Cotto can box going backwards didn't you see his fight vs Lovemore Ndou ?? he boxed on the back foot the entire night against Ndou. He didn't need to box on the back foot against Mosley because he was landing solid jabs and fighting on the back foot would of took away the snap and the power of the jab plus Mosley never really hurt Cotto until later rounds.
And lets remember how wide Margarito's punches are, so i think in exchanges Cotto's much shorter punches especially the hooks, would win exchanges for him and pile up the points. One thing that is worrying is that Margarito has very good uppercut which is Cotto's biggest flaw IMO.
But put it this away if Cotto uses his superior boxing skills he should win, although he should keep off the ropes as much as possible, because Magarito does some of his best work when his opponent is on the ropes, and he has stopped several opponents in that position. If its a brawl i expect Margarito to win just because he is so big for a Welterweight, and although he may not be 1 hit KO type of fighter, he is physically very strong and stronger than Cotto IMO.
Bookmarks