Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto Preview May 5
Undefeated Floyd Mayweather will move back up to the junior middleweight division on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when he challenges WBA champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico. Mayweather will enter the ring with a 42-0 record with 26 KOs while Cotto comes in at 37-2 with 30 KOs. There’s not much difference in their height with Mayweather measuring 5-foot-8 and Cotto 5-foot-7. Mayweather has a five inch reach advantage that could prove to be crucial though.
Mayweather’s widely regarded as one of the world’s top two pound-for-pound boxers along with Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines. He’s still the WBC Welterweight Champion and has won world titles in five different divisions so far. He’s had two fights in the past two years, which were both at welterweight. These were a 12-round unanimous decision over Shane Mosley and a controversial fourth-round knockout over Victor Ortiz.
Cotto has won belts in three divisions and has fought three times in the past two years all in the junior middleweight division. These were a ninth-round TKO over Yuri Foreman, a 12th-round TKO over Ricardo Mayorga, and a 10th-round TKO over Antonio Margarito in a vicious rematch that avenged an earlier loss to Margarito.
This will be Mayweather’s last fight for a while since he’s scheduled to start a jail sentence on June 1for domestic violence. He somehow talked the judge into postponing his jail time while he tried to line up a fight against Pacquiao. That fell through however and a deal was worked out with Cotto. But while Cotto’s definitely a world class boxer there’s a reason Mayweather hand chose him as an opponent.
Mayweather may be a lot of things, such as a common street thug, but he’s not stupid when it comes to the boxing ring. Mayweather chooses opponents because he spots a weakness in them which he knows he can exploit. He prefers to fight aggressive boxers who come towards him and that’s what he’ll get when meeting Cotto. This is because Mayweather’s an excellent defensive fighter who prefers to counter punch and he’s quite good at it.
Top Boxing Sportsbook: 5Dimes.com
Widest Variety and Most Competitive Lines Online -> Visit Now!
The 31-year-old Cotto’s a popular boxer with fans due to his entertaining style. He’ll have a bit of an advantage fighting at 154 lbs., but to make use of it, will have to prove to Mayweather that he’s physically stronger and manhandle him when he can. Cotto will also be pretty confident heading into this fight due to his last three performances, which makes him an even more dangerous opponent.
Cotto will perform better against Mayweather if he utilizes his underrated boxing skills. He got good power and speed and can move around the ring with the best of them. He needs to use his jab, attack with a combination and then get out of Mayweather’s range. Mayweather doesn’t like to fight all three minutes of a round unless absolutely necessary and Cotto shouldn’t allow him to rest.
Prediction
It’s hard to outbox and outthink the 35-year-old Mayweather though and that’s what makes this a tough task for the champion. Bu since Mayweather’s somewhat lazy, he can be out jabbed and Cotto will need to keep it in his face all night long. If he follows them up with left hooks to Mayweather’s body he could slow him down a little.
It’s an uphill climb for Cotto though, and the fight will likely end with him losing his title by a relatively close decision.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.com has the latest odds of Mayweather keeping his belt at -800 with a Cotto win at +550. The odds of the fight going over 9.5 rounds are -265and of going under 9.5 rounds at +225. Visit 5Dimes.com to bet on this fight and don’t forget to check out our other boxing betting predictions for the week.
Floyd Mayweather betting • Miguel Cotto betting
remember Zab Judah ? he was k/o by Cotto
also Mayweather can’t take a punch remember when Sugar hit him.
this a matter as to who will fight Bradley ,
as he will defused Pacquiao.