Cotto Drops Yuri: Now What?

Don't read too much into Miguel Cotto's victory over Yuri Foreman last Saturday, 5 June 2010. Although Cotto dropped him and stopped him in the 9th round, the threat level presented by Foreman wasn't high enough to say "Cotto's back." Let's just say "he's on the way back."

This fight was no gimme and Cotto was by no means a lock to win. I thought the choice of Foreman was way too ambitious for Miguel in his first fight back after suffering a brutal KO loss at the hands of Phillipine-sensation Manny Pacquiao last November. After a war like the one he lost to Manny, I would have matched him against a tin can to help him regain his confidence, but Miguel himself rejected the idea of fighting a lesser name opponent. So he signed his name on the dotted line to fight Yuri.

Yuri was not only the bigger man, he was the reigning junior middleweight champion. Cotto would not only have to move up in weight after just losing to a smaller man, he would have to face another world champion, and an undefeated, highly skilled boxer that moves a lot. The risks seemed too high; the probability of victory seemed remote. Given that Cotto had lost two of his last four fights by KO, he was considered damaged goods. The only knock against Yuri was his powder puff punch. He entered the ring at Yankee Stadium on fight night with a record of 28-0, but only 8 KOs.

Yuri Foreman's movement provided the key to his survival in the early rounds, and his undoing near the end. Unlike Muhammad Ali in his prime, Yuri's movement was strictly defensive. Whereas Ali used movement to set up his offense, Yuri used movement to disengage and avoid punches. When Yuri was ready to fire, he stopped moving. When he aggravated a pre-existing knee injury in the seventh, he couldn't move. In effect, he lost his ability to defend himself, and Cotto began connecting more frequently.

After the injury, the fight boiled down to how much punishment Foreman could absorb as he hobbled around the ring on one good leg. As it turned out, he took two more rounds worth. In round 9, Cotto dropped his opponent with a vicious left hook to the body, and referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stepped in and mercifully halted the contest. Although Miguel looked good up to this point, the fight was inconclusive because it was the injury that cost Foreman the fight.

What's next for Miguel Cotto? He should fight again before the end of the year, but he should avoid the elite junior middleweights until late next year. Hopefully, Yuri Foreman has a rematch clause because Cotto doesn't need another war right now. He's had too many wars already. His fight against Zab Judah was a war; his fight with Shane Mosley was a war; Antonio Margarito took him to war; Manny Pacquiao bombed the hell out of him; even Joshua Clottey took him into the trenches in a losing effort. His next fight should pit him against someone like Sergio Moira. Sergio has a following from the Contender Series, he's a former champion at junior middle, and he's another light puncher. Paul Williams, Kermit Cintron, and a rematch against Pac Man are out of the question right now.

Let Cotto make some easy money for awhile. I think he's earned that right.

Next, listen to the first chapter of Stonheart Bx at
http://www.stoneheartbx.com