Obviously it goes without saying Cotto is greater, way more proven, has a better résumé, etc; etc. but that's not what I'm asking. Who do you think was better in the ring, at their best?
Inoue is a better talent. That much is apparent. But his comp leaves a lot to be desired, while Mig faced murderer's row, so we got a concrete answer as to his worth as a fighter. Inoue? We may never truly know, but like I said, definitely more talented than Cotto.
Mig wasn't good enough for me to say all that. If the question were Inoue or Tito, then I'd say Tito without hesitation. But I can't say for certain Cotto is better than Inoue, though he's clearly more accomplished and was more ambitious. Is Inoue a bit overrated though? Yeah.
to be honest, Inoue doesn't impresses me that much. He's obviously a very good fighte, but I see ton of flaws in him. Cotto had the misfortune to be a contemporary of two legends. He'd be rated higher if it wasn't the case (though, to be honest, WW is almost always a very stacked division)
Defensively Inoue leaves a lot to be desired. I would say Cotto could be harder to hit than Inoue when he wanted to, but like Slice said yesterday, when Cotto was playing defense he didn't offer any offense. Offensively, I think Inoue is better. And even if you take Floyd and Pac out the equation, Cotto still got stopped Marg and slapped around by Trout. He might be better though.. its hard to tell because Inoue's resume is so meh.
I agree. Inoue's offense is too potent for a guy like Marg P4P. But P4P would Inoue give Floyd a tough fight? Unclear. Possibly not.
Inoue imo, but it's hard to say due to his relatively poor opposition. Still, I don't see Inoue struggling with a Malignaggi or losing a whitewash to someone on Trout's level.
Personally, I'm on the fence. I do think Inoue is more talented, and physically, he has a lot more going for him than Cotto did. He's comparatively faster, stronger and more powerful. He's clearly tougher IMO, and doesn't have any stamina issues. In all honesty, aside from the obvious firepower, Inoue's chin is what's impressed me most. Donaire, even at an advanced age, can still punch like fuck and is one of heaviest hitters in BW history. Inoue took his punches incredibly well. I do think Inoue is a better offensive fighter, due to the above gifts and his occasional flashes of terrifying precision. It's pretty close though, as Cotto's overall offensive skillset is a little better than Inoue's IMO. Cotto set things up far smoother and was more reactive when taking advantage of openings. In fact, that's the most impressive thing about Cotto's offense IMO; how fast he took advantage of openings. And it's not like he was doing it against bums, he did effectively against Floyd Mayweather. His jab was really good, his overhand right and left hook were also awesome. Inoue is often pretty basic in his approach, just using his fine technique with his speed and power to level his opposition. He turns shots over really well which gives them with a satisfying crispness. But he doesn't a Tyson like offensive skillset. Just very good fundamentals and ridiculous physical gifts. He often gets quite lax with his shots, and goes long stretches where he doesn't put much effort into setting things up, paws with his jab and just wanders into range with his guard up. One thing I do really like about Inoue's offensive is how he uses throwaways to set up one or two surgically precise shots which almost always lead to a KO. Some of his best KOs have been set up by this. The Hot n Spicy KO, for instance. While Inoue can be lax and sloppy for long stretches in uninspiring fights, he did show up in his more important matches. He didn't ponder or waste time in those, he was brilliant. Inoue seems to try and ride with punches and dictate the range to a point of making shots ineffective and unworrisome. The problem with these subtleties is that Inoue still gets hit a lot. I don't think he's got good enough 'eyes' and reflexes to ever be truly good at this type of defence. Plenty of Japanese fighters have done this extremely well, but Inoue, for the most part isn't one of them. It's not that he can't do it, or isn't quick enough to do it, it's just that he doesn't see the punches coming and/or doesn't have radar to get out of the way. He does occasionally show patches of good work where he slips and counters, and looks good doing so, but he gets hit a lot. He's gotten more flat footed recently, too. Cotto himself wasn't particularly consistent at slipping shots, he was more consistent than Inoue. He was decent at slipping shots on the way in. Especially under Roach. He was also far more elusive on the back foot than Inoue seems to be, although Inoue obviously spends far less time there. Cotto's feet seen to be better, all round. He was excellent at cutting the ring - not that Inoue isn't - and he was much better at range than Inoue. I've said recently how I love watching Cotto box, as he was an extremely tidy and picturesque boxer-puncher. He stayed at the right range for him to be able to step in and land combinations and then step out and make them miss, and he didn't shy away from exchanging while he kept it long. Inoue's long range game pretty much consists of a 1-2 to the body. Its impressive to set those up and land them consistently, though. I think overall, I do think Inoue is likely a better, but it's close and I think Inoue's future could prove how legit he is. Which is crazy because he still hasn't really done it.
