I loved Barrera, awesome fighter. Have to go with him on both. Cotto was the epitome of very good, but just below the absolute elite for me.
Of course I prefer Cotto…. but Barrera on both. You had to be there at that moment, watching it years later doesn’t do it justice….but what Barrera did to Hamed was legendary. his trilogy vs Morales muy grande…gigante… Cotto had a good close fight vs. Mosley(who we thought was an OLD Mosley but in retrospect had a few more good fights/years in him) a good lineup of C and B level fighters at 140… Beating Quintana, Judah, Clottey, Margarito rematch….middleweight championship victory over Sergio Martinez…all very GOOD. Good showing vs. Mayweather and Canelo... Cotto is one of those guys who at the end fought everyone he could.... Close but Barrera...
I picked Martinez. I had underestimated how much the knee injury had fucked him. It fucked him really bad. But yeah, I've never thought much of that victory. It was a total shell of the Martinez who beat Pavlik.
Surprised nobody's mentioned the junior jones loses. I feel like this is pretty much even... I think barrera might get too much credit for the Hamed win who to my mind had seriously slipped by that point. Put it this way, p4p im sure Cotto slaps the shit out that Naseem, too Im gonna vote Cotto just because he deserves at least one
I find Barrera overrated on the whole, but I think he's definitely a great fighter whereas Cotto was very good. Another great question is who was more entertaining. I'd probably take Cotto for that.
Kind of agree, my initial reaction was ''Barrera easily'' but I think it's much closer on second thought. Still would favor Barrera but barely.
Barrera, very clearly in terms of resume and legacy. Had a brief setback when he twice lost to Junior Jones and was able to make a comeback that made him even better. His trilogy with Morales still stands as one of boxing’s best rivalries. And his schooling of Hamed helped solidified him as a legend. Cotto’s been in some great fights but never had a dance partner like Morales that gave him a memorable series. Although Cotto did have a good redemption story when he stopped Margarito in their rematch. And his schooling of Martinez is still a very underrated win. Good resume but not in the level as Barrera’s.
No evidence was ever found that Marg loaded his gloves for Cotto. You think they slipped plaster past the Nevada commission for the highest profile fight of 2007?
Agreed. On paper it's a great win and obviously none of it is Cotto's fault, but Sergio could barely stand once that knee went. Felt bad for them both when it happened tbh.
Yeah, honestly this one is just too much of a stretch imo, especially considering I read the gauze for the Cotto fight was directly provided by the commission. Furthermore, I question just how much of an impact a pasty, plaster like substance (what they found in the Mosley fight) would have as there just not enough time (and too much humidity) to harden. Not interested in opening this can if worms again though.
Think of It THIS Way.... Why Would Margarito TRY to Cheat vs. Mosley, in a Fight He was FAVORED to Win, Yet NOT Do Likewise vs Cotto, on THE Biggest Night of his Career???...The Same Cotto Who BEAT Mosley, No Less???...Logically, Which Instance Would One Be MORE Inclined to Cheat In???... Admittedly, the "Evidence" Against Margarito is Merely Circumstantial, but the Lujuan Fight, the Way His Ear was Nearly DETACHED from the Side of His Head is ANOTHER Puzzling Moment Involving Margarito... REED
I don’t know about Margarito-Cotto. When people get caught cheating (sports, on their significant others, school, etc…), I usually figure it’s not the first time. I think Margarito did that before. Logically you would think he would load up for the biggest fight of his career in Cotto, but it might have been harder in Nevada. Maybe he and Capetillo figured it was too risky in Vegas to try that, and they did it other times. They might have figured it was easier in other commissions. He also supposedly was having a shitty training camp for Mosley, so they tried to make up for it with the plaster.
Didn’t team Margarito say that the brick/solid hand wraps were used in sparring and they didn’t know how it ended in the trainers bag and then in Margarito hands for the Mosley fight.
