes with being Miguel Cotto. Since turning pro in 2001, the hopes of an island whose last great boxing icon, Felix Trinidad, (who ironically fell to then-middleweight king Bernard Hopkins in the same year) are now falling on the broad shoulders of the 26 year-old, native of Caguas; with good reason.

Cotto, 30-0 (25), has a gift that seems to come stock with every special fighter that’s ever come from Puerto Rico (or anywhere else, for that matter): The gift of vulnerability. Since stepping up his competition roughly four years ago, the

undefeated WBA welterweight titlist has shown less of a godlike illumination and more of a mortal everyman’s appeal and this, as of late, is the one certain thing that’s made Cotto’s fights such a draw, particularly in New York, where he’s become a veritable fan darling. A distinction that would give even Tony Soprano the most irritable of agita.

But with fan demand and bigger fights always in the wings, Cotto’s own unpredictable performances grow just as relatively. Save for his earliest outings, Cotto, an explosive puncher in his own right, has never been accused of being the guy that blows out his opponents right from the gate. In fact, it can be gleaned from his more recent performances that Cotto has developed into a more complete package. A package that can be opened up and, in the hopes of Cotto’s stiffer challenges, exposed for the world to see.

This is not to say that the general definition of ‘expose’ that we’re so used to in boxing applies to Cotto. When a fighter’s particular strengths and weaknesses are exposed, odds are, he can become a far more dangerous fighter in the aftermath. In Cotto’s own exposures against fighters like Ricardo Torres, DeMarcus Corley at junior welterweight and Zab Judah at welterweight, we saw a fighter who weathered each storm but showed his humanity in each outing.

On November 10, Miguel Cotto doesn’t take the obligatory gimme when defends his alphabet strap against Shane Mosley,

44-4 (37), in Cotto’s adopted home arena of Madison Square Garden. In fact, compared to the man who gave Cotto the heartiest struggle since Paul Malignaggi, Zab Judah, Mosley almost seems like a sure bet to give Cotto his sternest test and is seen by most as the man who poses most danger to the Puerto Rican. In parlaying his back-to-back wins over Fernando Vargas and former WBA titlist Luis Collazo and re-building his stature as a Top 10 welterweight contender (The Ring Magazine has Mosley slotted as the number one contender to real world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s belt), Mosley has given himself a do-or-die proposal that he himself cannot possibly refuse.

Sure, wins over a past-his-best Fernando Vargas at junior middleweight shouldn’t be enough to catapult Mosley to the crest of the ratings for one weight class south but his one-sided win over the likeable southpaw Collazo cemented Mosley’s position as the top dog in what’s arguably Our Sport’s most exciting realm. It seems logical to place Mosley against Cotto based on the Collazo fight alone and in a weight class that’s reluctant to unify (although the idea is moot due to Mayweather having the real gold), for Cotto to be valiant enough to step to an ex-World Welterweight Champion in Mosley, regardless of a win or loss, the effort should automatically raise his stock.

Of course, anyone who knows how Cotto operates knows he’s not just coming for a ‘regardless of a win or loss’ experience.

And that’s exactly why it’s in Cotto’s best interest to not open himself to exposure as is his wont in affairs previous. Although he’s not as fast as he used to be during his lightweight glory, ‘Sugar Shane’ is still fast and powerful enough and that’s a big enough problem for Cotto to solve. Gloriously enough for the fans who love a good back-and-forth, Cotto’s possessed of a chin that’s solid enough but still leaves a little quiver room.

One may ask him or herself why on earth either man would look to the other for a fight, knowing the 147-pound division is littered not just with legitimate threats but journeymen and easier marks to prey on. Confidence builders, if you will. Maybe the operative word of reasoning is ‘littered.’ Why go easy when just the right win over just the right fighter can hand over the world or, at the very least, place you in just the right place at just the right time. Beat Cotto and there’s no way Floyd Mayweather Jr. has no plausible alibi for taking an out against Mosley, should ‘Pretty Boy’ get past World Junior Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton later this year. Beat Mosley and Cotto can call out pretty much whoever he wants, including the winner of Mayweather-Hatton, WBO titlist Paul Williams or IBF titleholder Kermit Cintron in perhaps an all Puerto Rican showdown that would guarantee heavy-handed fireworks and a sure-fire sell-out if held at the Garden.

But first and foremost, it’s Cotto’s job to represent. To defend and not challenge. Or maybe he should challenge. Fight like it’s actually Mosley that holds the WBA strap and not Cotto himself that holds it. To be the man and be ready when he brings the best out in Shane Mosley like he has so many other times against the likes of Messrs. Torres, Corley and Judah. If he doesn’t, Cotto is sure to be in the fight of his life because a pattern exists here. It’s a pattern that states that the hotter and more hungry the competition, the lesser the chance is that Miguel Cotto escapes with his ‘zero’ intact and his belt around his waist. It can be supposed that this isn’t exactly that educated an assumption and that any titleholder or champion puts himself at risk when stepping in front of the best of the best. But in Cotto’s case, he’s not like most titleholders or champions. There’s a lot riding on those broad shoulders these days. The hopes of an entire island and, to paraphrase Billy Joel, a New York State of Mind to keep strong as he delves into these challenges headfirst. Challenges that will present their best because of Cotto standing in front of them. Challenges that will feed off of Cotto just as much as Cotto will feed off of them.

What ultimately makes the difference as to who will prevail between Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley or anyone else for that matter is who will be hungrier from opening to end bell. Does Mosley have what it takes to wade through a decent boxing acumen topped off with formidable punching power and a solid body attack or can Mosley make a difference with waned hand speed, albeit still fast enough, with an intelligent body attack of his own and upstairs combination punching set on auto-pilot? If he loses, Cotto still has a prime to exist in for as many years as he would like to, including more alphabet belts or even a world championship or unification to look forward to. If Mosley loses, his critics will call for The Big Goodbye, to coin the Great White song, unless another titlist is willing to evade an alphabet declared mandatory challenger for a shot at possibly beating a former pound-for-pound king.

In that case, one less man will stand in the way of Miguel Cotto’s ultimate glory while many more stand in line waiting for Cotto to bring out their best.