Home Away From Home: Cotto Back At MSG Tonight

Miguel Cotto has never lost at Madison Square Garden; he will be back there for the eighth time in his career tonight when he faces off against undefeated Austin Trout, who currently holds the WBA light middleweight title.

The Garden is Cotto’s home, they love him there as the venue has been the site of Cotto’s impressive victories over established names like Shane Mosley and Zab Judah or emotional reprisals against Antonio Margarito and Muhammad Abdullaev.

It also has been the setting for a brief, mandatory warm up against Michael Jennings and a potential banana skin, Joshua Clottey, who proceeded to slice Cotto’s eye up. One thing is for sure, Madison Square Garden or not, Cotto always gives plenty of excitement.

Cotto’s resume reads very well, at 37-3-0 with 30 KO’s. His movements up the weights, from Junior Welterweight to Welter to Light Middle have suited him down to the ground.

Apart from the names already mentioned, dangerous punchers Randall Bailey and Demarcus Corley were both stopped. Cotto has stolen the 0’s off of Carlos Maussa, Kelson Pinto, Ricardo Torres, Paul Malignaggi, Carlos Quintana and Yuri Foreman.

His three losses were to Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito…but that last one doesn’t count; surely no-one counts the first Margarito fight?

So with that in mind, losing to the two best fighters on the planet is no embarrassment.

Even with the Margarito loss, it was a brilliant, brutal affair. Cotto always goes to war, even though he has oodles of skill and bags of talent.

Trout’s appearances have not been so telling as of yet.

A southpaw with a 56% KO ratio, holding victories over…erm…Frank LoPorto and Delvin Rodriguez.

Not exactly world class, and at 27 it’s not like Austin Trout, 25-0-0 with 14 KO’s is some young spark on his way up.

Sure Trout can bang…a bit, and he may be awkward as a southpaw, but it’s nothing Cotto has not seen before. In a video I saw recently, Trout was in an amateur competition against Vanes Martisoyan, who again, is a fighter that loves a tear up. Trout didn’t like it as much by the looks of things.

That was a long time ago but if Trout decides to stand and trade with Cotto, which is doubtful, then Cotto is heavier handed than him with a 75% KO ratio. If Trout tries standing just in range, then Cotto outboxes him, If Trout gets on the back foot and tries to counter, Cotto closes him down, sticks him on the ropes and ruins him like so many before.

On paper, there is nothing to justify that Trout has anything over Cotto.

Cotto will wear him down before stopping him in the late rounds.