Anthony, do you even KNOW what these younger kids are standing on line for hours, spending fucking 200 dollars on? I'll give you a hint - it's not the newest Kobe's. Nobody gives a shit about Bryant when Mike is compared. Kobe has lived in Mike's shadow since the day he came into the league, and will live in his shadow for the rest of his life. It's sad - because he was a truly REMARKABLE player. But he'll always be considered Jordan-lite. When a hot, phenom prospect comes into the league, do you EVER hear the media say "Can he be the next Kobe?"... No! The comparison is ALWAYS Jordan. Jordan is ALWAYS the highest level players aspire to.
No, I don't think you're giving them enough credit. They know. There's NO basketball fan, young or old, who hasn't seen a prime Jordan game. They're replayed LITERALLY on a weekly basis. If a kid started following the NBA today, it'd be easier for them to view a prime Jordan game than a prime Kobe game.
And yes, Cotto's over rated. It was made quite clear that he wasn't a true ATG talent and it's cool he can still have ATG accomplishments, but if people really think he'd have a shot against DLH or Tito he's over rated. I have a hard time seeing him getting past a prime Quartey. And kids know Jordan was a great ball player like people know Pele was a great soccer player at this point.
If he couldn't handle fucking Clottey, how does he handle Ike? Ike's jab would turn Cotto's face into a mess. Realistically, I had Mosley-Cotto a draw. Now, Shane wasn't washed up, but he was considerably past his prime. Circa 2000 Mosley stops Cotto late, IMO.
Prime for prime, it's not much of a contest, honestly. Oscar was just more talented and skillful. Faster hands, better power (Yes he did), jab, and when he wanted to, a good body puncher (First fight with Mosley is an example, though he did lose). Cotto would get outboxed early, which means he'd have to come in and take chances and in doing so, he will get clipped with the left hook and he won't survive that. De La Hoya KO 9
Two of the most fake smilers in sport's history. The tv would probably explode from the all the combined phoniness between those two.
Yup. Cotto and Canelo. I'm indifferent about both of them. I don't dislike Cotto at all. Always disliked fishnets. Doesn't change the objective fact that Oscar was a better fighter.
Yeah, I consider Cotto to be a "very good" fighter as opposed to a "great" one. I remember people at ESB calling him an ATG after he beat Sergio and cited him winning titles in 4 divisions as evidence. That's horse shit to me since you have to take into account whom he beat for those titles and how many titles are available nowadays. Cotto's been a very good fighter for a long period of time, but his 4 divisional titles are considerably inferior to say, Benitez's 3 divisional titles when you look at the opposition beaten and the number of world titles out there. Prime De La Hoya would beat prime Cotto clearly and without controversy. Cotto would be reasonably competitive and maybe bruise up Oscar or bloody his nose, but I don't see him winning or making it that close.
After the Judah fight, Cotto did become overrated. Awesome fighter at his best, but he was being placed up there with some greats and it was too early.
