This Saturday, the WBA Junior Middleweight title will be on the line when Miguel Cotto faces off against champion Yuri Foreman in the first boxing event in Yankee Stadium since Muhammad Ali's third encounter with Ken Norton. This match has an intriguing backdrop, with Cotto attempting to win a title in a third division, tying the mark set by Puerto Rican icon Felix Trinidad, and the relatively unknown Foreman who is looking to make his name in the sport.
Cotto's career has been an exciting one; his fights have always been fun to watch, whether it's blasting out some ho-hum fighters, like Alfonso Gomez or Carlos Quintana, or his wonderful brawls, with the likes of "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito. The Puerto Rican bomber ripped through the Junior Welterweight division and at Welterweight, continued to pound and pummel his opposition. He was looking to shape up to be the best fighter in the sport.
That was, of course, until Antonio Margarito demolished him in 11 rounds in a close pitched battle. That was also before his controversial victory over Joshua Clottey, in which he took nearly as much punishment as he did in the Margarito fight. Not many were convinced he won. That also was before Manny Pacquiao battered him in 12 rounds.
Now, Cotto is looking anything but the fighter he once was and in just the span of two years, boxing's young prince not only has ceded the throne, but he is on his final legs. The Foreman fight is a great indicator of what Cotto has left to give and after a good rest and a new trainer in Emmanuel Steward, it's feasible to believe that Cotto can bring back that magic once again.
This won't be any easy task for Cotto as Foreman has a five inch advantage in height (5'11 to 5'6) and reach (72" to 67"), and will physically be a much bigger fighter in the ring when they touch gloves Saturday night. Foreman's power is going to be a factor as well, despite the fact he only has eight knockouts through nearly thirty fights whereas Cotto has nearly as many knockouts in his career (27) as Foreman has fights (28). While Foreman probably won't be able to knock out any Junior Middleweight, it's very conceivable that his punches can hurt a much smaller fighter in Cotto.
Should Cotto win, he'll instantly become the face of the talent-deficient Junior Middleweight division, who's best stars have gone up in weight and hasn't really had a star in the class since the days of Oscar De La Hoya. Depending on how long he can stay in the game and how capable he looks this Saturday, a Cotto victory, and further dominance in the division, can guarantee him a spot in boxing's Hall of Fame should he ever step down.
A loss will ruin everything, more so than his losses against Margarito and Pacquiao. There's so much for him to gain this weekend, but a loss, or a victory in which he takes a lot of punishment, will call for his retirement, in which would mark the end of a career that fell much too short of the expectations many had for him.
Maybe it's easy to say that we've already seen the best that Cotto has had to offer and there may not be much left to give, but that's up to Cotto to prove us all wrong and carry on his career, attempting to perform to the high standards we hold him to.