Cotto Should be Recognized as the “Interim Lineal” Champion…

By Rui Zheng 19/04/08

Shane Mosley, Carlos Quintana, and Zab Judah are among Ring Magazine’s top 6 welterweights in the division right now.  All three individuals hold or have held welterweight titles with Judah and Mosley being lineal champions.  All three are among the best fighters in an incredibly talented welterweight division.  And oh yeah, all three have been defeated by Miguel Cotto.

Flashback to December of 2006.  WBO junior welterweight titleholder Miguel Cotto was set to move up in weight to fight fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Quintana for the vacant WBA welterweight title.  At this time, Cotto was viewed by many including myself as a talented fighter, though his chin and his plodding style were questionable.  I remember watching Cotto go life and death with unheralded Ricardo Torres as well have moments in which he looked confused against the speed of Paul Malignaggi.  Meanwhile, Carlos Quintana had previously schooled the top prospect in boxing at the time, Joel Julio and was the natural welterweight against the smaller Cotto.  Needless to say, I thought Quintana was going to outbox Cotto en route to his first title.

The fight ended up being a demolition with Quintana quitting on his stool, not having seen the 6th round.  To put it in perspective, the same Quintana would go on to outbox the undefeated Paul Williams, who many thought was Mayweather’s toughest opposition in the division.

Now flash forward a year and the boxing community is clamoring for welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. to defend his championship against the clear number one contender in Miguel Cotto.  In little more than a year, the public’s perception of Cotto has transformed to a talented, but flawed junior welterweight moving up to a legitimate welterweight star who’s poised to single handedly clean out arguably the most talented division in boxing.

Let’s look at Ring Magazine’s ratings again.  The champion is Floyd Mayweather.  The number one contender is Miguel Cotto.  Shane Mosley and Carlos Quintana are 3 and 4 respectively, but of whom were defeated by Miguel Cotto.  Next are Paul Williams and Antonio Margarito.  Quintana soundly beat Williams while Margarito will be facing Cotto during the summer.  Zab Judah, another Cotto victim comes in at 6, while the rest of the pack are filled with the likes of Joshua Clottey, Luis Collazo, Kermit Cintron, and Jackson Bonsu.  So among the top 9 welterweight contenders in the division not named Miguel Cotto, 5 were either defeated by Miguel Cotto or by a fighter who lost to Cotto.  And if Cotto beats Margarito during the summer, that number will be 8.

So if Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto do mix it up sometime in 2009, who do I see winning?  Cotto showed a much improved jab in his last fight against Gomez, and it should be noted that his body punching and ability to throw combinations with mean intentions is as impressive as ever.  But Cotto’s flaw is still his ability to get hit way too often.  Against a fighter like Mayweather, whose hand speed and accuracy are amongst his many gifts, I can see Cotto eating many lead right hands.  I think the outcome of the fight might depend on Cotto’s ability to box rather than try to pursue to shifty Mayweather.  With that said, I still see a decision victory for Floyd Mayweather Jr, the reigning pound-for-pound king.

Speaking of pound-for-pound, my list consists of the following:

1.) Floyd Mayweather Jr.
2.) Joe Calzaghe
3.) Manny Pacquiao
4.) Juan Manuel Marquez
5.) Bernard Hopkins
6.) Miguel Cotto
7.) Israel Vazquez
8.) Kelly Pavlik
9.) Joan Guzman
10.) Rafael Marquez