Cotto vs. Canelo: The good, bad and dirty

Author Photo
alvarez-canelo112215-getty-ftr.jpg

In front of a sold-out crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Canelo Alvarez's power proved to be too much, defeating Miguel Cotto to capture the WBC and Ring middleweight titles.

The co-main event featured Francisco Vargas beating Takaski Miura by ninth-round TKO in an all-action fight to win the WBC super featherweight title.

Other action included Guillermo Rigondeaux defeated Drian Francisco by unanimous decision (100-90, 100-90, 97-93). Ronny Rios beat Jayson Velez by unanimous decision (97-92, 96-93, 95-94).


Canelo Alvarez (Getty Images)

Here are the highs and lows of Cotto vs. Canelo:

The Good

— Could Alvarez rise to the occasion after his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. two years ago and win the big fight? Another high-profile loss and his legitimacy would have been out the window. Canelo proved it and then some.

Cotto was the more active fighter in the first round, but by the end of the second Alvarez got into a groove and had Cotto figured out. The Mexican superstar fought calmly and stayed within himself compared to when he fought Mayweather, when he waited early on and couldn't catch up.

Instead of winging power shots, Alvarez used his jab to set up his power punches. The heavier shots proved to be too much for Cotto. Alvarez stayed in the pocket and absorbed everything Cotto threw at him.

Alvarez landed 155 of 484 punches (32 percent) according to Compubox stats. The 25-year-old ran his record to 46-1-1 and is on a four-fight winning streak. He became the second Mexican to win the middleweight strap, following Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Alvarez has a bevy of options of what he can do next. He could drop back to 154 pounds or stay at middleweight, where a showdown looms with the hard-hitting Gennady Golovkin.

— Vargas and Miura put on a show in a fight of the year contender. Early in the fight, Vargas buckled Miura's legs with a straight right hand that would have sent most fighters to the canvas. Miura showed his toughness, and by the third round he was controlling the fight.

Miura, from Tokyo, knocked Vargas down in the fourth. The next couple rounds, Miura battered Vargas' right eye. As the fight went into the later rounds, Vargas' eye was nearly swollen shut.

Near the end of the eighth round, Miura had Vargas in trouble again and wobbling but couldn't close the show. Vargas could barely stand while walking back to the stool. Vargas had other plans in mind.

To start the ninth round, he landed a vicious right hand that forced Miura's glove to touch the canvas. Vargas came right at Miuri and landed two more flush shots that put Miura down, clearly hurting him. Vargas kept pouring it on, and by the end Miura was a punching bag and not defending himself until the fight was stopped.

Vargas went from looking like he could win the fight by first round stoppage to the brink of defeat to coming back and winning his first world title.

The Bad

— Rigondeaux put a lot of people to sleep with his performance. Criticism has been he's a boring fighter. He didn't buck it with this showing. There wasn't any action for the fans to cheer for, and they booing loudly throughout the fight.

To be somewhat fair to Rigondeaux, he took the fight on short notice. But landing only 72 of 347 punches in a 10-round fight is inexcusable. Rigondeaux has a contract with Roc Nation Sports, so he should hopefully be in a better fight soon.

— This isn't about Cotto's performance. He fought valiantly against a guy who looked to be two weight classes above him. It is about the aftermath of the fight.

As soon as the scorecards were read, Cotto booked out of the ring like he had to catch a cab to the airport. He hugged his family, clapped fans' hands and exited to the locker room. He refused to do an interview inside the ring or inside his locker room with HBO's Max Kellerman.

Making it worse, he didn't participate in the post-fight media conference, leaving trainer Freddie Roach to handle his dirty work. Cotto has been known as a sore loser. It was evident here.

He didn't go to the hospital. He refused an obligation to discuss the fight. The Puerto Rican superstar made a minimum of $15 million for his night of work. Go to the media conference, take your lumps and get out. Instead, Cotto lived up to his reputation — which was a shame considering how good the fight was and that people wanted to hear his thoughts.

The Dirty

— A mega-fight that delivered. There was no way this fight wouldn't provide any action. Fans had a right to be worried considering the dud in May between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Laying low isn't in the DNA or either Alvarez or Cotto. There wasn't a knockout but there were plenty of good exchanges.

Cotto and Alvarez had no problem biting their mouth pieces and slinging leather until the bell.

Much respect to both fighters for giving fans inside the arena and watching at home their money's worth.

 

Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can find his podcast, The Fight Game Podcast, and subscribe on iTunes, Soundcloud and Stitcher. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.

Author(s)
Steven Muehlhausen Photo

Steven Muehlhausen is a contributing writer for DAZN News. He writes features and news stories, and provides analysis relating to the world of boxing.