Sometimes the term pure boxer is overused, but Foreman is truly a pure boxer. I would say that Mayweather and Foreman are the top 2 pure boxers out there at the moment in terms of the sweet science. Mayweather and Foreman don't have great one punch knockout power, but they bother opponents by keeping punches in their opponent's face, while moving out the way of opponents punches.
Amir Khan showed similar skills against Malignaggi, but Mayweather and Foreman have been doing this their entire career, while Khan has only doing this recently with Freddie Roach. And Pacquiao also is very busy, and has incredible hand speed, but Pacquiao has more of an open stance than Mayweather, Khan, or Foreman. In truth, Foreman may have the best footwork out of them all. (in terms of the fact that he's almost always moving laterally) Foreman just hasn't shown that KO power as consistently as the other 3 have shown.
Cotto vs Foreman at 154 is a very interesting fight, and in the coming weeks, I look forward to some good pre-fight threads for members to weigh-in regarding this fight. As highly as I rank Foreman, I don't think Cotto will be a walk in the park at all.
Here's why. If you go back to Cotto vs Pacquiao, for some reason (which is still unclear to me), the Pacquiao team made Cotto drain to 145 lbs with no title on the line, then turned around at contract signing and made it a title fight, supposedly at a 144 catch weight since Pacquiao was coming up from junior welter. They ended up both making 145, and it was kind of a shady situation, a lot like the catch weight situation between Mayweather and Marquez.
But the fact of the matter was both Pacquiao and Cotto weighed in at 145, whereas in fights before, Cotto was weighing in at 147, the welterweight limit. So for whatever reason, Cotto looked drained against Pacquiao, more drained than Pac-man because Pacquiao was coming up from junior welter, and something tells me Pacquiao has a higher metabolism than Cotto.
Despite looking drained, Cotto did very well in the early rounds against Pacquiao, giving Pacquiao the most early round trouble probably since Pacquiao faced Morales many years ago and the most trouble since Pacquiao has been training with Freddie Roach.
I am not sleeping on the possibility that Cotto will actually be more comfortable at junior middle than he was against Pacquiao at 145. Potentially 9 pounds could do wonders for Cotto, as Cotto is getting older, and many times when fighters go through wars and are starting to get older, they try to cut weight and lose something. (RJJ after coming down from Heavy is one example)
Cotto may just have the body type that will really benefit from moving up into a higher weight division at this point in his career. I wouldn't be surprised if Cotto has better stamina than he had against Pacquiao near the junior middleweight limit of 154. So with this said, a ready Cotto could turn back the clock a bit against Foreman and give Foreman his toughest fight to date.
I still think Foreman has enough ring savvy to win rounds against Cotto, but a more comfortable Cotto at 154 with good power and a strong jab could give Foreman problems.
This is a tough fight for Foreman, because if Foreman wins, people will probably say that Cotto is shot after getting TKO'd by Pacquiao. If Cotto beats Foreman, people will lose respect for Foreman, thinking that he lost to a washed up Cotto. But if you look at all the facts, Cotto's two losses aren't bad at all. One was marred in controversy against Marg, the other is to Pacquiao, the guy that many consider to be the pound for pound champion in a fight that was competitive early.
I actually think this will be a very competitive fight. I think we'll see a fit comfortable Cotto, a Cotto more like the old Cotto pre-Margarito. We'll see two top fighters with a loyal New York following fighting at Yankee Stadium, a fight at the stadium for the first time in nearly 35 years.
So, I am not one to bet my house on Foreman winning. I do give Foreman the edge due to his lateral movement, which, like Pacquiao, will give Cotto problems. But Cotto's jab could make it tough on Foreman to be as effective as he was against Santos. Foreman is a great pure boxer, but this is a step up in class for Foreman. Cotto has a lot to prove in this fight. He is at a new weight, and he may lose a little speed, but I don't see him fading late as he did against Pacquiao. For one, Foreman doesn't have the power than Pacquiao has, and Cotto should take more stamina up with him gaining a few pounds and not having to drain weight.
I see this being a tough fight for both guys. Both guys have solid jabs and Foreman won't stand toe-to-toe with Cotto early on. We'll find out just how much power Foreman has. It will be a very good fight and will really a huge event in New York. Cotto will be ready and Foreman will be make the first defense of his WBA World Light Middleweight title. Many people will pick Cotto to win, and those people aren't crazy. Cotto is training hard for this fight and isn't taking Foreman lightly. However, you can't underestimate the fact that Foreman has never tasted defeat and is a very slick pure boxer.
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