| |
Cotto-Judah Preview
By: Ralph Rimpell
June 7, 2007
Photo: HBO |
 |
On June 9, 2007 WBA welterweight
champion, Miguel Cotto (29-0, 24 KO’s) will face his stiffest test,
former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah (34-4, 25 KO’s) at
Madison Square Garden in New York. Cotto’s promotional company, Top
Rank, headed by Bob Arum has done an excellent job guiding his career.
The job they have done reminds me of how the promotional company Main
Events guided the careers of certain members of the 1984 Olympic boxing
team.
Fighters such as Holyfield, Whitaker,
Taylor, Breland, etc were matched with the right opponents to get them
the necessary experience to compete and win on a world class level. In
Cotto’s case he has won world titles at jr. welterweight and the
welterweight division.
On two occasions Cotto came close to losing by knockout, badly. Current
WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Ricardo Torres knocked down Cotto twice
and came very close to stopping him back in 2004 before Cotto showed a
lot of heart by rebounding in the fight to come back and knock out
Torres. DeMarcus Corley hurt Cotto and had him out on his feet. Cotto
regrouped and also came back to stop Corley (controversially) in Puerto
Rico. Whether one believes Cotto is a protected fighter or the “truth”
as described by one of my boxing colleagues, Cotto has done his job
well.
Zab Judah is a puzzle! Anybody who has seen this man fight knows he has
all the ability in the world. Thus far in his professional career, he
has lost most of his “big fights” He out boxed Baldomir and Mayweather
before fading late in the final rounds and lost via decisions. He
allowed Cory Spinks to intimidate him with aggression and also lost a
decision in their first fight. He out boxed Tszyu in the first round of
their fight only to be knockout controversially in the second round due
to carelessness. It appears Judah is the perfect opponent for Cotto. He
is a former world champion still in his prime and the best fighter Cotto
will have faced thus far. He has a suspect chin, but has speed and power
to test Cotto better then any other opponent has thus far.
There is a buzz surrounding this fight
because Judah is from New York and Cotto has a strong following with the
Puerto Ricans in New York. Cotto’s support is so great that for the past
few years Top Rank has strategically scheduled his fights at Madison
Square Garden on the eve of the Puerto Rican day parade. All his fights
at the Garden have been sell outs. This fight is a sellout at Madison
Square Garden as well. In fact, this fight will be broadcast on HBO PPV.
Judah has stated he will have more support amongst the Puerto Rican fans
then Cotto. That remains to be seen even though New York is Judah’s
hometown. Based on the turnout from previous years, it appears Cotto may
have the hometown advantage.
So what can we expect at the sound of the first bell. By fight night
Cotto will have a physical advantage over Judah. Cotto will likely come
into the ring at 160lbs after making the 147lb weight limit the day
before and will be the bigger man. Judah will likely weigh no more than
152lbs or 153lbs. Cotto will keep his hands up very high and will see
what Judah has to offer. He may even give up the first round to Judah in
a feeling out process. If Cotto feels Judah is not as strong as him he
will look to press the action with hard punches by the second round in
an effort to systematically break Judah down. Judah on the other hand
must also keep his hands up high as well and must earn Cotto’s respect
immediately. This he will have to do by showing Cotto he is just as
strong or stronger in the first round by making Cotto feel his power.
Judah must stay very busy and impose his will on Cotto. One of the keys
to defeating Cotto is to have him move backwards throughout the course
of the fight. If Cotto respects Judah’s power he will retreat. If that
happens, Judah has a very good chance of winning the fight. Judah must
be a boxer first then a puncher. He has to box, but also stand and fight
when he has to. When he is not doing this he must use good boxing
skills, lateral movement, and defense to pick his shots nicely. He has
the ability to outbox Cotto. Judah should only try and knockout Cotto
only if he senses he has him hurt. There is no reason why Judah can’t
put on a clinic to show what boxing is about. If Judah tries to force a
knockout because of the magnitude of the fight, he himself may wind up
being knockout, due to carelessness. If Cotto respects Judah’s power and
has a difficulty adjusting to his speed, he will try to time Judah for a
perfect right hand much the way Tszyu did against Judah in their fight.
If Judah is able to outbox Cotto, Cotto will likely keep the pressure on
Judah to get him to expend as much energy so he tires in the later
rounds. Cotto then will catch up to Judah in the later rounds and
possibly stop him. So Judah better be in the best shape of his life! To
outbox Cotto he should have trained as if he were going to box 15
rounds. Whoever gets hurt first and touches the canvas will likely lose
this fight. Judah will not let Cotto off the hook the way Corley did
should he hurt him. We all know Cotto is a great finisher so if he hurts
Judah, he’s finished.
So who will win this fight? In the words
of Floyd Mayweather Jr., “It aint about who punch the hardest. It ain’t
about who’s faster. It’s about who’s smarter.” Yes, the smarter fighter
will win this fight. It will be the one who is able to impose their will
and strategy better then the other. I will blaspheme and go against most
boxing writers by picking Judah. I believe he is a better athlete and a
better fighter who was not protected and sheltered as Cotto. Judah TKO’s
Cotto in the 8th round in the biggest upset of the year.
Contact Ralph Rimpell at:
RLuvsboxing@aol.com |
|
