Cotto vs Judah: Opposites Attract a Sold Out Garden
 By Gabriel Montoya (June 9, 2007) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © HBO-PPV)
“If you pour oil and vinegar into the same vessel, you would call them not friends but opponents.” – Aeschylus
Tonight’s welterweight showdown between Miguel Cotto and Zab Judah has all the potential to be how they used to do it. This fight has many facets that take it beyond simply a big name match up at a sold out Madison Square Garden. These men are two sides of the fighter coin: Undefeated welterweight titlist versus former linear champion. A focused, humble man who also happens to be the latest in a line of great Puerto Rican
champions and a brash, street-tough cum world champion who also happens to follow in a line of top fighters from Brooklyn who couldn’t keep it together upstairs for what should have been untarnished Hall of Fame careers. An incredibly fast, southpaw puncher/boxer with one punch KO power vs. a meat and potatoes pressure fighter who possesses heavy hands and the sport’s most brutal body attack. A match up this good between fighters this different is why they coined the phrase “styles make fights”.
The Underdog
”The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.” – Hunter S Thompson
Few fighters in recent memory have been to the edge and back up the mountain more times than Zab “Super” Judah. Sometimes that journey happens round to round for Judah. Other times after a long series of fights.
Leading up to his first loss to Kostya Tsyzu, the collective thought was that Zab was on his way to super stardom. Following a dominant first round, a mentally lackadaisical Judah committed the cardinal sin of boxing and pulled straight back from a punch and was greeted by a right hand that derailed both his senses and career. Judah would get up and drop again from the same punch to humiliating effect prompting referee Jay Nady to halt the bout. Judah’s actions following would spark a mini riot as he would attack Nady and be suspended for the trouble.
Roughly four years later, Judah would work his way up to a title shot vs. then Welterweight Champion Cory Spinks and would drop a close decision but would regain the respect he had lost in his previous defeat. And again the pattern of
looking good one round, looking lost and unfocused the next would rear its horrible head.
In the rematch however, Judah, who was getting to Spinks late in the first fight, would pick up where he left off and dominate Spinks en route to a 9th round knockout. All was well again.
But in the world of Zab Judah, Success’s ugly cousin Bad Luck has a way of showing up to the party and overstaying it’s welcome. After blasting out perennial rugged veteran Cosme Rivera in one round, Judah would begin negotiations for his biggest fight to date vs. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. All he had to do to hold up his end was beat little known (at the time) Carlos Baldomir, an 18-1 under dog with nine losses. The task proved too great as an unfocused Judah would be hurt after building a close lead and be forced to survive to a loss in the biggest upset in recent welterweight history.
As is common in boxing, failure is often rewarded with a big fight and the Mayweather/Judah, being the fight we still really wanted to see, was still on. For 4 rounds, Judah looked like his potential perfect self, at times befuddling Mayweather and even getting an unscored knockdown. But then it all fell apart again and Judah would not only go on to lose a decision to his hated rival, he would be suspended a year and fined for his part in an ugly tenth round melee between the opposing corners.
Now Judah, claiming he has been training all during his suspension, returns after only fighting one round in which he looked sensational against limited opposition faces the sports preeminent rising welterweight attraction. It is a testament to his warrior’s heart and to just how good the fight is going to be.
The Favorite
"There's nothing wrong with getting knocked down, as long as you get right back up." – Ali
Miguel Angel Cotto began his pro boxing career the same year that Zab Judah got knocked out by Kostya Tszyu. In the time since this heralded amateur entered the bright lights of HBO boxing, Cotto has gone from highly touted prospect and moved from the shadows of retired Puerto Rican legend Felix Tito” Trinidad to the cusp of true superstardom.
Although force a 140 lbs, Cotto did see some setbacks during his alphabelt title reign in the junior welterweight division. Two events in particular come to mind: a right hand that stunned him badly vs. DeMarcus Corley in the fifth round of their 2005 encounter and a knockdown (literally) drag out affair against unknown (but future titlist) Jose Torres.
These two fights shook whatever confidence in Cotto that was growing in fight fans hearts. Despite coming back to score 5th and 7th round TKO and KO’s, Cotto was seemingly exposed as yet another HBO product that was all glitter but nowhere near gold, despite fitting in a revenge match knockout vs. Mohamad Abdulaev (in his first Garden headliner leading into the Puerto Rican Day parade), the man who beat him the second round of the Olympic box-offs.
While some would say Cotto was exposed, I feel the only thing that was discovered was Cotto’s champion heart and tenacity under fire. To me, a fighter that gets knocked down and gets up to knockout his opponent is my favorite kind of fighter. By hey, I’m a diehard Tito fan.
Cotto would finish off his impressive reign with a win over Italy’s Gianluco Branca and return to the Garden to savagely beat Paulie Malignaggi to a decision. The Puerto Rican star, who had been killing himself to make 140 lbs. would then move up to 147 for a shot at welterweight glory.
His first fight there was against fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Quintana, an undefeated fighter coming off the biggest win of his career over Prospect of the Year Joel Julio. Cotto would blow Quintana away in brutal five round beating. After a criticized performance in a mandatory defense vs. Oktay Urkal, Cotto now looks to make the pre Puerto Rican Day Parade hat trick with a win over Zab Judah.
All this does not add up to Cotto being primed for an upset. Like his Puerto Rican counterpart Trinidad, the move up in weight has only served Cotto well and further increased his chances for exciting the crowd. “Fighting at 140, I had to worry about my energy in the rounds,” Cotto has said in the past. ”Now at 147, I can fight hard for all three minutes of every round.” That will be the difference in this fight, as Cotto will have to work hard to catch the trickster from Brooklyn. This fight might look a lot like De La Hoya vs. Trinidad if Judah is so right that things go wrong for Cotto. As I hate the sanctioning bodies with all of my eternal soul, I would venture that this fight is for more than the WBLAHBLAHBLAH title of the known world. This fight is for respect.
The Official Particulars
Coming into tonight, Zab Judah has been beaten every way you can in Boxing. He’s been knocked out, out boxed and out hustled. Despite his tricky southpaw style and fast, powerful hands, quick combinations and foot speed, Judah has rarely kept it together mentally in a fight against another elite. At the moments he needs it most, Judah’s mental fortitude crumbles. Against Tsyzu is took a moment. Against Spinks it took more than that until the rematch. Against Baldomir, the focus was never there to begin with. Mayweather simply picked away at it until focus dissolved into full-blown chaos. From a physical stand point and to a degree technically speaking, Judah has a shot to win every fight he is in. For some reason, on the biggest stages, he just can’t get all the way up and keep it there.
Miguel Cotto on the other hand has lost some rounds but never a whole fight. He is a fighter who loves to come forward and is never afraid to exchange punches or eat four shots to land his one vicious blow. While Cotto had shaky moments in the past, as he has moved up in weight, his legs seem stronger and his energy level remains good as ever as he continues to stalk and break down opponents in methodical as always fashion. Most importantly, his power appears just a debilitating as ever. Like Judah, the mental aspect of boxing is a major component of Cotto’s game. In his case, it is an asset as Cotto handles the mental pressures of each bout as well as his burgeoning fame with seeming little effort. An even and consistent temperament both in and out of the ring have held him in good stead as he heads into tonight’s possible coronation. While his attack appears no frills, his startling focus in crisis situations sets him apart and sets him up for victory every time out.
The Outcome
“Once you get the right image the details aren't that important.” – Abbie Hoffman
So who wins? Logic dictates that slow and steady always beats fast but not quite ready every time. While Judah enjoys a mismatch in almost every conceivable category, Cotto holds all the cards where it counts: upstairs. I see the fight playing out as expected with Cotto pressuring and Judah coming out looking to get respect and a quick ending with his power. By the middle rounds, Judah will have slowed enough that Cotto will be cutting off the ring enough to get in his all over body assault. By the late rounds, Judah will be potshotting and looking to land that bout changing shot but it will be Cotto who will have worn down his foe enough to force a stoppage by the 11th.
Logic has a weird way of getting thrown out the window in big fights and thus this is a very winnable fight for Judah and most importantly it is presumably his last shot at redemption, greatness, and all that goes with it. A win here and big money fights with Cotto in a rematch, Mosley or a rematch with Mayweather loom on the horizon. A loss and it is hello rebuilding process. All he needs to do is use his natural gifts to make Cotto miss and pay while never allowing Cotto to set his feet and get off. Oh and he needs to avoid the Body Assault from Hell. No small tasks. If the weigh-in is worth anything, the world is about to see the best possible Judah we’ve seen in sometime.
No matter how it plays out this fight has X-Plosive all over it. This is what the world has been waiting for. Cotto and Judah both have aggressive styles and all analysis aside, this fight could come down to who lands first.
Sometimes all it takes is one great fight to remind us why we love this sport. Saturday night’s bout at the Mecca of Boxing has all the potential to be such a fight. Cotto/Judah are two fighters who love the knockout and get it often. Both have tasted canvas multiple times but only one is undefeated. One has a total physical edge. The other a mental one. Both have a lot to prove and are ready, eager and willing to make their mark on history. I can’t think of a better way to spend my Saturday night.
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