Hi Everyone,
Here's another outstanding article from Connor Ruebusch. In this one, he analyzes Miguel Cotto's masterful performance against Sergio Martinez. Since it's a pretty lengthy article, I'll break it up into two posts to accommodate it. Anyway, sit back and enjoy another insightful analysis from Connor.
Take Care,
Lito
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Outboxing a Southpaw: Miguel Cotto's Footwork Clinic
By Connor Ruebusch on Jun 12 2014
An injured knee can make a man unsteady on his feet, but so can Miguel Cotto's left hook. This is a point that seems to have been lost somewhat in the furor surrounding last Saturday's pay-per-view fight, an upset win for Cotto over middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
Cotto mollywhopped the aging champion, and there's no two ways around that. In fact, the dominant nature of Cotto's win seems to be losing him credit for what was, in reality, an incredible performance from by Puerto Rican puncher. When Cotto dropped Martinez three times in the first round, the calls of the HBO team had very little to do with his set-ups, or the power of his punches, and everything to do with Martinez's supposedly ruined knee. The vast majority of boxing fans followed suit, pointing to every one of the Argentine's wobbles as further evidence that his legs were permanently damaged.
No, Martinez never looked quite like his old self, even in the minute prior to the first knockdown and the middle rounds when he began to successfully adjust to his opponent. But Martinez also never had a chance to warm up, given that Cotto caught him cold with a series of devastating punches. And Martinez was also in against an excellently prepared opponent: Cotto's strategy was near flawless in execution, and was perfectly designed to outmaneuver a tricky southpaw like Martinez.
So, as we dive into an analysis of Cotto's strategy, keep in mind that I'm not attempting to assert that Sergio Martinez was at his best for this fight. I am merely trying to remind everyone that there were two fighters in the ring on Saturday, June 7th, and one of them was perfectly equipped to dismantle the other.
Hooking Off the Jab
The punch that won Cotto this fight was one that has always been his weapon of choice: the left hook. A natural left-hander, Cotto packs serious power in his lead hand, and his hook is responsible for most of his knockouts. Without his jab, however, he wouldn't have been able to catch Martinez with his hook so easily.
From the start of round one, Cotto showed that his intentions were to pressure Martinez with his jab. Conventional wisdom would have it that the jab is all but useless against a southpaw, and that the straight right is the preferred weapon. Orthodox boxers, they say, should strive to get their left foot outside the right foot of a southpaw opponent, closing the distance and lining up the opponent for their right hand.
But what if the southpaw doesn't let them position themselves that way? This is one of boxing's most enduring conundrums, a seemingly inescapable strategic enigma that coaches perpetuate for their unwitting wards year after year, decade after decade. One of the key reasons that southpaws tend to outbox their opponents with apparent ease (think Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara, Guillermo RIgondeaux) is that southpaws are taught to utilize every angle at their disposal no matter the opponent, while orthodox fighters are continually instructed to do only one thing: get your foot outside, throw the right hand. It doesn't take much critical thinking to see how this renders the vast majority of orthodox fighters suicidally predictable when it comes to fighting lefties. It also means that most orthodox fighters simply allow their southpaw opponents to control the inside angle, giving them a clear line of attack for their power punches.
Sergio Martinez's preferred angle
As I pointed out in my pre-fight analysis, this is the angle that Martinez habitually chases, because most of his opponents are all too ready to give it to him, whether they realize it or not. He happily circles toward his opponent's right hand because, as long as he keeps turning his opponent, it's always far enough away that he can dodge it before it lands. Southpaws are accustomed to strikes coming from long distances, and Martinez is no exception.
That brings us back to the jab, and how Cotto made it work.
Early in round one (fight clock reads 2:20), Cotto takes a step straight forward and throws his jab. Martinez swats it down with his right hand and counters with a jab of his own before repositionng himself, but that's fine: landing the jab isn't Cotto's goal, and it needn't land to be effective. Immediately after Cotto steps forward again, but this time his left arm bends mid-flight, turning into a last-second hook. Note the deep step Cotto takes to the inside of Martinez's right foot, placing his left hand very close to Martinez's chin. Granted, his hook merely swipes the face of the Argentine, but Cotto is ready to adjust.
A few seconds later (fight clock reads 2:05), Cotto tries again. The jab this time is thrown to the body, and it lands cleanly on Martinez's ribs. Again, Martinez circles to Cotto's right to re-set, vying for that inside angle he's so fond of. And just like last time, he tries to counter Cotto's next jab with his own, except it's not a jab at all; it's another left hook, and this one comes crashing down on Martinez's jaw, sending him staggering some fifteen feet into the ropes at the far side of the ring.
Continue on the next post...
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