self managed fighters such as bhop, roy jones and floyd mayweather do not rely on matchmakers and promoters (like pac and toprank) to pick their opposition because they are special talents that are capable of doing that on their own. it's a huge part of their success.

roy had his deal with hbo....and as a result we got to see him dominate over matched opposition for years. guys i never heard of like glenn kelly or the police officer that sold the bottom of his shoes for advertisement...and guys way past their primes like pazienza who had absolutely no business at super middle. he did some amazing things against those no-hopers. then he went up in weight and fought ruiz. prior to that though...he was avoiding his mandatory opponent, antonio tarver. everyone thought tarver would be killed by roy, myself included. tarver had to fight to be the mandatory twice. he knew something we didn't. roy didn't want any part of tarver. tarver called him out at the press conference for jones/ruiz and the world was shocked. the first fight happened and roy squeaked out victory and had a ton of excuses for winning. then the rematch happened. we all remember that.

bhop has been thee master at picking his opposition. he prides himself for "doing it his way" for all of these years. he's beat some great opposition along the way too! his best wins came against guys no one thought he could beat....tarver, pavlik and more recently....pascal. the potential opponent that no one paid attention to was dawson. a lot of fans feel bhop was avoiding dawson....but many more felt it was the right thing to do because after all...he wasn't a draw and dawson lost to pascal. and he looked like crap in his fight prior to hopkins. no way dawson belongs in the ring with bhop. then came the fight at the staples center where i believed bhop faked injury to get out of an inevitable ass whoopin. that theory was proven right imo after this past weekend when bad chad put it on bhop for several rounds in a fight that was more one sided than all of his losses combined.

notice the pattern? fighter picks opponents...he shines. forced to fight an opponent...no so much.

which brings me to floyd mayweather. arguably the most brilliant fighter of his time. he was voted fighter of the year in '98 and then again in '08. that alone is a huge accomplishment. but let's be honest....since his move up from 135....he has been picking and choosing his opposition in the same fashion as rjj and bhop and he's been shining. now....he's been forced to settle for miguel cotto because he has run out of options. on the surface it would appear that he chose miguel...but the honest truth is he didn't have any other options that would pay as much. so now...he's forced into this match that he chose to avoid when he retired after the hatton fight. will the pattern repeat? i think so.

i am now going on record....cotto is going to be the first fighter to beat floyd.

(then next month...when pac faces bradley...he's also going to lose. that doesn't apply here because pac isn't self managed. )

Do you think if Jones fought target instead of moving up to heavyweight he would of won with his chin intact rather than that KO

ALL of this...just to say that Cotto will be victorious on May 5th...Classic! Good stuff!

I like the breakdown, I really do.

RJJ: You're absolutely right, Jones fought a bunch of unknowns and so forth. It wasn't such a bad thing (in the viewer's mind) because he looked so good doing it. Fighters usually get passes when they defeat unknown/past prime fighters in a "highlight worthy" fashion.

When he ran into Tarver (which Im sure his pride got him into that situation), we saw something different. Like you said, in a way, he had to fight Tarver.

Hopkins: Correct, his biggest wins came against guys that he wasn't supposed to beat. Even when he lost fights, he made sure his opponents didn't "look so great" when their hands were raised in the end.

As for the Dawson fight (as you said), he didn't really have anyone else left to fight at LHW. There weren't huge height, arm length, and weight advantages for Dawson, but his style gave Bernard problems. If Hopkins was avoiding Dawson because of money, gate sales, PPV buys,etc...then he had reason enough to do so. Wouldn't you?

Dude has been on grandfather time for the longest, so I cant blame him for waiting it out. You would think that after all this time, Dawson would have done more to make himself more of an attraction, but he continued to beg for a Hopkins fight and say that "he's scared". Sergio Martinez seems to be having the same problem.

Mayweather: Im not so sure that I would say he's been picking and choosing opponents after 135, because if memory serves me correctly, he wasn't a free agent until after the Judah fight, which of course was at WW in 2006.

I agree that he's out of opponents at this point, at least until after some of these currently scheduled WW bouts take place. Too bad he didn't have that much time to pick a guy, but hell, that's what step-aside money is for.

I cant even say that he avoided Miguel after he fought Hatton and retired, let's remember that Cotto was THE top fighter at TR, and Floyd was about a year removed from his TR contract that he bought out of, which Im sure fueled the Mayweather/Arum feud.

Think about it, if Floyd cant even do business with Arum now (5 years after the fact), then imagine how touchy that situation would've been back then.

Im with your theory about these fighters though, Cotto could very well be the guy to pull it off. I swear these betting odds are getting wider and wider, which could be a possible of something backwards happening.

good question! there's a chance jones wins more convincingly in the first fight and the rematch never happens. problem is...u don't have a specially modified delorean with a flux capacitor and 1.21 jigowatts. so...we're only left to speculate.

thanks man. i felt i had to make it interesting to be taken seriously. otherwise i'm just tossing out words.

you're right about mayweather but the theory still stands. whatever the circumstances surrounding mayweather not fighting cotto...the fact remains...he has run out of options for big paydays. cotto is being forced on him. the odds makers rarely get it wrong. i'm thinking this may be one of those rare occasions.

cotto has to do some things to make the victory possible. he has to force the fight in spots and make floyd uncomfortable. he has to put money in the bank by landing good shots to the body and shoulders to set up the head shots. he cannot fall into a pattern or stand in front of floyd. if he can do this in the first half of the fight...then victory is his for the taking. if he doesn't establish this early...and often...floyd is going to dominate him.

Cant say I agree with you Professor. RJJ maybe...but B-Hop ? Floyd out of opposition ? Floyd being FORCED into fighting Cotto? I don't think so. He knows what hes doing.

Don't over-hype Cotto.

Im about 50/50 with this post, check it out...

Mayweather WAS out of opponents at the time that he signed for this fight, simply because everyone else was tied up. Cotto was coming off of the "biggest win of his career", so Im sure Floyd struck the iron while it was hot.

Honestly, I will make this statement, and Im sure someone can vouch for the fact that Floyd knew he was fighting Cotto months before we even knew about it. True statement...

He picked him after that "big victory", unlike Manny, who picked him after a war with Clottey, a not so impressive TKO over Jennings, and months before that...a nasty beatdown at the hands Plasterito. In the present case, Cotto was picked after a decent string of wins, and a BIG revenge fight...same happened when he picked Ortiz.

So, Floyd was forced into a "money fight" with Cotto, who everybody remembers recently beating Margarito. I agree that Floyd's been on pins and needles promoting this fight because he cant completely sell Miguel short, due to the past beatings that he took, ESPECIALLY at the hands of the guy that people are pissing about him fighting (MP).

So again, I agree with the fact that he was out of "marketable opposition" at the time, and he KNEW what he was doing when he picked Cotto, but let's not sell Miguel short either. As we all know, the greats will go down at some point of their career, and an "already overlooked Cotto" may be the one to pull it off. Who knows though...

I don't see how the fuck Tarver beats Jones had he (Jones) stayed at 168-175 instead of going to HW and moving back down.

You got some valid points. I am sure Floyd knew hes going to fight Cotto months before us. Also, I can agree on the fact that Floyd is running out of opponents but on the other hand, can you blame him? He beat almost every marketable fighter of his era (I am not talking about Pacquiao- I don't care) plus it is partially a fault of all the fighters not knowing how to make themselves viable for a shot and hoping that everything will fall into their lap -> Khan bs. Floyd is about money, if you don't make numbers, well..gtfo. Of course there are fighters that he should have fought or should fight, but again...EVERY fighter has this situation going. I am sure as hell you would find a name that's missing on Ali's resume, or on SRL's.

You know where I stand in this whole Mayweather/Cotto discussion. I can't wait to already see the result of this fight and finally have a meaningful conversation about it. I am tired of theory-crafting surrounding this fight. Just don't over-hype and overtheorize, guys. We will soon know what's what.

Again, good stuff. Some people have to realize that getting that big fight and winning it (Floyd vs Oscar), puts a fighter in a different position, especially one like Mayweather who wasn't such a huge draw before the Oscar fight. Now, beating Oscar gave him a big boost, so going back and fighting like P. Willy and few other lesser known guys back then, wouldn't have done much.

To think about it, fighting those guys before the Oscar fight may have gotten him more credit, but Im not sure if it would've pointed him in the direction of a De La Hoya fight. I certainly think that a Khan/Mayweather fight would've done some decent numbers, due to Khan's marketability, but he blew the Peterson fight.

I wouldn't say that me and Professor are over-hyping Cotto, but guys have given Cotto no chance in this fight. As boxing fans, we should know that ANY guy can be beaten on ANY given day, by ANY given fighter. Sometimes guys look at Floyd's record and what he's done in previous fights, and automatically give him the W.

It's hard to deny his skills, but that "one punch" awaits every fighter, regardless of skills and records. For the biggest upsets we've seen in boxing, all it takes is an overlooked guy with the discipline to execute a gameplan, simple as that.

The same happened with Roy when he stepped into the ring with Tarver both times. Tarver was executing in the first fight, but the second fight was an "execute or bust" affair. Roy was able to fight whoever he wanted over the years because he SO impressive in the ring and was a great trashtalker, but again, a guy like Tarver was the least bit phased by it.

The same goes for Hopkins, though I'd give him more credit for his opposition over the years, especially at MW. He wasn't supposed to pull it off against most of those guys (according to unqualified observers), but he did.

One guy that wasn't phased by his trash talk and veteran tactics, was of course Chad Dawson (the second time around). The given theory in this thread could prove correct, but we will have to see. As you saw all of the examples, they eventually led to the same result.

The only "conversation worthy" factors of this fight's results would be, either, Mayweather giving Cotto the "Gatti treatment", or Cotto pulling off the upset. Floyd is "supposed" to win this fight, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he will. The biggest topic of discussion is Cotto winning this fight.

i don't expect everyone to agree. this is just something that has crossed my mind. i love the fact that i can come to a forum to discuss topics like these and get sooo many different perspectives from ppl who also force me to reconsider my line of thought sometimes. it's refreshing. if we all thought alike, this world would be a boring place.

yes...bhop. outside of his 20 defenses...and the mandatory no-hopers...he's been picking and choosing since he moved up in weight.

maybe forced is a strong word for floyd/cotto...but what other options does/did he have that would make him the kind of money this fight will generate? i stand by that one.

i don't think i'm over-hyping cotto. i just think sometimes they get it wrong...and the more i see and hear...the more i am starting to believe floyd is getting this one wrong. his tirade yesterday is another sign imo. it's all speculation though. none of this is an exact science.

well said!

i don't think anyone is arguing that.

Man, you are good!
I agree with you and I see what you mean. I am not denying any of Cotto's abilities and trust me, I have so much respect for the guy! Ali was telling to everyone that he is not going to get hit by Frazier and look at how the first fight went. One of the sweetest spots of boxing seeing him (Ali) lying on his ass. Mainly because of that I am aware of the fact that for every fighter there is a punch waiting.

My thing is, that I just really trust and believe in Floyd's skills in this fight. Seeing his latest interviews here on fighthype further strengthened my opinion on the outcome of the fight. He is in such a great mental state...you may say interviews and such things are not a viable factor based on which to judge a fighter, but to me it leaks confidence. And I like the confidence maybe the most about Floyd. And that's why I am picking him.

I don't see anyone coming even remotely close to his skill set. Of course there are fighters with tremendous talent getting beat up/KOd by lesser opposition and for that reason I got what you are saying and can't wait to see how Cotto handles it. He deserves this shot, opportunity and victory more than anyone, given what hes been through.

i'm right there with u! can't wait!

as for the overtheorizing....i've been accused of that more than once. it's what i do.

thanks for putting it all into perspective. good shit.

it's done the opposite for me.

as a coach...i look for patterns...and changes in patterns. i saw them when jones was making excuses for his victory against tarver in the first fight. i saw them when bhop chose not to do the face off and stare down against chad. and now i'm seeing them in the form of all the respect floyd has paid to cotto prior to this match. calling him a silent killer....commenting that he is willing to die against cotto....and just totally over looking cotto and ranting about pacquaio instead of the opponent directly in front of him this saturday. sure...there's a possibility all of this means nothing. but from my perspective...it's too much to ignore.

If i did i probably wouldn't go back that far, maybe ill go back and buy a lottery ticket

Didn't he say 'You are next Pacquiao' before the Mosley or Ortiz (Can't remember) fight too ? You really do like theorizing, huh ? There is too much to ignore but at the same time, Floyd is too smart to over-look Cotto. I really don't know what else to say Let's at least agree on having different opinions until the fight actually happens, shall we?

Yeah I saw the video of the rants...comical, but not good timing. I would prefer to see it after the fight, but hell, a little added frustration makes for a better fight. As for b-Hop, let's not forget he chose to not do a Face-Off segment with Dawson, which did him no favors in selling the fight.

To me, that was sign that he wanted his potential loss to be the least bit promoted and kept on a low profile. Im sure that he didn't want to get people excited for a fight that he was more than likely going to lose.

I take it that you haven't seen the rant video yet, maybe? He was either super-frustrated with the Pacquiao situation, or he was just feeling himself...Im hoping that it's the latter.

Did I miss anything?! Feel free to fill me in. Although I can tell you right away that I think people tend to misinterpret Floyd's lack of education and verbal skills as frustration sometimes. (Not saying you are the case)

Have I already said that I hate this theory-crafting?

Nah, I could just tell that he was frustrated with the Pacquiao questions, and I believe that this rant came at a bad time. Maybe, maybe not, but it would be cool if he just focused on Miguel in the meantime.

Anyway, this may bits and pieces from videos posted on the front page, but I wouldn't know since I haven't watched them in full. Here it is though...

To be honest - and I am being completely objective here, I don't see anything new/frustrated or whatever with this. It's classic Money May to me. Not a good thing to get used to, I admit but still, classic 24/7 style Mayweather.

Thanks for the vid, mate.

Mate??? Mate?! Oh God! Two questions...Where are you from (Im guessing somewhere in the UK)? Second...good Lord! What time is it over there?

good thinking!

yeah..he did say that. but he hardly mentioned the guys name afterwards. he's showing cotto waaay more respect than any previous opponent. when have u ever heard mayweather say he is willing to die in the ring? if anything, he's said the complete opposite. when has he ever given a compliment like "he's a silent killer" ? i cannot recall anything like that before a fight. i may be wrong. i'll agree to disagree. again...it's all speculation and harmless.

for the record...my original pick was floyd by decision, but i've always felt this was going to be the toughest fight of floyds career. i've seen too much to ignore which is a huge part of the reason i am now switching my pick. 60% of the time...i get it right all of the time! i know it works because it has real panther bits.

according to iole...no one even asked manny pacquiao questions to provoke this rant.

i wasn't there...so i don't know.

Aw shit, here we go again...


The fact that you even referenced Iole's name, is a kick in the pants. When Floyd went off, it was dudes in the room that looked like their asses were hurt. Some of them had that, "Aw man, who got this guy started" look on their faces.

i love floyd....but he is in very desperate need of a good pr person who can filter the questions and answers for him. he really does a great job at making himself look/sound bad.

for the record...i think floyd is making pac look greater than he is. i don't believe pac is using. i believe his success is the direct result of very careful matchmaking and non-disclosed contractual stipulations that prohibit a fighter from totally rehydrating on fight night. of course this is speculation on my part...but i believe that to be highly more likely than the p.e.d thing. a careful look at both guys rise through weight divisions shows that neither one of their rise in weight came over night.

Man I wish I was from the UK. My English would be much better if I really was British. Unfortunately I am not. I am from Czech republic (Even I don't know where it is, don't worry about it) but I currently study in the UK so good guess after all

It's 8:30 pm btw!

And let me put it this way - I give Cotto a shot, but I believe Floyd's 'tad bit' superior skills will make the difference - No matter what he says, how he acts or what happens during the pre-fight hype!

He showed Augustus, Hernandez and Marquez a lot of respect too.

You get huge points in my book for the Brian Fantana reference lmaooooooo

in the video he keeps going on about his health and his health and blatantly accusing pac of using PEDs, that's not the problem it's the fact that he thinks Pac could hurt him, whys he all of a sudden so worried about his health? Say Pac wasn't on anything and it was proved and he was steamrolling guys, wouldn't it seem Mayweather is very wary of his power, he kept going on as if he got in the ring with Pac and there was no extra testing something terrible would happen.

Maybe it's just me...

he showed augustus respect after the fact...i agree. don't recall prefight. i don't remember lead up to the fight with famoso either. marquez....yeah. now that u mention it....it may be about the language barrier as someone else suggested.

that is a classic!!!

no, it's not just u. he probably doesn't mean it that way....but that's what it sounds like. that's why he needs a pr person. he's making pac sound like a some unbeatable beast. i don't see it that way. i think he's very beatable...even if he was on p.e.d's. i'm not as impressed as everyone else with his run when u consider all the facts.

i know how he beat a lot of his opponents i mean the stipulations, wether it was a catchweight or a damaged fighter like Hatton, and he is very beatable, but i see more chance for Bradley to win, with all the stuff going on that he's not training properly etc etc.

i'm looking at it from a technical standpoint as well. i think bradley has the skillset to give him more than a run for his money.

Totally agree with Floyd needing some better PR advice or something. Seems to me that Roger and Floyd Snr have heavily influenced Floyd's rationale on Manny's recent success and achievements... That's the impression I get anyway, those 2 out of everyone hold the most authority on the actual fighting part of boxing in Floyd's mind- I'd imagine... Personally, I think Snr's view from Hatton's corner of THAT bang caused Snr buy into the hype of the "Pac-monster". He decided that Manny's seemingly dramatic improvement wasn't natural and concluded he must be on something to come from such a low weight, losses and draws to putting the smack down on ODLH and Hatton.

That viewpoint seems to have fully permeated the Mayweather camp. Thing is, as DaProf was saying, Manny's "impressive" run when analysed can be attributed way more to smart opponent selection, favourable catchweights, and dubious in-house fights *cough* Clottey *cough* than any kind of PED enchanced superhuman abilities. I mean, dude is clearly beatable, so if he's on PEDS he needs some more. If you doubt that, just watch his last fight. So Floyd and his camp's continued insistence that Manny's juicing just straight up sounds like fear now. Which to me is inexplicable, couple that with the statements he's making about his future health and welfare, well that is just ammo for the Pactard faithful really... Someone needs to tell him, like for real. Manny might be on PEDS, but that doesn't seem to be the determining factor in his wins.

As for this whole "forced into the Cotto fight" topic you guys are discussing... Wasn't the Mosely fight "forced" on Floyd? I mean that only came about because Manny left Floyd with no dance partner and Shane became available via earthquake. If anyone was gonna be Floyd's "tarver moment", it was Shane imo. The fact it nearly happened in the 2nd round convinces me further. I mean, dude KO'd mr unKO-able Margacheato so we knew he had the punch. Everything just seemed like it was all perfectly aligned for Mayweather to lose that 0... Then he just did what he does and dealt with it... I've always maintained that if anyone's gonna spark Floyd it's gonna be with a over hand right. Only punch I've seen land consistently (well as consistent as it gets with him) by fighters when he mis-times the shoulder roll. Now Shane carried power in that particular punch, so I was mad nervous when that match up was made. I just don't feel that with Cotto, his right aint doing much imo. Of course, this is boxing, you never know.. Miguel might catch him slipping and just body him... However I'm expecting a fairly dominant performance from Floyd on Sat, I went for TKO victory in the Poll?!

u could include shanes fight on that "forced" thing...but i never really thought shane had a chance because he's never had a jab. plus he always loses to superior boxers...ie....forrest, winky, cotto. that's not to say he didn't have a chance at all. i thought if it was going to happen it had to be a big shot early. i called his victory over margarito as well. i knew that the cotto fight took a lot out of margarito and that shane would finish what cotto started. i didn't think it would be as one sided as it was though.

cotto...it's a different scenario. i agree his right hand isn't as good as shanes but it is very respectable. he brings a bunch of different things to the table than shane. for one...he can fight going backwards. he's also very good at setting up shots and creating openings...especially to the body. and last...he's a pretty good counter puncher himself. i think cotto has a much better chance of pulling off the upset than mosley had. we'll find out this weekend.

End of the day, scared or not, if you are fighting someone n risking ur life, its needs to be certain that everyone is on equsl playing terms. Barry Bonds n Roger Clemons juicing only effects the record books. Boxing is totally different. Even if Floyd wipes the floor with Manny, he could suffer a serious injury. End of the day, ppl think Cotto got redemption with Magarito but in reality only his fans did. Cotto may have avenged the lost but Magarito is still making money while Lord knows what long term effects Cotto will end up with. Furthermore, you guys do realize its Floyds lack of a filter that sells PPVs right? The real problem is the media has tons of this footage, but they pussy out when it comes to asking Manny tough questions. Nobody says, hey how cone Arum bitched about an outdoor stadium but you are fighting in the same, exact venue for less money in June?

True... But what I'm saying is Floyd's whole basis for better testing is predicated on the fact that he believes Manny's success is due to PED use. I disagree, I think it's down to other aforementioned things. I'm all for better testing and just overall regulation in boxing, however I just don't think Manny is juicing. Now if Floyd had been insisting on OSDT for a while, or at least been vocal on the subject pre-Pacquiao time, his health and safety concerns would look more like a conscious effort to improve the sport as opposed to the "fear of Manny" spin it's been given by many fans/media.

I hear what ur saying about Floyd's lack of filter selling the PPV, but by now I'd expect him to be a lot smarter with it. Still, if it gets him paid, who am I to tell him to change it up...

As for Cotto... I fully agree, he's a more complete fighter than Shane, and a good jab def causes Floyd some trouble. Thing is, at this point I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the only way Floyd loses is by a "tarver moment" type KO shot. Regardless of what attributes an opponent brings, I always envisage Floyd being able to overcome it over the course of 12 rounds. As I said, the only punch I've seen land that's likely to cause a 1 punch KO loss on Floyd is the overhand right. I see the jab as a key to landing it, but without sufficient power in the right it ain't happening imo... That's why I gave Shane more of a chance than I'm currently giving Cotto, although his jab is shit, his overhand right would according to Brother Nazim "KO anything that weighs 147lb", as evidenced in his fight prior to Floyd... I think Miguel will be way more competitive that Shane was, but I gave Shane more of a chance of winning due to his 1 punch over hand right... If that makes sense?!

ur preaching to the choir. i'm all for usada.

i agree about cotto not getting redemption. he shouldn't have fought the cheater imo.

the media is very biased against floyd. i would even say that much of that bias may be based in racism.

arum is arum...a lying sack of shit.

i watch the ppv's to see floyd in the ring. his lack of a filter is raw...and i can appreciate that sometimes....but it's his boxing skills that make him great not his shit talking. the world has enough of that.

problem is Floyd knows that the media is against him, he knows there are haters, but that doesn't stop him throwing more gasoline into the fire, also he says he never said MP takes PEDs but he's blatantly coming out with stuff like that it just doesn't help his case now does it. Like I said with MP you can't be the dick head and claim to be a saint, in Floyd's case you can't claim the man is on PEDs, and then go tell the Law nope never did that. Then it's no longer an issue of boxing, or business, but an issue of weak principles.

makes all the sense in the world. however, i don't believe the only way for him to lose is by a 'tarver moment.' i think miguel is going to do something we've not seen anyone do. he's going to beat the body and shoulders in an intelligent fashion. he's going to attempt to break floyd down. we've seen guys throw mindless punches at floyd and lack the intelligence or defense to deal with what comes back. hatton wasn't intelligent or defensive. shane wasn't defensive or intelligent. ortiz definitely isn't intelligent or defensive. marquez was both...but he lacked the size...and he's not capable of the same pressure that cotto is capable of bringing. again...this is all speculation...we'll find out for sure on fight night. this is why i love boxing!!!! u just never know!!! one punch can change everything.

i hear u. no matter what the case...the lawsuit was weak imo. simple way to erase all doubt. olympic boxers have been doing it for decades.

i guess this is another fight i should forget about.

yeah...but in the end, tim bradley will be the guy blamed for that fight not happening. that's another topic for another thread.

Uh oh...hope this isn't turning into a Pacquiao/Mayweather/PED thread

My two cents in this whole thing:

That vid, IMO, doesn't reinforce anything old or open my eyes to anything new. Floyd is Floyd and this vid proves it. He's egomaniacal, starving for attention, envious, hypocritical, contradicting and....oh, yeah...THE best boxer on the planet. IMO, Floyd doesn't overlook ANYONE. ANYONE. If he was going to overlook any opponent(s), it would've been JMM and/or Shane. Result: collectively, those guys won maybe 1 or 2 rounds out of 24. He's dialed in to this Cotto fight....something fierce.

That being said, I believe Cotto is a live dog in this fight, but it's going to take something he hasn't done in quite awhile: finish strong. While he has good power, he doesn't possess that automatic "buzz" power. He breaks cats down over time. "Time" is the one thing, ironically, that doesn't play in your favor in a May fight. The longer he sees what you're trying to do, the more likely he counters that and uses it against you. In addition, I think Cotto has some "cruise control" in him. I think when adversity (read: gets buzzed or hurt) sets in and he doesn't like the look of it, he'll set his ride on "cruise control" and try to let it ride. I get the Margs fight (I mean, after all, he was getting hit w/ building blocks inside a pair of gloves), but after Pac made pudding outta those legs of his (via the chin), that good ole' "Sandman" backpedal from the Apollo came out. I'm just wondering, what if HE underestimates Floyd's power and gets his "beard" checked, what then?

Cotto's left hook is the play here....if he tightens it up, it could be interesting...however, if it's wide, he's gonna have some problems....which, IMO, will surface early.

Like I said, 2 cents.