Mayweather fights on May 5th

[the ollie reed fan club]

JONdaCON Wrote:Come on guys... if fights happened the way we thought they did then why would we even watch?.... im sure everyone thought that Tyson vs Douglas was a waste of fight and im sure there are alot more examples... Cotto would be a tougher fight then almost anyone else out there... i guess only time will tell.

Tyson hardly trained for that fight, unless you count fucking countless numbers of Japanese chicks as training, and the one thing I have to give Floyd is he never sleeps on guys. Ever.

In some ways I would've given Ortiz more of a chance than Cotto because that's the type of fight that Floyd may not have taken seriously due to Ortiz being a chump who got lucky. However as usual Floyd came in tip top shape and did the business. I don't admire much about Floyd but his dedication to training and staying in shape is second to none.

Cotto is dangerous enough that Floyd would come 1000% ready and embarrasses Cotto in the process.

[Byrd Man]

Quote:[Ben Voice]

From Marley over at The Scene.

Quote:For the first time ever, Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum has stated explicitly that if and when he or his Top Rank president Todd duBoef get a text message or phone call from Floyd Mayweather Jr., they will spring into action to fully negotiate the so-called "Dream Fight.

I had two phone chats with the 80 year old promoter Monday night and, on the second call, Arum said that, despite all those who accuse him of being a fightblocker, he would much prefer to do his due diligence.

"We can put this fight together now, not for May of course, but put it together now for November," Arum said.

"All Floyd has to do, as far as I'm concerned, is to phone us or to send a text to Todd, who he communicates with in that manner anyway. All Floyd has to do is to give us some direction. Let Mayweather tell us who he wants us to speak to make this fight.

"If Mayweather says, hey, this is my guy, this is who I want you to talk to, then we'll do that. I will pick up the phone or Todd will answer his text message.

"If Floyd does that, do you think I won't make the call, that I won't follow up to set up meetings with whoever he tells us to? Of course not, I will do my job as Manny's promoter. But we must know who Floyd wants us to deal with."

Arum reported that he and stepson duBoef have yet to receive any direct communication from Mayweather's chief adviser, Al Haymon, or his ubiquitous factotum, Leonard Ellerbe, who bears the title of president of Mayweather Promotions.

Arum wouldn't name names but it's known a guy named Tommy Smalls is very influential in Mayweather's Inner Circle and so is high profile rapper Fifty Cent. In fact, Fifty Cent even participated in the famous Las Vegas to Philippines phone call which was made to Pacquiao and his adviser, Michael Koncz.

Then, of course, Golden Boy has often been the de facto promoter for Mayweather's recent big fights.

"If we get this information, this direction from Floyd, then we can finalize things for November and we also enhance their respective interim fights, Floyd's May 5 bout and Manny's June 9 fight. The stakes get a lot higher for those interim fights.

"You sit with the right people, you figure it all out," Arum said. "There's no reason we can't do this now, I mean to make the fight for November.

"We've already discussed doing construction for bleachers, an outdoor setup, at Mandalay Bay but obviously you can't go very far on items like that until you've got a fight signed. We know that the Mayweather fight can come to fruition but now for November."

Arum keeps hedging his bet as to Pacman's June 9 foe.

"It might be Tim Bradley or it might be Miguel Cotto," Arum said. "Cotto doesn't want to concede the weight but he's got to realize that to get Manny to 144 pounds, you have to feed him like a horse. I mean, Manny is barely 140 pounds, barely. It reminds me of Canelo (Alvarez, Mayweather's likely May 5 foe) wanting Chavez Junior to make a weight of 156 pounds, Chavez can't make that weight."

Even though Arum persistently said criticism which accuses him of dodging the Mayweather fight does not bother him, I think the steady drip, drip, drip of such antagonistic remarks does bother him, at least slightly.

"I want to do this fight, I want reason to prevail. I want this fight to happen in November and it can. That (criticism) is absurd, those saying Arum doesn't want the Mayweather fight.
"I don't want it, Manny won't take it without a 50-50 split. We'd never do that. But I want the fight and, more importantly, Manny wants it."

[STEVENSKI]

Fitz Wrote:There really isn't a guy that can beat Mayweather clearly, even now I would probably pick Mayweather over Cotto, I just don't agree with how people are talking about Cotto in that match up.

I swear, out of every single bum and trash fight that Mayweather has been in, and it really seems like Cotto is being disrespected the most out of everyone, and that is including Baldomir, Mitchell, Marquez, Hatton etc, lol.

If nobody knew who Cotto was, someone would come in here and think we are talking about a journeyman.

I don't think that is the case Fitz. Cotto is not being disrespected posters here are just calling it how they see it. Cotto is not getting any younger & as JD pointed out there is not a single area where Cotto is "better" than Mayweather. He has no advantages so to speak.

I admit to not being a Cotto fan & I give him next to no chance at beating Mayweather but he may be the best available opponent for Floyd but that does not change the fact that it is highly likely he will get beat.

[Fitz]

I just want this fight to get made. Everything aside, Cotto is the next best guy after Pacquiao who is a possible opponent for fuckface. Not only is it one of the more respectable opponents out there for Floyd to take, it is also one of the most marketable (there are more, but not many).
Just make it happen.

[the ollie reed fan club]

Fitz Wrote:I just want this fight to get made. Everything aside, Cotto is the next best guy after Pacquiao who is a possible opponent for fuckface. Not only is it one of the more respectable opponents out there for Floyd to take, it is also one of the most marketable (there are more, but not many).
Just make it happen.

This part I agree with.

The only problem I see is if Cotto fights Fraud at 154 and Fraud can't make the Manny fight in November then there will be pressure on him to fight Martinez at 154 and that is something I don't think the Mummy Team are too keen on. And yes I do think they think that far ahead.

[blackbelt2003]

Can Cotto make welter? I think he's a little bloated and undersized at 154 to be honest, if he can still make 47 he would be sharper at that weight.




Black

[JD]

Fitz Wrote:

JD Wrote:A couple thoughts...

This Cotto is nowhere near the guy that fought Mosley. He doesn't have the same reflexes, timing, speed, willingness to get hit or instinct...can we agree on that?

Cotto is a one-handed fighter, he has been his whole career, and random use of the right against a one-eyed Margarito does not a two-handed fighter make.

Re-watch Mayweather - Castillo, I don't think you will come back with the notion that JLC was slower than this version of Cotto.

Cotto switching to southpaw would be a disaster, Floyd would jump on him and light him up with lead rights.

Cotto isn't a pressure fighter digging that left hook downstairs anymore, that guy is gone.

The Judah fight looked the way it did because Zab had the faster hands for 6 rounds, fought out of a stance that forced Mayweather out of his comfort zone, and he fought the best 5 rounds of his life. Cotto will be afforded none of those advantages.

If Cotto sits back he will get torn up, if Cotto pressures he will get torn up.

I read everything you wrote there, but I am not coming away with any understanding how Cotto could do it. I honestly do not see one advantage Cotto would have going in, and that even includes things we often give to Floyd's opponents like chin or youth.

Sorry man, I am just not seeing any common ground with you here...but that's why they fight the fights.

Let's just agree to disagree.

About Castillo, I didn't think he got robbed anyways. I don't think either fighter did enough to take the fight clearly. Cotto looked slow against Jennings and Clottey and maybe another fight inbetween, but he had some speed back in his last fight (and no, it didn't have anything to do with Margarito being that slow, Cotto was punching better).

I'm just mentioning that Cotto had more than his left hand in his last fight, and was using his right more than usual. Cotto has made adjustment in time, he has jabbed more, boxed more, he now clinches.....why is it so unbelievable that I saw him add something else to his arsenal, when he has in so many other areas?

Cotto never clinched before his last fight, and used to run and had no idea how to hold. Cotto never clinched in his whole career, and all of a sudden learnt to do it in his last fight. Surely you don't think I should dismiss this aspect of Cotto because he only did it once at random times in his last fight?

I have seen Cotto learn and add new things to his game plan like using the jab more, knowing when and how to clinch etc. I have seen him make these adjustments, and I saw his also use the right hand in his last fight. I'm not saying that his right hand is lethal, or that is what's going to make the fight close, but I did see it in his last fight.
I'm just not going to dismiss it because he used it once, he used the clinch in one fight as well.

Cotto isn't physically the same as he once was, but I think he is in a better place mentally, made changes etc. Some guys aren't the same physically, but can be just as successful with change.
Look at George Foreman, he was not the same physically, but many think the older George Foreman was better, and smarter. I have seen positive signs in Cotto, even if I don't think he is the same guy physically.

I think Cotto may have appeared faster, but I didn't see a sudden marked improvement in handspeed...I do believe his opponent had something to do with looking faster.

Cotto may try to use his right hand with a bit more frequency, but doing so against a one eyed come forward brawler will be worlds different than trying something new out against an all time great defensive fighter and terrific counter puncher. I mean, Cotto is still a one-handed fighter. Learning to clinch and learning to effectively punch with the right hand are two very different things...and in fairness, he clinched because he was exhausted and realized it was his only way - clinching isn't exactly a skill, you know?

As for being in a better place mentally than he was when he fought Mosley for example is something I cannot agree with. At that time he was an undefeated machine running through people and showing that he could get up from whatever he was hit with to bang his opponent out...now, he admits that he doesn't need to take the punishment anymore. Cotto in his own words thinks it is stupid to take the "die in the ring" approach and is only willing to go far enough to win without having to go through hell; if it gets too tough - he is out. He has shown a willingness to take a knee or to basically run like he did against Pac; to me that is the sign of a deteriorated mental state as a fighter. Sure, it translates well in the real world, but boxing is fought in a ring, not the real world.

I think where we differ here is that you are basing your view of the Mayweather fight on Cotto's ability to potentially add new wrinkles...for me, adding new wrinkles against the #1 or #2 fighter in the world is a recipe for disaster when you are essentially an old dog at this point. Moreover, when we look at George Foreman he had a couple things going for him that Cotto will not: 1) Incredibly heavy hands, 2) Michael Moorer was a reluctant champ with OK defense and a chin that was nothing special, 3) Foreman was not fighting a heavyweight version of Floyd Mayweather.

Cotto is what he is now...and unfortunately that is not similar to what he was.

Now just to reiterate, this does not mean I am saying Cotto is undeserving of the fight. To be clear, Miguel Cotto deserves an opportunity to fight Floyd and that is not debatable...I just see that opportunity as more of a ticket to an absolute dismantling than anything else.

Lastly, I think Miguel Cotto has had a terrific career and was a truly excellent fighter with one of the top resumes in the sport, I just think Floyd will absolutely dismantle him at this point in time...styles, and this is a bad one for him.

[BrotherCane]

blackbelt2003 Wrote:Can Cotto make welter? I think he's a little bloated and undersized at 154 to be honest, if he can still make 47 he would be sharper at that weight.




Black

It's funny you should say that cause I never liked Cotto @ 154 and always thought it was too heavy for him but he has done well there!

[BrotherCane]

Hype saysCotto vs May is a done deal!

[EAlbian]

BrotherCane Wrote:Hype saysCotto vs May is a done deal!

well if hype says so it must be true haha