Round By Round: Cotto vs. Gomez & Margarito vs. Cintron

But you were convinced Samuel Peter had a great jab after the rematch with Toney.

When you have a fighter that allows you do to more and show more facets in the ring, of course you're going to look better.

He may be improving and getting more confident, but I think to suggest he didn't have most of those assets already is a misnomer.

Frankly, though, this is why when a fighter is active - like Cotto, who will presumably fight 3 times this year - I don't mind showcase fights because it allows fans to see more of a fighter than they would if they just took tough fights. You can't see Cotto look this great when he's in against a Mosley or even a Judah. That doesn't mean he just learned how to throw his jab better since November, IMO.

 

dsimon writes:

Peter got in shape for the second Toney fight and went on record as saying he has learned his lesson after beign embarrased by Toney... he weighed less, showed good physique and performed very well. That is not a progression Mitchell, that is either an aboration or a change. In Peter's case it was the former. Peter has not shown improvement at all.

Its not about assets its about a young fighter learning and getting better through experience, progressively. The Cotto that fought Torres was nowhere near as good as the Cotto that stood in tonight.... regardless of the opponent. And having a jab and finding a way to use it as a weapon under combat condition is two different things. Cotto has gone through refinements and can do a lot more in the ring.

Remember Cotto is still a young fighter. He is just hitting the underside of his peak.

 

Wow, I wonder where Cintron goes from here. It was pretty much the same fight three years ago, only he lasted one round longer.

I picked Margarito but thought it would be closer. What kind of advice was Steward giving. Don't back up? Whenever Cintron allowed some distance he was able to throw and land the right hand. It was the best way to maximize his reach and power and he fought inside and fought Margarito's fight.

Cotto looked impressive. Gomez was game as expected but he was simply outgunned, he'll be back.

I am looking forward to a potential Cotto/Margarito clash in July. That fight would be nonstop action and Margarito has a very good chance IMO>

 

Riiiight...Your CINTRON PreDICKtion Fooled EVERYBODY...Margarita's Pugilistic JESUS...


REED

 

The only abberration in that fight was Toney, IMO.

I think it's a similar case with Cotto, tonight.

Cotto didn't respect Gomez and didn't have to. He was switching southpaw early like he didn't care about anything Gomez was bringing to the table. He had everything his own way in there.

He may be a young fighter, but he's been a pro for seven years and even go back to the earliest pro fight I saw of him - his second pro fight - you could tell the kid just had a ton of talent. I was convinced from seeing him live then that he was 'the goods' so to talk like he's just now developing some aspects seems a bit off.

I do believe that what Lampley saying about his confidence since the Judah and Mosley fights may well be true but that's more mental, I think.

Maybe the Mosley fight was sorta like his Matrix moment.

Regardless, though, a Gomez fight is not the accurate barometer, IMO.

 

Interesting note from Kevin Iole's post-fight article:

"If the Nevada Athletic Commission changes a regulation and allows welterweights to wear eight-ounce gloves instead of 10-ounce gloves, as it has mandated since 2006, then the bout will be in Las Vegas.

Otherwise, it will wind up in New York or Atlantic City."

 

It would make little sense to stage it in Atlantic City, IMO.

MSG would be hell for Margarito though.

 

Yeah, I don't think the AC Boardwalk has the same kind of capacity as MSG.

I can't see this fight going to Vegas, given that Cotto has never headlined a major event in that city and this fight's in July. Maybe if it was in the fall.

 

Who cares if he never headlined in Vegas? It would sell out regardless. They can have the fight where they want. It's all about the highest bidder.

 

The bids are based in some part on how a fight's expected to sell, and Cotto is a much more proven attraction at MSG, and the ticket sales of Cotto-Margarito will be reliant upon Cotto's fan base of East Coast/Puerto Rican fans that come out en masse to MSG.

Las Vegas in July isn't usually the best month for a major pay per view event.

 

Anyone give me a link to the Margarito v Cintron fight? PM? Anything? :dunno:

 

I haven't seen any links yet, may not be up til tommorrow.

 

Shitty.

 

Oops. I thought it was about Cotto vs PBF, and Cotto saying that he wouldn't fight PBF in Vegas. I read it somewhere and that was in my mind when I responded.::

 

Woops, Re-read the prediction thread,.., you've jumped the gun, a good hour or two before the fight started, I told Illuminati to stop being such a knip, and re-arrange my picks to Cotto KO 1, and Margarito UD. I did think Cintron would put up a much better fight though.

 

dsimon writes:

Well we just will agree to disagree about the second Peter fight. Ditto for how much a fighter can get better and develop under the right program.

A gimme fight imo serves a legit purpose. It lets a fighter try out things against a guy who he has a margin of safety against, under real combat conditions (sport conditions really). When you get mentally comfortable doing something you can execute in the ring.

 

I'm not disputing whether a fighter can change and develop under a new program. I'm questioning whether or not this was an example of it.

To elaborate, if anything, I think the Mosley fight may have been the occasion to convince him that he may not be able to beat every opponent the same way. The same style that worked against Quintana and Judah didn't have the same results against Mosley. That realization, if it happened, may be responsible for last night's performance than the training camp. That, and he had a perfect opponent in the ring to do whatever he wanted with. He was so far superior than Gomez he could have done whatever he wanted to...and won the fight in any number of ways...perhaps part of the reason he turned and fought as a southpaw so much. It seemed pretty dismissive of Gomez as a fighter. If that's the case, that he did learn from the Mosley fight, then it's an important lesson for him to learn and one that will serve him well. But that doesn't mean he didn't possess the ability to do so before November or last night.

 

dsimon writes:

I don't know why you want to split hairs.

Cotto is still in a part of his learning curve reserved for young fighters. He has actively employed more weapons the last few fights. He did not have to fight the way he did against Mosley either, remember that, he was winning that fight and made a conscious decision to change tactics, but it was not for lack of success.

The point to me is that Cotto right now is an improved fighter, he is better and can do more things naturally and comfortably in the ring than before. This is as should be.

 

I may be splitting hairs, it's just that your opinion of Cotto seemed much lower before last night's fight than it is after.