Cotto vs. Canelo: No Escape For Alvarez

For a lot of us, work is our dominant thought and we don't really give much consideration to joy. When I was a boy, all of the older people gave this impression daily, so as a child, there wasn't much by way of inspiration to be derived. They hated their jobs, probably sucked at it, and the thought of being like them was scary.



Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Still is.

When asked recently about why I came to love boxing, it made me think back to sitting in front of a TV with aluminum foil on the antenna struggling to see the fighter's of the 80's in the ring. They loved their jobs, even though some of them sucked at it, and the thought of being one of them wasn't crazy. It seemed to me that joy -- was the dominant thought in what they were doing while never really giving much consideration to "work". That's why I loved - and still love - the fighter. The characters in Russell Crowe's classic "Gladiator" comes to mind along with a smiling Manny Pacquiao from a somewhat distant past. Its really admirable that someone can truly love such a brutal vocation.

Miguel Khan vs Canelo Cotto is an 80's fighter with a mentality that is very much 2015. He'll live for the gym but will die for an ATM machine and a billboard over Manhattan (who wouldn't?). I'm not sure if Canelo Alvarez is an 80's fighter, but I'm pretty sure the 2015 version thinks like one. The ultimate prizefighter is in it for the love of the game and the pursuit of glory. I bet Alvarez was probably a kid that fell in love with boxing, in part, as a result of watching a hungry Miguel Cotto.

Who they are and what they were will be the difference in a fight between them.



T@z

MIGUEL COTTO VS. SAUL CANELO ALVAREZ: THE BEST FIGHT BETWEEN PUERTO RICO AND MEXICO EVER

We can never really be the master of what we'll choose to feel, as we all evolve in chapters and fighters are no different. As fans of fighters, we'll impulse buy them, sold off whatever it is that's been sweetly packaged in front of us. Take this past Saturday night on HBO for example, as Cotto obliterated Daniel Geale in a bout that was as made to order as a Tony Soprano hit.

The same can be said for James Kirkland, who walked out of his corner against Canelo Alvarez and stuck out his chin like a lantern in a storm. Ironically, a Kirkland vs. Geale fight is probably an all action bootleg version of Cotto vs. Canelo (feel free to put this undercard bout together HBO, hell you've been using them as patsies anyway).

Anyway, Freddie Roach has done an excellent job of reminding Cotto of who he was at his 140 lb best. His aggressive and decisive ring generalship, to go along with an arsenal built around his massive left hook, has been impressive. So impressive that he's warranted attention in the pound-for-pound ranks and is seen as a viable threat to prove he's the true lineal champion in the division as his WBC middleweight title is supposed to attest.

Slow down.

People often become prisoners of the moment and they'll cuff themselves. But the key to understanding what you're watching from a star fighter is watching just how good the other fighter is that he's facing. We see that Canelo victim Lara now needs Cotto victim Delvin Rodriguez because he needs someone who'll make him look good in victory. Cotto has now faced three straight Delvin Rodriguez types in slightly different degrees and fight fans/critics alike have been fooled. For all the talk of a showdown with Gennady Golovkin it simply wouldn't be a fair fight. Cotto himself recently stated he is no middleweight, and for what its worth, GGG would kill him.

When Canelo was given a #2 pencil and a ruler by Floyd Mayweather in fall 2013, he was being taught how to Khan vs Canelo deal with a Cotto, who learned nothing in dismantling Rodriguez around the same time. Subsequent tests with Alfredo Angulo, Erislandy Lara and Kirkland has prepared him for a final exam with Cotto, a man who also lost to Mayweather and could not beat an Austin Trout vanquished by the Mexican superstar.



Cotto is still that fighter though foreign to a somewhat naked eye, as he's been camouflaged by "B" opposition.

Sergio Martinez was already showing age in 2013 before flashing an AARP card prior to his June 2014 mugging at the hands of Cotto. At the same time, Canelo was facing much more difficult opposition in the very athletic and powerful Erislandy Lara. Cotto cannot move like Lara and wouldn't try to. Rather, he's an aggressive boxer/puncher who'll bring the fight directly to a Canelo who - more than anything else - is a counter-puncher seeking someone willing to invade his space and stay within striking distance. Cotto will fight as if he has a permit to do so and simultaneously get this notion brutally rejected.

He won't be able to muscle around the brawny and brainy Canelo, who doesn't take kindly to being bullied, and he can't outbox him. Under Roach, Cotto has been a seek n destroy tactician with resurgent confidence. But he loses confidence when his best punches don't produce fear or retreat, which is what he's become in most of his defeats. Arguably the best overall fighter to ever come out of Puerto Rico, Cotto will produce a fight with Canelo more exciting than the Mexican/Puerto Rican thriller between Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Fernando Vargas. His fierce pride and determination to come out on top in a major fight for the great latin island and all of New York will be there, but it won't be enough to offset the pride of Mexico.

Both fighters are tremendous combination punchers with great accuracy, which is the main reason why it should be epic. When we combine the fact that their legs and feet are a little heavy, it just might resemble an action movie along the lines of "Rocky" (and that's not an exaggeration). Faster, far younger, a little more powerful, less prone to cut, swell or bleed and physically stronger than the Puerto Rican icon, look for Canelo to gradually breakdown and dismantle a very brave Cotto in 2015's best bout. It won't cost you $100 and will be everything you hoped to see on a dreadful May 2. In the signature fight of a future legendary career, Canelo Alvarez will gun down Miguel Cotto in the 9th round of an absolutely spectacular action fight.

Be sure to get your updates on all ring related news from Real Combat Media (on hand in Chicago for Lara/Rodriguez) and check out Richard "The Prophet" Solomon's picks of the week (you just might make some money- but don't blame me if your ass loses).