Photo: Chris Farina / Top Rank
Tomorrow night at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs), begins the closing chapter of his illustrious career. He will be taking on Delvin Rodriguez (28-6-3, 16 KOs) in a junior middleweight bout as the main event of an HBO Championship Boxing telecast. The 32 year old Cotto is back with Top Rank Promotions and HBO after two losses in a row with Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) fighters Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Austin Trout. Despite the current “Cold War” landscape that prevents GBP fighters from doing business with HBO and the deep rooted hatred between GBP and Top Rank, Cotto has been able to successfully navigate between the two, without burning any bridges.
By maintaining this “free agent” status, Cotto is in a position for some big money opportunities, if he is successful on Saturday night. A win could put him in position to challenge lineal middleweight champion, Sergio Martinez, in an HBO pay per view sometime in 2014. That would allow Cotto the opportunity to try for a fourth title, in his fourth division. However, considering Cotto’s good terms with GBP, an impressive victory would also allow Cotto to head back to the Showtime network for pay per view opportunities against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or a rematch with Mayweather. Cotto has a lot at stake.
Photo: Gene Blevins / Top Rank
With that in mind, Cotto made a surprising decision for his upcoming bout by teaming with Hall of Fame trainer, Freddie Roach. Roach is the fifth trainer of Cotto’s prime career, after his uncle Evangelista Cotto, buddy Joe Santiago, the late Emanuel Steward, and most recently, Pedro Diaz. Cotto had various levels of success with all of his trainers, but now, in the twilight of his career, he’s hoping that Roach can both reignite a fire and polish up some basic skills. Roach recently explained his approach during a teleconference with members of the media:
I watched the Trout fight and we talked about why he thought he lost that fight. He thought he wasn’t busy enough and I want to bring back that work to the body – his bread and butter. That’s what got him to where he is today. I am not going to change him of course because he is a great fighter as he is. We just need a reminder of the fundamentals of boxing.
Roach was pleasantly surprised to get the phone call from Cotto, requesting his services. He was the trainer on the opposite side of the ring when his charge, Manny Pacquiao, annihilated Cotto in one-sided fashion back in 2009. Roach believes that he can revitalize Cotto and lead him back to a championship.
Delvin Rodriguez, 33, is hoping to use Cotto as a stepping stone to a title shot of his own. Rodriguez lost a title opportunity to Austin Trout in June of 2012, in what was a bit of an uninspiring performance. Prior to that bout, Rodriguez made a bit of a name for himself as a tough fringe contender who was in a “Fight of the Year” caliber war against Pawel Wolak in 2011. Since the loss to Trout, Rodriguez has won two bouts in a row via stoppage, thereby putting himself in a position for this showcase against Cotto.
Rodriguez will intend to use his considerable size advantage over Cotto, which includes 3 extra inches in both height and reach. The fact that Cotto has sometimes fought down to the level of his opposition in the past (Torres, Clottey, Mayorga), may also give Rodriguez added hope; in conjunction with the significant wear and tear that Cotto has suffered over the years. A final matter that Rodriguez may have in his favor, is this being perhaps the year of the underachieving “fringe contender”, overcoming the odds. Men like Jesus Soto Karass, Carlos Molina, and Brian Vera have had the best year of their careers in big fights, after years of coming up short. Perhaps Delvin Rodriguez can ride the “spirit of the times” and put an end to Cotto’s career as an elite level fighter. We shall see, but smart money says Cotto will use his experience and superior skill level to take care of business on Saturday night.
In the co-feature on the HBO card, Terence Crawford (21-0, 16 KOs), a Nebraska native who is being groomed as a future star by the network, will take on Russian, Andrey Klimov (16-0, 8 KOs). The winner of this lightweight bout will likely be looking at a world title opportunity in early 2014.
Source: 3 More rounds
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