Does Cotto or Bradley have a better chance at pulling off the upset?

[Althugz]

Oh, also took into consideration the last two performances of Bradley and Cotto. While both of their opponents weren't great, Margarito surely had more in the tank than Casamayor did and Bradley looked lethargic where as Cotto looked GOOD.

[Rantcatrat]

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.

[Rantcatrat]

Oh, also took into consideration the last two performances of Bradley and Cotto. While both of their opponents weren't great, Margarito surely had more in the tank than Casamayor did and Bradley looked lethargic where as Cotto looked GOOD.

Bradley was coming off a relatively long lay off and Casamayor didn't do Bradley any favors by holding and punching low. Casamayor made that fight ugly and it wasn't like Bradley did poorly either in that he stopped Casamayor in the 8th round. Cotto didn't stop Margarito, the ref stopped Margarito, and conveniently pretty early in my opinion.

[:::PSL:::]

It somewhat blows my mind that people are doubting Bradley. He's on p4p lists for a reason...

War Desert Storm!

Ahem.

1 month sig bet?

PSL - you've seen my posts before so you know I don't dislike Manny and he's not one of my favorite fighters at the same time.

I handicap this fight as approximately 60/40 Manny so I'm not sure I'll go with a straight bet here. I'll need to really analyze it a bit more. We could bet that Bradley does a better job than Cotto?

Forget it papi.

If you're really a huge Bradley fan, then you support him whatever risks hes gonna go through.

It's only a sigbet btw.

[Master]

Cotto, no doubt.

[captainanddew]

Bradley is the younger man, the bigger man (he fought at 152 in the amateurs I believe and weighs mid 150s walking around), and he has the ginormous dome that cuts you up.

[captainanddew]

Tim Bradley throws a punch and then follows it up with the head.

[Abelardus]

It's like he knows he's gonna get his ass kicked. he says "if" so many times all ready showing his insecurity.

[Manos de Piedra]

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.

I agree with Rantcatrat, Great post.

[Althugz]

Man saying "Bradley has beat his best opponents and Cotto has lost to his best opponents" is the worst argument of all time..You just compared Margarito (with loaded gloves which he avenged with relative ease) and Manny Pacquiao to Junior Witter (really??), Peterson, Holt and Alexander....

Apart from that, Rantacrat, I can see your other points as being pretty valid - We are both obviously looking at this from different angles. Some things you see as an advantage/disadvantage for Bradley/Cotto, I see as a disadvantage/advantage in vice versa.

We'll have to see how the fights pan out..

[:::PSL:::]

It's like he knows he's gonna get his ass kicked. he says "if" so many times all ready showing his insecurity.

He's gonna start running when Pac start stinging him with odd punches.

[Mars_ax]

I have a problem believing that Bradley can hurt Pacquiao, unless it from a headbutt. The bottom line is, Bradley is a good fighter, but Pacquiao is a level above him. I see Tim getting knocked on the seat of his trunks several times, beaten up and then stopped in one of the later rounds.

[elcolibri]

In my estimation, Bradley does. However, for those that believe Cotto does, I am curious to hear your reasoning.

Cotto. I just see that he's mentally on fire these days, and that counts for so much.

[Mr140]

I think Bradley has a great chance compared to Cotto i mean Mayweather going to tear his face up. I dont think that match is going to be very close but i think Bradley can pull a upset.

[Rantcatrat]

So, does the fact Devon Alexander beat Maidana, and Bradley dominated Devon Alexander, at all demonstrate that Bradley is a solid boxer?