[BigG]

Who wins?

[Hops]

This will be a boxing match. I think Cotto wins. I know people will say that guys who beat Cotto are those come-forward power punching granite-chinned machines.

[BrutalBodyShots]

Marquez by stoppage, probably on cuts.

Cotto being the naturally bigger guy does well for the first half of the fight... probably an even fight on the cards after 6 or Cotto even up a point due to a knockdown of Marquez with a left hook. The second half of the fight I say is all Marquez with him constantly snapping Cotto's head back with great combinations. By the 10th or 11th Cotto is in his usual "I've taken too much punishment and am going to stay in retreat mode" while Marquez presses forward the way we saw in the final round last Saturday. If Cotto is able to stay on his feet for the last few rounds without getting stopped, Marquez wins 116-112, 115-112 if he gets knocked down once.

[mexi-cutioner]

Cotto wins this. At this point in his career, and judging from the Mayweather bout, Marquez has NO business fighting higher than 135 or 140.

[streetlion1]

The fight shouldnt happen because Marquez doesnt belong at 147. I would pick Cotto by K.O. I dont think Marquez would stand up to the power but he would land some nice shots on Cotto also.....but I dont think he can hurt Cotto.

Cotto jabs and bullies the smaller man and eventually stops him by going to his body.

This post has been edited by streetlion1: Nov 29 2010, 10:47 AM

[EpTXCHAMP]

There are reasons why boxing has weight classes this would be one of them although precise with his punches Marq is too small Cotto by late K.o after wearing him down and pressuring him to the finish

[BrutalBodyShots]

Cotto wins this. At this point in his career, and judging from the Mayweather bout, Marquez has NO business fighting higher than 135 or 140.

Cotto isn't Mayweather. Not even close. I'm not sure why everyone is judging Marquez based on the Mayweather fight. Cotto would look just as bad at 147 against Mayweather, and probably get stopped late against him where Marquez didn't. Does that mean Cotto "has no business" at 147? Obviously not. Baldomir and Mosley also got shut out (or in Mosley's case won a single round) against Mayweather. Does that mean those guys shouldn't be fighting at 147 either?

[BrutalBodyShots]

I guess I'm on my own with taking Marquez in this potential matchup, lol. Big G, what do you think? You started the topic but didn't give your breakdown...

Here's a little more of an in depth look at my reasoning and why I think Marquez would win this.

Sure Cotto is the bigger, stronger guy... here's the problem though. When Cotto was at 140 and undefeated, to me he seemed like a much better fighter than he is today in terms of muscling around his opponent, doing work on the inside, landing brutal body shots, and showing he was the bigger, stronger guy. Since going to 147 he's fought 4 top opponents... and went 2-2 in those fights, and the 2 wins were razor thin, arguable losses in Mosley and Clottey. The argument can be made that he's 0-4 against his last top 4 opponents... but regardless of that he's taken 2 big beatings in those 4 fights and a decent amount of damage in the other 2. Not a good thing for longevity.

Cotto in all of these fights, generally speaking has gone more to pure boxing than grinding his opponent out of there. Maybe the "give and take" style doesn't suit him any longer having being badly stopped twice? Who knows. He's found the most success when establishing his jab and boxing... like against Mosley, in the first few rounds against Pacquiao, when he was out of harms way against Margarito, etc. I think Cotto has become a fighter that simply doesn't like to get hit so this style suits him better. And for good reason, he's good at it. He won rounds against all of the above top fighters by using a great jab and decent movement.

NOW, Marquez in my view is the most superior boxer Cotto would have faced... he has a better jab, fundamentals and counter punching skills than Cotto's previous opponents. I think Marquez' skills would negate a lot of what Cotto does in there. Where Cotto was winning rounds fairly clearly against those other guys they'd be contested on more even terms against Marquez because Marquez is a better pure boxer. This is why I say they'd fight on nearly even terms for the first half of the fight. This is the half where I feel it would be more technical.

HOWEVER, if Cotto did fight like he did back at 140 and come in there trying to put the hurt on Marquez, I think he'd have a much better shot. My feeling though is if he did go against his natural desire to box more as of late and try to force a brawl with Marquez that Marquez' resiliency and tenacity at least for the first 5-6 rounds would be more than enough to deter Cotto from continuing with this game plan. Sure Cotto may trap Marquez on the ropes a handful of times in say round 2-4, but at these times I think Marquez gives at least as good as he gets... and with greater resiliency I think it deters Cotto back to a safer, boxing style... which then kind of takes away his main advantage of being the bigger, stronger guy.

Everyone picking Cotto above picks him because they say Marquez is too small for 147... and no doubt Marquez would be outweighed by 15 pounds on fight night against Cotto. My take on it though is that if Cotto doesn't (or can't sustain) fight as the bigger, stronger guy and he gives up that advantage it's back to a battle of the boxers.

Like I said previously, Cotto does well with this so it would be competitive... but Marquez' superior counter punching and most important combination punching I think overall he gets the better of it. Over the course of the fight I see this swelling Cotto's eyes and as we've seen lately making him bleed. While he's not as strong of a puncher as Cotto's recent opponents, Marquez is certainly just as sharp/accurate if not more than those guys so cuts are a near definite case on Cotto in my view. This is how I see the fight possibly getting stopped late.

I actually think today's Cotto at 147 has a tougher time against Marquez than the old Cotto at 140 based on Cotto's change in style coupled with the damage he's taken in the last few years.

Bottom line is this fight comes down to a great little man verses a good big man in my opinion.

This post has been edited by BrutalBodyShots: Nov 29 2010, 05:08 PM

[TheFonz]

It would look like juanma vs rafael marquez.

[BrutalBodyShots]

It would look like juanma vs rafael marquez.

Nah... I don't think it's fair to compare Cotto who's lost via 2 beatings/stoppages to a guy that's undefeated and taken far less damage.