Boxing is a pyramid scheme; and I say that with the utmost affection with tongue firmly in cheek. If you’ve followed long enough the money flows right up to a tiny little capstone populated by few Promotional entities, a handful of fighters and trainers and about two networks- and those who enter that top floor do not want to leave. That institutional force resembles chaos but trust me it isn’t; it is an illusion meant to render consumers numb-too numb to do anything constructive enough to force the powerful to organize a rational structure. Fighters are no longer evaluated on who they engage and the willingness to engage, they are now Marketed based on the digit in the right hand column and how it looks to the uninformed. Challenges are no longer essential to building mystique and value on the marketplace, the longer you avoid them the more likely you can catch a foe “slipping”, making it easy to profit from his still relevant name. It’s a modern rite of passage practiced by all the Big Names, but it can become a general business practice once people grow comfortable with guaranteed income in a sport so unpredictable. Rarely can a “name” fighter come of age in an environment like this one with Boxing’s Top fighters and Top Firms practicing the “risk/reward” model of doing business- and build a brand rooted in “taking on all comers”. In fact, in a vacuum it would seem that a fighter could never fight tough fights, and lose some of them while simultaneously working in good faith with Business Parties hell-bent on bringing the wheels of Boxing to an arduous grind .It would take a special individual to swim these waters without getting dirty, a rare gentleman to navigate with sharks, get his money while keeping his integrity as a man intact. Miguel Cotto is such a man, and when he is done nobody will say a word about what he did or did not do which is more than we can say about his so called superiors.
Every Family no matter how dysfunctional is capable of producing at least one person who is balanced and mature-capable of transcending his environment. As the oldest my mother begged me to be bigger than my idiosyncrasies; but not every person is made up to be the “mature one” birthdates be damned. Watching Miguel Cotto parlay his surprising performance against Floyd Mayweather into an unnecessary challenge of little known WBA Champ Austin Trout was vintage Cotto because it was the right thing to do. The “Boricua Garden” would have turned out for any “set up” en route to a 2013 Blockbuster with Canelo Alvarez but Cotto chose a tall, long southpaw who deserved the platform-in a right and just world. But Boxing isn’t a right and just world, unless you’ve followed Miguel Cotto’s noble career, so when you see him again just remember he’s everything you want from the sport. “He fought everybody” is a dated phrase (and complement) unable to generate Twitter followers and modern celebrity; in fact the phrase belongs in boisterous barber shops and on the tongues of crusty old men in fedora’s. There are no extra credit points for being the “grown up” in the room, the man who could accommodate Mayweathers one way PED testing protocol and Pacquiao insistence you cut off a leg, only respect. Randall Bailey is still scaring the hell out of prime Welterweights at 39; Cotto beat him when he was closer to the rep that compelled Devon Alexander to stink out the joint in Brooklyn. Cotto beat Mosley when he was still “Mosley”, Quintana when he was still dangerous and Clottey before he went mysteriously passive against Manny Pacquiao-he got everybody’s best shot even when the shot was loaded. Everybody knows he was victimized by an “in house promotion” against Antonio Margarito; he could have blown the lid off of Boxing with what he knew but he chose to say it in Margarito’s face before kicking his ass. Even 50 Cent was disinclined to have a “Twitfit” when Cotto rebuffed his advances over the summer; deep down Curtis knew he was dealing with a grown assed man above everything he and his ex-buddy were “bringing” to Boxing. Miguel Cotto didn’t need anything but his well-earned reputation for a Cinco De Mayo clash with Alvarez but like most grownups he couldn’t stand the idea of showing up underdressed. What Cotto proved last Saturday is that there’s a way to go about this with class and real competitiveness, that you can stay on the Big Stage if your brand is associated with giving the people what they want-something Cotto can never be accused of not doing.
The Case for Cotto vs. Alvarez
Shane Mosley could be said to have practiced a similar model throughout the prosperous part of his career, but you could also say he cut competitive corners to make himself feel better about clashing with bigger men. Fernando Vargas was a case of too much too soon, of wanting to fight everybody Right Now before you were at the utmost peak of your powers. Cotto could stand the wars he eventually saw because he was already 6 years into his Hall of Fame career; he even knew what it was like to get off the canvas vs. Ricardo Torres and the experience was golden for the young fighter. Mosley’s willingness to fight nightmare matchup’s like Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest basically contributed to the available pool of name fighters networks could choose from. Both Wright and Forrest went on to more big paydays and carved out careers rooted in Mosley and Vargas’s (in the case of Wright) willingness to take them on. Austin Trout will be alright, his eye opening performance will get him back in front of the little red light real soon because Showtime has a way of maximizing the exposure of a fighter that helped them break ratings records. Cotto is a natural matchup for Alvarez in more ways than one can consider and when you stack them up they stand taller than Austin Trout’s 5’10. The truth is Alvarez if he gets past Cotto is a bigger fish (for Trout) than if Trout was given first shot at the Mexican. Fans are sophisticated, and we know if you add Cotto to an aggressive guy like Alvarez you can’t miss when it comes to satiating the taste for back and forth action.
Cotto took the responsible route in facing Trout, something vital for the sport to replenish itself from one generation to the next; I see no problem with him coming back in May to attend to PPV duties. Even Freddie Roach, a “master” at picking opponents that allowed Pacquiao built in advantages admitted that Cotto “chose the wrong guy” in Austin Trout. That statement alone should make you realize how special the Puerto Rican banger is because a lot of times “wrong” is merely code for honorable; and there’s a shortage of “honor” in the luxury penthouses of Boxing. Alvarez is looking for the Mayweather Fight but they won’t be able to link up until September, and he’s young enough to bounce back in the event that he defeats Cotto. He could do no better than the former WBA Jr. Middleweight Champion and we all know Cotto (after consecutive losses) will show up and represent himself to the fullest. This isn’t a slight on Austin Trout or encouragement to shut him out but a call for Boxing to continue to reward a man who went about it in a way that we don’t have the power to legislate in the sport. Trout will get his chances because of men like Cotto, and hopefully in a couple of years he is strong enough as a man to give others an opportunity. Success in anything is not going to improve you in the “fairness” department and we’ve been victims of the two most successful promotional firms and fighters for year’s now-Miguel Cotto always symbolized a reprieve from the burden of being a fight fan because his selection of opponants always made sense. Boxing "is" that dysfunctional Family I spoke of earlier and Miguel Cotto is a part of it while not becoming a product of it, and that is why we can trust him on May 5th. We can ill afford to make him start from square one, punishing him for doing what we want all fighters to do-in fact we should never stand by and allow guys like Cotto to be sent out to pasture too soon because it sends the wrong message. The right message is the one he projects: fight everybody, make deals quickly and with integrity and give the people what they want- and I for one want to see Cotto go out the "right" way.
Every Family no matter how dysfunctional is capable of producing at least one person who is balanced and mature-capable of transcending his environment. As the oldest my mother begged me to be bigger than my idiosyncrasies; but not every person is made up to be the “mature one” birthdates be damned. Watching Miguel Cotto parlay his surprising performance against Floyd Mayweather into an unnecessary challenge of little known WBA Champ Austin Trout was vintage Cotto because it was the right thing to do. The “Boricua Garden” would have turned out for any “set up” en route to a 2013 Blockbuster with Canelo Alvarez but Cotto chose a tall, long southpaw who deserved the platform-in a right and just world. But Boxing isn’t a right and just world, unless you’ve followed Miguel Cotto’s noble career, so when you see him again just remember he’s everything you want from the sport. “He fought everybody” is a dated phrase (and complement) unable to generate Twitter followers and modern celebrity; in fact the phrase belongs in boisterous barber shops and on the tongues of crusty old men in fedora’s. There are no extra credit points for being the “grown up” in the room, the man who could accommodate Mayweathers one way PED testing protocol and Pacquiao insistence you cut off a leg, only respect. Randall Bailey is still scaring the hell out of prime Welterweights at 39; Cotto beat him when he was closer to the rep that compelled Devon Alexander to stink out the joint in Brooklyn. Cotto beat Mosley when he was still “Mosley”, Quintana when he was still dangerous and Clottey before he went mysteriously passive against Manny Pacquiao-he got everybody’s best shot even when the shot was loaded. Everybody knows he was victimized by an “in house promotion” against Antonio Margarito; he could have blown the lid off of Boxing with what he knew but he chose to say it in Margarito’s face before kicking his ass. Even 50 Cent was disinclined to have a “Twitfit” when Cotto rebuffed his advances over the summer; deep down Curtis knew he was dealing with a grown assed man above everything he and his ex-buddy were “bringing” to Boxing. Miguel Cotto didn’t need anything but his well-earned reputation for a Cinco De Mayo clash with Alvarez but like most grownups he couldn’t stand the idea of showing up underdressed. What Cotto proved last Saturday is that there’s a way to go about this with class and real competitiveness, that you can stay on the Big Stage if your brand is associated with giving the people what they want-something Cotto can never be accused of not doing.
The Case for Cotto vs. Alvarez
Shane Mosley could be said to have practiced a similar model throughout the prosperous part of his career, but you could also say he cut competitive corners to make himself feel better about clashing with bigger men. Fernando Vargas was a case of too much too soon, of wanting to fight everybody Right Now before you were at the utmost peak of your powers. Cotto could stand the wars he eventually saw because he was already 6 years into his Hall of Fame career; he even knew what it was like to get off the canvas vs. Ricardo Torres and the experience was golden for the young fighter. Mosley’s willingness to fight nightmare matchup’s like Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest basically contributed to the available pool of name fighters networks could choose from. Both Wright and Forrest went on to more big paydays and carved out careers rooted in Mosley and Vargas’s (in the case of Wright) willingness to take them on. Austin Trout will be alright, his eye opening performance will get him back in front of the little red light real soon because Showtime has a way of maximizing the exposure of a fighter that helped them break ratings records. Cotto is a natural matchup for Alvarez in more ways than one can consider and when you stack them up they stand taller than Austin Trout’s 5’10. The truth is Alvarez if he gets past Cotto is a bigger fish (for Trout) than if Trout was given first shot at the Mexican. Fans are sophisticated, and we know if you add Cotto to an aggressive guy like Alvarez you can’t miss when it comes to satiating the taste for back and forth action.
Cotto took the responsible route in facing Trout, something vital for the sport to replenish itself from one generation to the next; I see no problem with him coming back in May to attend to PPV duties. Even Freddie Roach, a “master” at picking opponents that allowed Pacquiao built in advantages admitted that Cotto “chose the wrong guy” in Austin Trout. That statement alone should make you realize how special the Puerto Rican banger is because a lot of times “wrong” is merely code for honorable; and there’s a shortage of “honor” in the luxury penthouses of Boxing. Alvarez is looking for the Mayweather Fight but they won’t be able to link up until September, and he’s young enough to bounce back in the event that he defeats Cotto. He could do no better than the former WBA Jr. Middleweight Champion and we all know Cotto (after consecutive losses) will show up and represent himself to the fullest. This isn’t a slight on Austin Trout or encouragement to shut him out but a call for Boxing to continue to reward a man who went about it in a way that we don’t have the power to legislate in the sport. Trout will get his chances because of men like Cotto, and hopefully in a couple of years he is strong enough as a man to give others an opportunity. Success in anything is not going to improve you in the “fairness” department and we’ve been victims of the two most successful promotional firms and fighters for year’s now-Miguel Cotto always symbolized a reprieve from the burden of being a fight fan because his selection of opponants always made sense. Boxing "is" that dysfunctional Family I spoke of earlier and Miguel Cotto is a part of it while not becoming a product of it, and that is why we can trust him on May 5th. We can ill afford to make him start from square one, punishing him for doing what we want all fighters to do-in fact we should never stand by and allow guys like Cotto to be sent out to pasture too soon because it sends the wrong message. The right message is the one he projects: fight everybody, make deals quickly and with integrity and give the people what they want- and I for one want to see Cotto go out the "right" way.
