how could have cotto won this fight? or win the rematch if there is one

[Taeth]

cotto did everything right except for running outta gas and of course its bcuz margarito chopped him down. but cotto couldnt take a break. he caught him with tons of flush shots and he outboxed him but MARGARITO kept coming and coming. what could he have possibly done to win it?
i think there is only one way to beat margarito. its by overwhelming him with punches like paul williams did. just dont give him lot of chance to throw back and put you in the corner. what do you guys think?

Well Cotto fought a poor fight , basically he did not want to engage Margarito and fought of the back foot and was totally dominated. Yes he was accurate but his weight of punch is more suited to a body attack and he was unable to go to the body asw he was off-balance and worried about leaving himself open toa hook. Counter-punching is only effective when it causes you opponent to pause or move back - not when he continues to walk you dowm. Same outcome would happen to Floyd M. if they ever fought as he has even less on his punches , is shorter and hates to get hit and can't work for all 3mins in a round as great as he is.
Williams was a taller figher and made better use of the ring and could tie Margarito up when he had to.

Mayweather wouldn't have the same outcome happen, He moves so much faster then Cotto he would be way harder for Margarito to get on the ropes if he used any lateral movement at all, mayweather has showed that its almost impossible to hit him when he is on the ropes, watch the Ndou fight for a guy who keeps throwing punches, but can't land on Mayweather, Ndou has about Margarito's boxing ability, but not chin. Floyd is taller than Cotto, as for Mayweather hating to get hit, where as he said that? Mayweather isn't Roy JOnes Jr. Mayweather liked to mix it up as his fights with Chavez, Ndou, Corley, etc. would tell you, he just knows when he can get away with it. Also what is this bullshit about Mayweather not being able to work for 3 minutes in every round? Just because he doesn't always throw punches doesn't mean he can't function for 3 rounds every minutes, he is doing so many other things that most fans dont' even appreciate. Also Mayweather actually knows how to tie a guy up, and he knows how to make people miss, its what he does. When Baldomir(using a guy with Margarito chin, handspeed, but not power) tried to hit Mayweather on the ropes look what happened even when Baldomir threw 10 punch combinations he couldn't land anything either could the way faster Oscar Dela Hoya who is a good combination puncher. And both of those guys could walk through almost any punch Floyd threw.

Cotto didn't fight a poor fight, He just needed to keep on throwing punches, but if you can't breathe you can't throw punches. I felt personally he should have done everything he could to keep it in the center of the ring because when he was throwing punches and landing Margarito sure wasn't retaliating. Usually I've seen Tony able to walk through punches and throw his own punches like as if he isn't even getting punched, but Cotto was at least stopping Margarito from throwing back while he throwing his own punches.

[Master]

If Cotto threw more body punches early that would have helped for the later round. Marg body shots were deadly against Cotto.

[El Kabong]

....Cotto needed to swallow his pride and tie up Toni at points especially when he was hurt.


Cotto boxed beautifully and I think all the questions about his chin were answered....Cotto took some huge shots.



Tony has to have one of the best chins in boxing history...he wasn't even all that marked up after the fight.

[Spicoli]

I just don't see much that can be altered.Clearly,Cotto must fully dedicate to the Body in any hope of slowing Tony,But that would leave his head even more exposed...Hitting Margarito in the head was like throwing rocks at a Tank.He was forced to over reach with head shots and That allowed Margarito to dig in with upper cuts and short hooks to Cottos body.As early as the 1st round,it was clear that the strength was in Tonys favor....Cotto would get squared up on the ropes and have that bending over look,just sitting there for uppercuts.

Hindsight is 20/20 ,Maybe request a ring twice the size or aim for Tonys temple If they rematch,aside from Margarito getting ancient or not commiting (Yeah right) I just don't see much Cotto could do after last night.

[El Kabong]

It had to be very frustrating for Cotto to land his best shots and see them have no effect...and I think Cotto could carry power all the way to 160 if he moved up there.

To land the uppercuts and hooks he landed FLUSH and not even have Toni's legs give a little had to be very frustrating.

[chip]

Agreed the outcome of the rematch would be the same

[El Kabong]

Cotto would have to change his style to be just a boxer with a big focus on defense and that would be bad for his career IMO as he's used to fighting the way he has been.


People may want a rematch but there's no reason for Cotto to want one unless something changes about Toni or about Cotto.

[uptoscratch]

When Baldomir(using a guy with Margarito chin, handspeed, but not power) tried to hit Mayweather on the ropes look what happened even when Baldomir threw 10 punch combinations he couldn't land anything either could the way faster Oscar Dela Hoya who is a good combination puncher. And both of those guys could walk through almost any punch Floyd threw.

Agree 100%. I think last night showed the difference between Floyd and Cotto as fighters. Floyd has already been in with guys who he knew he couldn't knock out, and against whom he'd have to rely on defense, movement and skill. He knows what to do in those situations.

Cotto had never been in that situation before last night. He thought he could knock Margarito out right up until he ran of out of steam completely and had to give up. He allowed himself to get pushed to the ropes all fight because he thought he would be able to hurt Margarito coming in, and he was wrong.

If Cotto's stamina had held out, if he had focused more of his attacks on the body, if he had kept the fight more in the middle of the ring, if he was a just a little more skilled at defense, he could have won. Assuming that Floyd came back in motivated and in shape, PBF could and would do all those things and end up UDing Margarito.

Whether or not Cotto could also do them and win a rematch is a different question that depends on his mental makeup.

[albsur2006]

Cotto could have won this fight if he put in more body work in the early rounds. Margo's defense for his body is underrated but I felt like Cotto was headhunting the entire first half of the fight and didn't even try to go to the body. I was thinking "Mix it up damnit. If Cintron can't knock out Margo with his best shot then you're not knocking Margo out with 50 of yours. GO TO THE BODY!!!" He was outclassing Margarito in the first half of the fight but he was expending a ton of energy fighting that way. One thing about guys like Cotto is that they have the heart to fight and put it all on the line for the fans but they don't have the sense to do whatever it takes to win. Cotto could have easily conserved energy by using a lot of lateral movement and tying up early while still landing those combos in the first half of the fight and if he went to the body more then he probably would have escaped with a SD or close UD. But these guys don't know the tricks of the game to do WHATEVER it takes to win. Like Hopkins, Mayweather, Winky Wright, and ODLH do. Mayweather can beat Margarito because he's much faster and in excellent shape and quite honestly, he doesn't care how the fight looks to the fans, he only cares about winning. While I respect guys like Cotto that want to prove that they are fighters, have heart, and want to give the fans a great fight, I also respect these other guys because to them winning is more important than anything.