Miguel Cotto: Back with a bang and ready, willing and able for some more sizzling super-fights!

cotto552Puerto Rican legend and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto put two successive points losses behind him last night in blitzing a usually sturdy Delvin Rodriguez, in the process setting himself up for further massive fights. Cotto, now working with the great Freddie Roach, looked like a beast last night: strong, fast, powerful and full of energy, Cotto absolutely ruined a good fighter.

Okay, some critics have commented how Rodriguez is and never has been on Cotto’s level and that Cotto’s win was expected. But that is doing both fighters a disservice. Cotto showed he still has the stuff to intimidate and overwhelm a fighter who has hung tough in a number of wars in the past and not too many experts were predicting as quick a victory as the one Cotto emerged with.

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Cotto could move up to 160 for his next fight

cotto900One of the ideas that Top Rank Promotions has for Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31 KO’s) is for him to move up to 160 for his next fight and challenge WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez for his title. Top Rank’s Bob Arum would like for Cotto to take on Sergio and sees it as a fight that would make a lot of money if he can get Sergio to agree to the fight.

Cotto also has a slight chance of fighting former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. That might be the better fight because it would likely bring in much more money than a fight against Sergio, who is coming off of a poor performance against Martin Murray last April. Martinez is still recovering from hand and a knee injury from that fight.

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Cotto destroys Rodriguez

cotto765Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31 KO’s) unveiled his old left hook and used it to destroy Delvin Rodriguez (28-7-3, 16 KO’s) by an impressive 3rd round knockout on Saturday night in a fight televised by HBO at the Amway Center, in Orlando, Florida.

Cotto badly hurt Rodriguez with a huge left hooks to the head in the last seconds of the 2nd round that had him out on his feet against the ropes. Immediately at the start of the 3rd round, Cotto pounced on Rodriguez and chopped him down with a hard right to the body followed by a tremendous left hook to the head that sent him down.

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Roach: Cotto’s career might be over with another loss

roach5Trainer Freddie Roach believes that his fighter Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KO’s) could be finished if he loses to junior middleweight contender Delvin Rodriguez (28-6-3, 16 KO’s) this Saturday night at the Amway Center, in Orlando, Florida, USA.

Roach realizes that Cotto is in a bad way given that he’s coming off of back to back losses, and that’s why he wants to see him go back to the fighter that he was in his prime when he was an aggressive guy that liked to destroy his opponents with his powerful body and head shots.

Roach said to HBO “Let’s face it; we’re coming off of a couple of losses. Another loss would be devastating for his career. Probably it might be over. I want the old Miguel Cotto. I want the guy that’s breaking them down and knocking them out. And he said ‘I will give you that.’”

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Cotto vs. Rodriguez: Can Delvin derail Cotto’s big plans in 2014?

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This Saturday night Miguel Cotto makes his 2013 debut when he faces the crafty vet Delvin Rodriguez from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The odometer’s of each fighter is at the tip of everyone’s tongue when discussing this fight and possible outcomes.

Will either have enough left in the tank to make it competitive or at the very least entertaining? Both fighters are clearly past their prime but skill will ultimately rule the day.

Miguel Cotto is one of the best and most liked fighters of his generation. Haven fought the who’s who of names ranging from the 140 pound division all the way up to junior middleweight, giving us thrilling drama on the way.

Naturally a left hander, Cotto fights out of an orthodox stance, building his legend with one of the best jabs in the business and a left hook to the body that has left many of his opponents day dreaming about a cold bath mid fight.

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Klitschko vs. Povetkin & Cotto vs. Rodriguez headline Live HBO Boxing Saturday

wlad#4WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, HBO Sports’ flagship boxing series, presents a dynamite split-site tripleheader headlined by the return of two of the sport’s biggest stars on SATURDAY, OCT. 5. The action begins at 3:30 p.m. (live ET) with the heavyweight title fight WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO VS. ALEXANDER POVETKIN from SC Olimpiyskiy Arena in Moscow. Following a replay of the fight later that day at 9:45 p.m. (ET/PT), the doubleheader MIGUEL COTTO VS. DELVIN RODRIGUEZ AND TERENCE CRAWFORD VS. ANDREY KLIMOV will be presented from Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. (live ET/tape-delayed PT). The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino

Other HBO playdates: Oct. 6 (8:00 a.m.) and 7 (11:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Oct. 6 (4:00 p.m.) and 8 (11:30 p.m.).

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Star Boxing gets Rodriguez in with Cotto on HBO and opportunity of a lifetime

cotto3434Saturday night in Orlando, Florida, world rated contender Delvin Rodriguez, 28-6-1 16KO’s, Danbury, CT steps into the ring with future Hall of Famer and three time World Champion Miguel Cotto, 37-4 30KO’s, Caguas, PR in a bout that will be televised live on HBO. While Delvin has had many opportunities in his long career including two world title fights, multiple title eliminator’s, and numerous ESPN appearances, this opportunity presents Delvin’s biggest yet, against a legend as the main event on the ‘legend of boxing networks’, HBO.

Many have credited Star Boxing’s relentless efforts on behalf of its fighters as a reason for Delvin’s consistent ability to participate in so many high profile bouts and be the recipient of so many opportunities. Star Boxing, unlike many other sports entities, as a knack for rebuilding its talent. In Delvin’s instance, Star Boxing has continually provided National TV fights for Delvin, and has stood behind him where many others might have given up.

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“Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag”: Chavez Jr. at 168, Cotto’s Last Dance? & Khan’s Pursuit of Mayweather!!!

floyd7773Marco G. (Miami Lakes, FL): I’m a Chavez Jr. fan, but I was totally disgusted with the outcome of the fight! I’m beyond entertaining the thought of what our sport can do to fix this criminal activity. But I would like to know how you think he will perform at 168lbs?

Vivek W. (ESB): I think the pending move to 168lbs will demonstrate that it’s both a curse and a blessing, as all positive effects of this move will be nullified by the reality it brings. When we look at his past fights, Chavez Jr. has shown what some view to be a “very good chin”. But few stop to actually question whether or not this has anything to do with the fact that he’s taking shots from men who are naturally much smaller.

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Roach sees body-punching as key for Cotto beating Delvin Rodriguez

cotto123Miguel Cotto’s new trainer Freddie Roach is bringing the 32-year-old Cotto (37-4, 30 KO’s) back to the basics to beat #4 WBA, #9 WBO, #11 WBC, Delvin Rodriguez (28-6-3, 16 KO’s) on October 5th at the Amway Center, in Orlando, Florida, USA. Roach thinks that if only Cotto starts throwing more body shots, it’ll enable him to get past Rodriguez and start winning more of his fights.

The truth is Cotto can probably easily beat Rodriguez even if chooses not to throw one body shot the entire. Rodriguez is not on Cotto’s level, and he’s pretty much just the sacrificial lamb being brought in to end Cotto’s 2-fight losing streak. The worry here is that if Cotto can’t even beat Rodriguez or can’t beat him in a convincing manner, then Cotto and Roach are going to have to face some hard truths about where he can go from here.

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Miguel Cotto / Freddie Roach Interview Transcript

cotto34Former three-division world champion and the Pride of Puerto Rico Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs), of Caguas, Puerto Rico, is in his final weeks of training with Hall of Famer Freddie Roach at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif. Cotto is preparing for his 12-round super welterweight battle with Top-10 contender and two-time world title challenger Delvin Rodriguez (28-6-3, 16 KOs), of the Dominican Republic. Cotto vs. Rodriguez will take place Saturday, October 5, at the home of the Orlando Magic, Amway Center, in Orlando, Fla. Cotto’s Florida debut will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT.

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