140 & 147, Benitez by very commanding decision. At 154, I'll actually say Benitez by late stoppage. Either way, Will was several levels better than Miggy. Benitez is part of the "Big 4" of Puerto Rican greats, the other three obviously being Ortiz, Gomez, and Trinidad. Cotto wasn't on the level of those 4 guys.
Cotto was a fighter that was good. But it was more that he was good for THAT ERA that he was in. I think in the 90s he would have been a solid contender. But he would have lost to all of Trinidad, De La Hoya, Quartey, Whitaker, Mosley, Forrest, and he would not have been a factor at 154 against the likes of McCallum, Norris, Jackson, Vargas, and even David Reid would have beaten him IMO. But I don't think Cotto wins a belt in any of those previous eras.
Nonsense! Boxing is getting BETTER! Those old timers could barely throw a straight jab! Floyd Joy revolutionized the way boxers operate. Who dares question the Sly One?
Canelo's more consistent than this Robinson fellow you all speak of. He have lost to Robert DeNiro! Canelo have only lost to Our Father, who Art in Vegas, TBE be thy name.
Cotto's best weight was 140 where his shortness was less a disadvantage. But thing is, at 140 his durability wasn't what it was at 147 and 154.
Cotto is a small welterweight and somewhat fragile. Benitez doesn't have things all his own way as the anti-modern boxing fraternity would suggest, as cotto was skillful but Benitez wins at all three weights
This is the style Cotto prefers, but Benitez is better so he wins wide anyway at all three weights BTW both Cotto and Benitez in their current states (yes, even the brain damaged version), would KO McGregor
Cotto would have his moments at 140 & 147... in a losing effort. At 154, I think it's pretty one sided. We're talking about a guy who schooled by Austin Trout at 154. Benitez would light him up at junior middleweight.
Benitez was simply a better fighter, and I think he's train hard for big fight against a rival Rican.
Benitez came in top shape when he faced the best guys. The big names. He simply just lost to superior guys in Leonard and Hearns. But when it was an important fight, he didn't slack in training. He would not slack against Cotto.
Cotto's not a top 5 Rican in terms of quality IMO. I consider DeJesus a better fighter. I also consider Camacho and Rosario in their primes as better than Cotto.
And whereas DeJesus was unlucky, I think Cotto was the lucky one. He was very well protected and carefully matched by Arum. He fought guys who were NAMES but never huge threats.
I don't think Cotto was protected at all. He had a solid resume against solid and/or dangerous guys like Torres, Abdulaev, Quintana, Judah, etc, had a great win against Mosley,took his beatings against Marg and Pac and fought well against Floyd.
I had Cotto-Mosley a draw. And I had Cotto losing the Clottey fight. In retrospect, the Quintana fight was his best performance at 147, maybe the best performance of his career. A lot of people thought Quintana would win that fight as he was coming off schooling Joel Julio. Mig destroying him was impressive.
