Yuri Foreman v Miguel Cotto
Yankee Stadium on Saturday night plays host to the biggest test of WBA super-middleweight champion Yuri Foreman’s career. The 29-year old Israeli steps-up the calibre of his opposition with his toughest bout to date when takes on Puerto Rican warrior Miguel Cotto.
Foreman has been accused of winning his title and perfect record without facing anyone you would describe as top class. In “Junito” there’s no question he is fighting a contender who boasts a top-pedigree record.
Everybody knows about Cotto, the rampaging Puerto Rican epitomises the whole-hearted boxer and he will throw down all he can with those pneumatic drill’s he has for arms. His last outing saw him get obliterated by Manny Pacquiao, but right now Pacquiao is out on a different planet in terms of his ability, so there is no shame there. In that match Junito took such a brutal beating there will surely be some form of hangover and eyes will be on evidence of war wounds from that battle.
The little Filipino didn’t fancy Foreman though, who was ruled out as a potential opponent on the basis of him being too tall. Pacman has a point, at 5ft 11in Foreman is a tall drink of water for this weight division, the diminutive multi-weight champion would have had to stand on a chair to clock him and, at 5ft 7in, Cotto is giving away a fair bit of height as well.
The Israeli is a mover and he works the ring by feinting and weaving his way around, staying on his toes and trying to lure his opponent out where he can slowly pick them off. He can’t bang as his record of eight knockouts in 26 bouts shows, but he is a decent boxer with a long reach and pin-point accuracy.
It is unlikely that Cotto will fall for this trap though and he will almost certainly fight his own game. Junito will likely try and cut off the ring from the champion and engage him by throwing out big combinations aiming around the ribs. Cotto is a no-nonsense fighter and he will really try and rough Foreman up, get in close, work the body and throw some uppercuts at the Israeli’s head.
This is a real contrast of styles, the gangly Foreman will try and build a match over the course of 12 rounds, his jab’s not great and he doesn’t rattle out the combinations that well, but he does land punches and is frustratingly hard to hit. It will be interesting to see how he deals with the high pressure Cotto will try to create, the Israeli will probably try and keep him at bay with his long reach, pick him off and build up his score, but if Cotto gets through then he could be in serious trouble as he has no obvious plan B.
Can Foreman’s chin take much punishment? It’s hard to say, it’s never been massively tested, he took some big hits from Daniel Santos in his last outing and stood tall so it might be ok, but really Cotto is a different kettle of fish.
Despite the fact Cotto is only 29 he has been in a few career-changing wars and might not hold up as he once could. He cuts very easily now and is probably more of a natural light-to-regular-welterweight and 154lbs could take away some of his power, especially as he is contending with the large body mass of Foreman. However Cotto’s power carried up from 140lbs-147lbs so maybe going up to 154lbs won’t affect him too much.
This fight will be all about how Foreman deals with Cotto’s inside fighting, can he get himself out of danger and win the necessary seven rounds minimum by boxing him round the outside of the ring. With Cotto’s knockout power and Foreman's lack of big-fight experience it would seem unlikely.
It’s not clear cut for Cotto either, he has his own questions to answer. Is he still up to it after the Pacquiao fight, can his power carry, will his cuts hold up, will he deal with Foreman's size and will he be able to close down the ring? With a new trainer, the legendary Emmanuel Steward, in his corner there should be new facets to his game, but only time will tell how effective these are in stopping the illusive Foreman.
As well as being world champion Foreman is currently training to become a rabbi. There are going to be times tomorrow night when he will want to part Cotto from him like Moses did the Red Sea. It might not take a miracle of that proportion to beat the Puerto Rican, but Foreman will have to fight the fight of his life to come away with the victory.
Otherwise Cotto is going to turn him into flatbread.
Prediction: Miguel Cotto eighth round KO
Foreman may be slick but Cotto is a bull. He will tear through the Israeli and the only chance the soft hitting champion has is to keep out of his way, which he won’t be able to do all night as Cotto will corner him.
Foreman may be able to keep him at bay for a few rounds, but will eventually cave in and doesn’t boast the speed or power to trouble Junito who will be trying to deliver strong combinations from the first bell.
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