Since the failed “Fight of the Century” between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, the sport of boxing has had some good, exciting fights but has lacked a true high-profile bout. That will change this weekend when boxing superstars Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez meet in the ring for Cotto’s lineal crown and the WBC World Middleweight Championship.
The bout will feature two of the premiere boxer-punchers in the sport, as well as one of the most storied boxing rivalries: Puerto Rico vs Mexico. Though born in Rhode Island, Cotto (40-4-0, 33 KO) was born to Puerto Rican parents and has lived on the island since he was two years-old. He took the reigns as the pride of Puerto Rico once former multi-division champion Felix “Tito” Trinidad walked away from the sport. Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KO) was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and followed Mexican-American superstar Oscar De La Hoya as the boxing icon of Mexico. You can expect Cotto vs Alvarez to be mentioned alongside bouts like De La Hoya vs Trinidad, Trinidad vs Fernando Vargas, Julio Cesar Chavez vs Hector Camacho and Salvador Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez.
The greedy WBC threw a small wrinkle in the bout after stripping Cotto of his World Middleweight Championship title earlier this week. Cotto felt the $300k sanctioning fee was too steep for his pocketbook, after shelling out $800k in step-aside money to “GGG” Gennady Golovkin in order to make the bout happen. According to numerous sources, he petitioned the sanctioning body to cut the sanctioning fee in half (something the WBC has done for Mayweather, Pacquiao and others), but his request was denied. Now, should Alvarez win, he will be awarded the vacated belt. Should Cotto win, Golovkin, the interim champion, will be elevated to full champion status. Sound confusing? It is. It’s also unnecessary for a fighter of Cotto’s stature, who is still recognized as The Ring (and lineal) champion. It’s just sad that Cotto didn’t realize it until he already broke Golovkin off a fat check. Still, with an expected total purse of around $30M, I don’t expect to see Cotto flipping burgers anytime soon.
In the ring, the two fighters matchup very well and should provide and exciting bout. Though he is the middleweight champion, Cotto will be the smaller man in the ring, but has better overall boxing skills. Cotto has always been underrated as a tactician due to the devastation and carnage routinely caused by his left hook. Cotto’s footwork, timing and ability to stay just out of range is impressive. Historically though, he was struggled when matched up against bigger and stronger fighters. That wasn’t the case when he faced Sergio Martinez for the middleweight crown in June of 2014. Cotto walked through Martinez, surprising many.
Unlike the shopworn Martinez, Alvarez is in his prime. Though he is 10 years younger than his opponent, Alvarez actually has three more fights than the champion. Early in his career, he likely fought plenty of cashiers, bouncers and yoga instructors, but for the past three or four years, Alvarez has fought top-level competition, with his only L coming at the hands of Mayweather. Alvarez is coming off two fights from very different fighters. His controversial 2014 bout against Erislandy Lara pitted him against a defense-first fighter, while his May fight versus James Kirkland was an all-out war for the three rounds that it lasted.
To defeat Cotto, Alvarez will have to summon the skills he learned in both fights. Cotto will test his chin, midsection, feet and his heart. While the number of professional bouts are similar, the fact that Cotto has been fighting at a world-class level for more than a decade means the 35-year-old grizzled champion has much more wrinkles in his game. However, he also has been in more wars and has more mileage than his 25-year-old opponent. Cotto has admitted that his career will soon be coming to an end. He wants a few more big wins and big paydays to cement his legacy and his bank account.
So who wins? As you can probably tell, I have been having a tough time picking a winner for this bout. The more highly-skilled fighter is older with one foot already out of the door. The younger fighter has plenty of talent, but has shown himself to be less effective against skilled tacticians, as evidenced by his loss to Mayweather and tough victories versus the likes of Lara and Austin Trout. Like Cotto though, Alvarez’s boxing skills are underrated. He’s a smart, well-rounded fighter who hits like a mack truck. In this 12-round fight, I’m going to take the younger, Canelo Alvarez by a 10th round stoppage in an exciting fight.
Drowsy Rousey got what she deserved
In MMA news, UFC superstar Ronda Rousey lost her first bout due to a vicious head kick suffered at the hands…er…feet of former professional boxer Holly Holm. While I am a fan of Rousey, fans suggesting that she only lost due to a semi-shady kick are out of their minds. Holm systematically beat Rousey down during their match. In a fight that reignited the debate about boxing vs MMA, Hom’s standup game was head and shoulders above Rousey’s. Why Rousey decided to try to trade punches with a former boxing champion is a mystery.
Actually, no it’s not. Rousey’s head simply got too big based off the impressive 12-0 start to her career. She could be seen on every talk show, every magazine cover and relentlessly bashed Mayweather in a back-and-forth social media beef. She should have been spending more time in the gym and more time preparing a game plan to try to submit Holm, her best chance of victory. Instead, Rousey got so full of herself, that she even refused to touch gloves, as is customary between fights. Instead of getting mad, Holm got even by battering her opponent around the ring. Even if it weren’t for the head kick, keep in mind that Holm had just dropped Rousey to the mat with a left hand and at that point, it was only a matter of time before Rousey was put to sleep.
Hopefully Rousey’s taste of humble pie has taught her a valuable lesson and she can come back stronger than ever.
Follow Ishmael on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk
