Outboxed, outworked, battered, bloodied and resembling a tattooed gargoyle, it seemed Miguel Cotto’s time beneath the lights was up. Back in 2012, the Puerto Rican legend lost an almost embarrassingly one-sided decision to Austin Trout with a desultory performance. It followed up a defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr and resulted in the first two-fight losing streak for one of the biggest names in boxing with a career spanning over a decade.
Before entering the Mecca of Boxing that night, there was talk of a rematch with Manny Pacquiao. But when a broken Cotto slumped out of the squared circle the only talk was whether he’d even fight again. Fortunately for fight fans, he did and he brought in Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach to pick up the pieces. Now, the lights have never shone brighter.
Roach is widely acclaimed with taking young fighters and moulding them into champions – Pacquiao a fine example – but he’s also taken on established stars and given them a new spark. It’s exactly that type of shakeup Cotto needed to turn his career around. Under Roach’s tutelage he spectacularly stopped Delvin Rodriguez in his comeback fight before producing arguably his greatest ever performance to force a stoppage against Sergio Martinez last year and take the WBC middleweight and lineal crown.
With a Hall of Fame spot in the bag – he became the first Puerto Rican to win a title at four different weight classes – the wheels were in motion for a big-money showdown with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez. When he stepped into the ring in June to destroy Australian Daniel Geale, that clash was all-but sealed.
It’s been a few months since and following painful negotiations and anticipation the biggest names in the sport will collide on November 21 in the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas – rejoice! Rejoice because although Cotto is 34, his past three fights prove he’s as dominant as ever. And it’s this reinvigoration that captures the imagination of this mega fight. So much so in fact, the Puerto Rican icon is credited with inspiring movie star Jake Gyllenhaal who said of his character in Southpaw: “I based a lot of it on Miguel Cotto. Particularly the way he turned his career around. I stole a lot of things from him.”
This is a fight that guarantees action. In one corner, you’ve got the heir apparent pound-for-pound king in Alvarez who has put the “Saul” back into boxing with his offensive-minded and courageous fighting style. A quintessential boxer-puncher, his slaughtering of James Kirkland backed up impressive victories over Erislandy Lara and Alfredo Angulo. And at just 25 years old, he’s a boxing veteran with 47 fights under his belt. He might be boxing’s next big thing but this fight will be the making of him.
– Fight Club: Time for Mayweather's heirs to fight for the throne
– INTERVIEW: Khan – Mayweather wants 50 but I'd make it 49-1
– VIDEO: Khan believes fight against Brook could be the biggest
– WBA: Domination of Malignaggi enhances Garcia prospects
“Historically, mega fights are made because fans demand them,” the Mexican said.
“In this case, the fans have spoken out, longing for this fight, and it is my pleasure to that it is finally happening.
“All fights at this level are very important, but this fight in particular has something more. I promise all the fans that this is going to be an event that will not disappoint.”
That’s a promise he can keep and the ingredients are there for the Fight of the Year; it’s a genuine 50/50 at the highest level.
“Cotto versus Canelo is the biggest fight in boxing, period,” said David Itskowitch, COO of Boxing of Roc Nation Sports who promote Cotto. “Given the fighters’ styles, it has all the makings of a can’t-miss, all action fight. November 21 has all the makings of a fight that will go down in boxing history as one of the greats.”
The all-time rivalry between fighters from Puerto Rico and Mexico gives steel to the argument that this will have everything.
Good week – Krzysztof Glowacki
Marco Huck was trying to break his tie with Johnny Nelson for the most consecutive cruiserweight title defenses. Krzysztof Glowacki had other ideas. Glowacki came off the canvas in the sixth round to stop Huck in round 11, winning the WBO cruiserweight title and remaining undefeated.
It’s a huge win for the Pole and it certainly puts him on the map in America. It was a very entertaining fight and both fought hard, you can’t really ask for much more than that.
Bad week – Antonio Tarver/Steve Cunningham
No one won this fight. Well, it was a draw but neither Tarver or Cunningham put on a display worthy of being classed among the top heavyweights in the division. It was battle to stick with this one, as both fighters showed their age. Tarver at 46 and Cunnigham at 39.
Tarver’s condinioting cost him the fight because the few times he threw, he landed and he hurt Cunningham. But this one started slowly and ended just a slow drawing plenty of boos from the crowd at Newark’s Prudential Center.
