The clash of Puerto Rico - dream fight - Benitez - Cotto

At 140lbs.

"The Radar" - was a fantastic fighter - stunning speed, accuracy and decent power. At his pomp an aggressive fighter with a reasonable chin - and incredible tactical nous for such a young man. Good win over Cervantes, followed up with reasonable wins against Petronelli and Villa.

Meanwhile Cotto at 140 - this is a pre-Margarito Cotto. A Cotto who can box well with lovely lateral movement - who still has a body attack and decent power - but with a slightly shaky chin from draining to make the weight.

Who wins the spoils of this dream fight?

Does Benitez control the distance? Does Cotto's body work take its toll on Benitez? Can Benitez stop Cotto?

Whichever way the fight would go, I'd pay to watch.

For the record - call this fight over 12 rounds - so the easy option of saying "old timer over old timer distance" isn't there.

Not a proper old-timer debate - as Benitez fought in colour (although not HD)

Would fancy Benitez to give Cotto something of a lesson, to be honest. Can see him winning eight or nine of the twelve rounds.

Nothing against Cotto, but at 140 lb he didn't impress me as much as he did at 147 lb (well, at least he until he ran in to Margarito, anyway). Speed isn't Cotto's strong point; Benitez had bags of it, both in his hands and feet. If Cervantes, Palomino and Duran (even if it was a 154 lb version) can't land on 'The Radar' with any frequency then I'm not sure Cotto can, and Cotto leaves himself open at the best of times when on the attack. Even Pacquiao, who is nothing even approaching a counter-puncher, had a lot of joy countering the Cotto jab.

Benitez by wide decision for me, standing in the pocket, making Cotto miss and countering effectively. Something like 117-111.

Benitez is the best fighter to come out of Puerto Rico. @140, Cotto was killing himself to make the weight. I think that's the reason the faster guys could catch and buzz him. The Cotto who fought Mosley would give all-time greats trouble.

"Even Pacquiao, who is nothing even approaching a counter-puncher, had a lot of joy countering the Cotto"

Not really. Cotto put his jab out in the 1st round and boxed Pacquiao very well at range. He then chose to abandon the jab and fight toe-to-toe. IF Cotto fought a more composed fight with Diaz in his corner, it would have been a different type of fight. Cotto could've kept Pacquaio at range. I've got a feeling they'll have a rematch and it'll be a completely different encounter.

Can't agree on the Pacquiao-Cotto point, CapLucas (won't derail too much Oxring, promise). There were many times during the mid to late stages of their fight in which Cotto tried to settle down and make it a boxing match, and still found himself coming off second best. Pacquiao countered his jab a fair amount which, if anything, simply resigned Cotto in to trying to brawl it out with him.

I agree that the Cotto who fought Mosley was the best version we've seen of him, but I still don't think he'd have the tools to beat Benitez. As for the possible Pacquiao-Cotto rematch, well who knows, I suppose. Cotto maybe has a little more still to offer than I thought, though I'd still be massively surprised if a) the fight happened, and b) Cotto managed to reverse the previous result.

You're talking about the mid to later stages of the fight but by that point Cotto wasn't the same. The knockdown in round 4 took his legs and he's lucky because he was really saved by the bell. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Pacquiao-Cotto II happened. I'm not saying Cotto would necessarily reverse the result but I'm convinced it'd be an altogether different fight. Cotto trained himself for that fight - he had no tactical or strategic approach to the fight. With Cuban Diaz in his corner, he'd follow the correct instructions. As we saw, an old/slow Marquez jumped up and still boxed Pacquiao very well at range.

Apologise for sidetracking.

This would be a good fight I think Cotto would win on points Pacquiao beats both of them though.

re: pac cotto 2 i would be suprised it happening given the comprehensive win in the first one, given the fact manny doesnt seem capable of operating above 150 and would be shocked if cotto could boil back down to 147 and be effective.

though saying that theres a l6t of money involved so who knows?

oh and at 140 against benitez, cotto gets his ears boxed off.

No contest. Benitez by KO. Just too good for Cotto.

I would envisage a close fight that Cotto would be the aggressor in against whats essentially a teenage Benitez. I think most rounds would be tight with Cotto initiating the action and Benitez looking to pick him off at range and use the ring and his longer reach.

Ultimately I cant see either fighter taking contol of the fight in a pretty nip tuck affair so it could end up one that is dependant on which style the judges prefer. A SD or draw would not be something I would rule out in a bit of a pick em. Close fight capable of going either way would be my verdict.

if we're talking pre party time benitez, which i guess at 140 we are, this is a comfortable win for wilfredo for me. An all time great talent v a merely very good fighter

If we are talking about a teenage Benitez at 140 against an experienced Cotto at 140 I dont really see how people think it would be one sided.

manos de piedra wrote:If we are talking about a teenage Benitez at 140 against an experienced Cotto at 140 I dont really see how people think it would be one sided.

Benitez was that good. If he can make SRL miss with those lightning fast flurries and counter effectively, then I fear for Cotto's safety and stamina.

azania wrote:

manos de piedra wrote:If we are talking about a teenage Benitez at 140 against an experienced Cotto at 140 I dont really see how people think it would be one sided.

Benitez was that good. If he can make SRL miss with those lightning fast flurries and counter effectively, then I fear for Cotto's safety and stamina.

Well, that was at welterweight several years after his light welterweight days, when he was just a kid really. Still think Sugar Ray won well.

Peak against peak I think a more robust and mature Benitez would beat Cotto by about 4 rounds, I dont think hes aggressive enough to get a stoppage. But in this hypothetical it doesnt seem to be the case. Its more a young teenage Benitez against a more experienced Cotto, who I would consider a simlarish level to the likes of Palomino and Cervantes who were involved in close competitve fights with him that were capable of splitting the scoring. I would envisage something similar with Cotto with two contrasting styles and neither really able to get on top leading to pretty close, subjective rounds.

fair points manos... i certainly don't see it as a walk in the park for benitez. the problem with rating benitez is that he's almost the ultimate what if. Never trained properly, got away with it as a kid and was on the slide when he should have been getting better - prob a better fighter at 18/19 than in his 20's

I see your point, Manos; as a 140 lb man (and, incidentally, as a Welterweight, too) Benitez sometimes could be accused of doing just enough now and then, and stumbling over finishing line rather than cantering over it, such as against Weston and Bruce Curry.

Mind you, I maintain that he beat Cervantes by a more convincing margin that the scorecards suggest, and I suppose that's where I'm coming from when I say that Benitez would win with something to spare in my eyes - I'm imagining them both at their respective best at Light-Welterweight, forgetting about their darker moments at the weight (and Cotto had one or two, as well).

As a win and performance, I'd say that Cervantes is a considerably better overall package than anything Cotto did at 140 lb. If we take that version of Benitez and pit him against, say, the Cotto who beat Torress, I'd back Benitez heavily. If the Cotto who beat Torress came up against a Benitez whose mind was wandering, as it sometimes did, then I see your prediction of a very close fight as a possibility.

But as I said, best for best, I'd have to go with Benitez. Just feel his style gives him a wealth of advantages in this match up. To be honest, if we're looking at all-Puerto Rican dream fights involving Cotto, I'd give him a far better chance of upsetting Trinidad at Welterweight / Light-Middleweight than I would of him toppling Benitez at Light-Welterweight, but that's just me.

manos de piedra wrote:Peak against peak I think a more robust and mature Benitez would beat Cotto by about 4 rounds, I dont think hes aggressive enough to get a stoppage. But in this hypothetical it doesnt seem to be the case. Its more a young teenage Benitez against a more experienced Cotto, who I would consider a simlarish level to the likes of Palomino and Cervantes who were involved in close competitve fights with him that were capable of splitting the scoring. I would envisage something similar with Cotto with two contrasting styles and neither really able to get on top leading to pretty close, subjective rounds.

Thanks Manos - that is (much clearer than I put it) exactly the reason why I picked the fight at 140. It has the interesting added question - its an inexperienced (very) Benitez against a proven and tested champion in Cotto.

Overall - in terms of talent between the 2 - I'd pick Benitez.

However - the notion that it is an easy win is a fallacy for me - even if Benitez would win the rounds, Cotto would be making him work. A guy with the defensive skills and counter punching combined with the body attack of Cotto - he is not an easy nights work for anyone.

I think there is a danger of Benetiz getting a bit oversold based on his raw talent and natural gifts. I always thought he prone to giving rounds away and sometimes being a bit lazy and not always the greatest tactician. Certainly dont see him having an easy time of it with Cotto.

With Benetiz, his fights in the top levels tended to be close enough and cagey affairs and occasionally so too were some of his fights at the level below that. I tend not to get too carried away with him. Cotto would belong in there with the kind of level that Palomino and Cervantes were in and having watched those fights I never felt Benitez was untouchable and think Cotto would be a very close fight with him. Especially if we are taking a teenage Benitez who has not really fully matured, against a Cotto that is older and more experienced. I guess in simple terms I dont think Benetiz ever really schooled or outclassed any top level opponents on the level I would consider Cotto at and while he was very talented and skillful, he was lacking in other areas such as workrate and aggression. Cotto is/was a very good boxer himself. Wouldnt argue with Benetiz adopting the favourite tag but I think its a close fight.

Would consider Cervantes a far better boxer at 140lbs than Cotto who really started to excel at welterweight, the natural gifts and talent he possessed would ultimately be too much for any version of Cotto. His accuracy, defence and power would be a nightmare for Cotto, a clear decision or even possibly a late KO for Benitez.