Quote Originally Posted by Althugz View Post
Quote Originally Posted by erics44 View Post
i voted bradley

thing is, since the fights both lb4lb'ers had with JMM (obviously pacs more recent one) mayweather has been put on even more of a platform

i think if cotto has anything left he is the best fighter mayweather has faced for a long while

and cotto is being written off mainly coz of the way pac took care of him
Absolutely KILLS me to say this...but..you're right

This is exactly why people think Bradley has more chance. I still think Cotto is a much better fighter than Bradley is, so based on that I voted Cotto.

The last performances of both Floyd and Pacquaio have separated the two in many people's eyes and that's why the fight seems closer than it is.

For me Floyd is going into territory where he didn't look his best (154) and Bradley is going up to 147 (where the first and last time he did, he didn't look great I hear) - Cotto has more experience, better C.V, weight advantage. He is just facing the better opponent.

I still would favour him to trouble Floyd more than Bradley will Pac. I think Pac will have one of those nights against Bradley where he looks a million bucks. I could be wrong of course.

The voting says more about what people think of the skills of Mayweather and Pacquiao rather than their two opponents IMO.

I'm looking forward to both fights - They're both good scraps.
I agree in part. There are two reasons why Bradley has a better shot than Cotto. We agree on one.

(1) Mayweather is tougher to beat than Pacquiao. We agree on this point.

People view Floyd as unbeatable and Pacquiao as ready to be taken. Can the Cotto who Manny ko'd, and has been ko'd before, beat someone who hasn't looked beatable since Castillo I? Conversely, can Bradley, who has never lost, and in his prime, beat Pacquiao who looked very human in his last fight? The answer is obvious.

(2) Given Pacquiao's current state, and strengths/weaknesses, Bradley is a tougher opponent than Cotto.

El Terrible and the other proud Puerto Rican boxing fans, please note that I'm not talking the seek-and-destroy machine that was Cotto pre-Margacheato I. I'm also not talking legacy and hall of fame potential because Cotto wins hands down. I'm talking contemporary Cotto.

Bradley is more difficult than the current Cotto for five reasons not in order. (1) Desire: Bradley is hungrier than Cotto. Cotto is out there for a pay check (yes, El Terrible, he deserves it!). (2) Tasting Defeat: Bradley has never tasted defeat and Cotto has capitulated twice in big fights. (3) Primes: Cotto is passed his prime. I'm not saying Cotto is shot, but he's passed his best years, and Bradley is smack in the middle of his prime. (4) Styles: It appears Pacquiao struggles with defensive, counter-punching types, and Bradley can do both. Cotto has morphed into a boxer-puncher, as opposed to his old puncher-boxer if that makes sense, and you can't outbox Mayweather. (5) Speed: Bradley matches Pacquiao's speed or is very close to it. Cotto isn't close to matching Mayweather's hand speed.

To your points in favor of Cotto:

I don't see the weight as being an issue for either fight. Mayweather is going up in weight to 154, but Cotto is a tiny junior middleweight. Cotto isn't even a true junior middleweight in my humble opinion, and probably is best at 150 now. I actually think with the right conditioning, he still could be a welterweight, he's just not that hungry at this point in his career. Bradley has been effective at 147. He looked good against Abregu. Manny isn't a big welterweight, and generally weighs around 145 for the weigh-in anyway. Moreover, Bradley actually looked bigger than Manny at their recent press conference.

Cotto has the advantage in experience over Bradley, but he's lost against his best opponents. Bradley has beat his best opponents. It's not like Bradley has been with bad opposition by any means either. He's travelled to hostile territory (Witter). He's beat slick fighters (Alexander), pressure fighters (Peterson), and punchers (Holt).

The question posed was who has a better shot at the upset, and to me, it's Bradley, hands down.

At the same time, Cotto-Mayweather should be more fun to watch than Pacquiao-Bradley and will do better ppv numbers.