Miguel Cotto

This past Saturday, Miguel Cotto put forth a valiant effort against WBA light middleweight champion Austin Trout, but it wasn't good enough.

The 27 year-old Trout proved too youthful and too athletic for Cotto to deal with, but this wasn't all Trout's doing.  It seems like Trout had a lot of help from Father Time in beating Miguel Cotto.

Miguel Cotto is only 32 years old and is in his 11th year as a professional fighter, but in the fight game 32 years old is an aging veteran who is usually past their prime.

Unfortunately, this seems to be the case for Miguel Cotto.

Miguel Cotto isn't a shot fighter...yet. However, Cotto's career has been filled with a number of punishing bouts.  He took hellacious beatings from Antonio Margarito in 2008 and Manny Pacquiao in 2009.  Those two fights were so brutal for Cotto, that I wouldn't be surprised if they took years off his life. 

That might sound like an overstatement, but remember that there is controversial speculation that Antonio Margarito wore loaded gloves in their fight.  If he did, then Cotto took more damage than any one ever considered.  A similar event destroyed the career of the late Billy Collins Jr.

But Cotto soldiered on an exacted revenge against Margarito in 2011 and gave Floyd Mayweather, whom many consider the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, a run for his money.

After his recent loss to Trout, it doesn't seem like Cotto has any more rabbits to pull out of his hat.  He can still beat B-level fighters, but he can no longer hang with the A-listers.

Miguel Cotto is a great warrior and loves the sport of boxing.  It is a joy to watch him fight, but he should stop before that joy turns to a sullen pity.  A common problem with so many champions is that they don't know when to hang it up.  I would hate to see Cotto fall into the same trap.

He will probably fight one or two more times, but it won't be long until he realizes that he isn't the fighter he once was.  I hope for his sake that he is able to end his career on his terms with a victory.

It would be heartbreaking to see a brilliant boxer and man like Miguel Cotto stay in the game too long, to where he is getting decimated by subpar opposition.

Who knows when that point will occur, but if he retired now after a hard fought loss, he would eliminate the possibility of a sad ending to his career.  Whatever he decides to do, I just hope he leaves the sport with dignity instead of hanging around to the point where he becomes a tragic figure.

Miguel Cotto ultimately turned down millions of dollars to lose to Austin Trout.

The only thing that stood between Cotto and a rematch with Manny Pacquiao was pride. The Puerto Rican fighter let it get the best of him, and, as a result, he just lost to the least prestigious competitor of his career.

Dan Rafael of ESPN reported in early October that not Juan Manuel Marquez, but Cotto was Pacquiao’s first choice to fight this upcoming Saturday. Cotto-Pacquiao II didn’t happen, though, because Junito felt disrespected by Bob Arum’s proposal.

According to Rafael, Arum claimed to have offered Cotto $13 million to fight Pacquiao—a number that the fighter denied. Cotto argued that Arum never planned to pay him any more than what he received from his bout with PacMan in 2009. And on top of the money, Arum allegedly asked him drop down to 150 pounds. Per ESPN, Cotto said:

If he wants a big name and wants to fight the best, no catchweight. Making catchweights is easy for them. They make the other guy have trouble making weight and they take advantage of that. I wasn't going to do that again. I am 154 pounds. I am not going to fight at a catchweight and make myself weak.

Now, don’t get it twisted—Trout proved that he was a worthy opponent winning by unanimous decision. But that doesn’t change the fact that, in hindsight, Cotto should’ve definitely just fought Pacquiao.

Sure, he would’ve had to lose weight. Did Cotto really opt for much better, though? Instead of being slightly weakened against Pacquiao, he chose to compete against a fighter in Trout whose reach is five inches longer and is five years younger.

The logic isn’t there.

And so what if he would’ve lost to Pacquiao too? It wouldn’t have hurt his legacy as much as a loss to Trout, who, prior to Saturday night’s fight, was only ranked No. 8 on ESPN’s list of the top junior middleweights.

Cotto got less dough to suffer a greater letdown. It’s safe to say that he’d love a mulligan. 

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels

Austin Trout dominated the stalwart Miguel Cotto Saturday night at Madison Square Garden en route to a 12-round unanimous decision.

Now he is ready for boxing's big names.

Cotto had been a heavy favourite against Trout after his impressive performance against Floyd Mayweather and his destruction of Antonio Margarito. Cotto has been a pay-per-view star for years, and this fight was meant to be a precursor for a blockbuster showdown with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

The undefeated Trout changed the boxing landscape dramatically.

"No Doubt" Trout capitalized on his height and reach advantage. He fought well at a distance, scored with his jab and demonstrated impressive hand speed. On the inside, he proved to be the stronger fighter and hurt Cotto in close.

Austin also used ring generalship to dictate the pace of the fight. He changed his tactics throughout the contest to keep Cotto uncomfortable. He fought well off his back foot, scored from range and pressured well, while using excellent defense to avoid feeling Cotto's powerful shots.

He threw more total punches than Cotto and landed the cleaner, more effective shots. Trout landed 238 of 779 total punches at 31 percent; conversely, Cotto landed 183 of 628 at 29 percent.

Trout won the jab contest by landing 46 of 349 to the Puerto Rican's 29 of 175. In conjunction with his defense and footwork, Trout's jab helped him control the fight as he scored well on the outside and orchestrated where the fight took place.

Trout also won in power punches, which Cotto was expected to win in compensation for his size and reach disadvantage. Trout landed 192 of 430 power punches to Cotto's 154 of 453.

By the end, Cotto's face was red and marked. 

The undefeated champion defended his title and raised interesting questions about upcoming superfights. The 27-year-old, WBA 154-pound champion poses a complicated problem to many of the pound-for-pound elite.

He is bigger, younger and stronger than Pacquiao and Mayweather. He may be at a disadvantage in speed but not significantly so. His ability to keep the fight at range with his quick, long, powerful jab would allow him a chance at upsetting these two icons.

After the win, in nonsensical Spanish, he called out boxing's future: "Quiero. Tu. Quiero."

His challenge to Alvarez does not have any meaning in Spanish, but a clash between the two champions would make perfect sense and plenty of dollars. A bout with WBC champion "Canelo" would clarify the 154-pound picture and segue nicely into superfights with Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

These two belt-holders match up well, and this would be a marketable fight that is logical, lucrative and exciting.

The hottest thing out of Mexico since jalapenos is undefeated, charismatic, immensely popular and talented. At 5'9" and with a reach of 71 inches, he does not have the height disparity that Cotto faced. (Trout is 5'9" and has a reach of 72 inches.)

Alvarez's sterling record of 41-0 with 30 knockouts has made believers of his doubters, but a bout with Trout would be his biggest test to date.

This would help prove to the world that the carefully brought-along 22-year-old Mexican superstar is ready to swim with the big fishes and fight the best. This encounter serves both champions well. A respectable performance would keep them in the picture for superfights.

A loss by Trout would not eliminate him from future marquee fights—rather, the positive exposure would enhance his limited fanbase. Ironically, a loss to Alvarez might make it easier for the big names to accept his challenge.

Even without the Alvarez title unification contest, Trout is an excellent option for the big names in boxing.

As rumours circulate that Pacquiao wants to fight Brandon Rios in April 2013, a Trout fight makes far more sense. Rios just moved up from 135 after a poor final performance against Richard Abril and has since only fought at 140 once. While his lone win was epic and thrilling, it does not qualify him to fight boxing's biggest star.

A win over "No Doubt" offers far more credibility and enhances Pacquaio's legacy infinitely more than a Rios win.

Floyd Mayweather is still not scheduled to fight anyone in 2013. A match with Austin Trout would help show "Money's" detractors that he is not afraid of southpaws and facing bigger, stronger opponents. Many claim that Mayweather does not want to face Manny and Sergio Martinez because of their unorthodox stance. They also claim he had avoided Antonio Margarito and Paul Williams because of their size.

A definitive victory over Trout would assuage those rumblings once and for all.

Sergio Martinez is fighting unheralded Martin Murray in April 2013. This is no way for the 37-year-old to cement a legitimate legacy. Martinez deserves a chance to prove his greatness to the world. He is slick, athletic, fast and exciting to watch. The middleweight champion has bigger fish to fry at 154, and Trout would be a great place to start.

If Martinez is sincere in his desire to get blockbuster bouts, he should take a risk on Trout.

At 27 years old, Austin Trout and his undefeated record of 26-0 are sitting in an excellent position. There are many routes to the fame and fortune he has earned. An initial battle with "Canelo" that produces a fan-friendly result will open the doors to superfights in boxing.

Congrats to him, and the boxing world just got a little bit brighter. Here is a Spanish tip to help him get going: "Canelo, con todo el respeto del mundo, quiero pelear contigo."

Not many people outside the boxing community knew the name Austin Trout before Saturday night. But with his decisive unanimous-decision victory over Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto in front of over 13,000 hostile fans, that's about to change.

Trout dominated Cotto and became the first man to beat him at MSG, winning in stunningly lopsided fashion by utilizing his jab and forcing Cotto to fight from the outside where he was never able to get his offensive attack working. 

With the win Trout successfully defended his WBA super welterweight championship and left his foe battered, bruised and beaten in a fight few expected him to win.

One of the few who felt he would win was Austin Trout himself, who said he was treating this match as his one and only shot at boxing glory.

He knew how hard it was to get to this stage. He took the long road here, often traveling the globe, not just for big fights, but for any fights at all. 

Even with the WBA championship, which he had to fight for and win in Mexico, nobody was in a rush to face him.

And perhaps now we know why. 

Trout is a tremendous boxer. He's a southpaw with a long reach, stiff jab and a confidence about him that says he can beat anybody if he just gets a chance.

He now has reason to be hopeful that more chances will come his way. 

In speaking with me earlier in the week, Austin Trout described boxing as a house, and said he was forced to climb through the window to get inside. 

Now that he's beaten Miguel Cotto, he's not only in the house, he's got his own set of keys. And the view from inside is much nicer than looking through that window.

"It looks good. I'm happy that I can sit on the couch and kick my feet up. But that doesn't mean in no way that I'm gonna get comfortable. This is where the hard work starts," Trout told me at the post-fight press conference.

"I understand staying on top is harder than getting to the top. In some eyes I might not even be on the top yet. I'm just gonna keep working, keep climbing."

The next logical mountain to climb for Trout could be the man that would in all likelihood have faced Miguel Cotto in May had he won tonight—Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

Like Trout, Alvarez also holds a belt at 154 pounds, and was at ringside for the fight, presumably to scout Cotto.

Trout was as decisive in describing who he wants next as he was in defeating Cotto in the ring. In one word—Canelo.

"Canelo should be next. That would be my dream scenario. He wants to fight May 5 and I think that's perfect timing," said Trout.

He also didn't hesitate, in somewhat uncharacteristic fashion, to take a little shot at his potential future opponent.

"To me logically in my mind he should be wanting to fight me. Not to mention I have a belt. Why would you not want to unify? There's nothing left for him to do besides fight a real junior middleweight."

In calling out Canelo Alvarez, Trout also pointed out what has become a frequent criticism of the rising Mexican star—that he has yet to face a true junior middleweight challenger.

He would certainly get that in Austin Trout, who after tonight could force people to ask the question—is Canelo Alvarez ready for Austin Trout—and not the other way around.

The product of Las Cruces, New Mexico has now proved that he's a legitimate champion and force to be reckoned with at 154 pounds. A fight with Alvarez would be another great stylistic matchup between a boxer and a banger.

While he is certainly ready, it wouldn't be a surprise at all if the people at Golden Boy Promotions find a way to keep this fight from happening. 

It's another in that long line of high-risk, low-reward matchups, and with the emphasis on big-money, get-rich-quick type fights it may never happen. 

But it should. The best fight the best. 

And Miguel Cotto deserves a ton of credit for taking on a challenge that nobody else wanted. They must've known something the rest of us did not.

If there was any doubt, there is "no doubt" now. Austin Trout is for real.

And he might just be the best fighter not named Mayweather in the 154-pound division.

Kevin McRae is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report who covers all things boxing. Unless otherwise noted all quotes were obtained by the writer personally.

Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs) returned to Madison Square Garden Saturday night and fought Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KOs) for Trout’s WBA world light middleweight title. Miguel Cotto was looking to regain a title, but this night belonged to Austin Trout.

Austin Trout came into this fight with and undefeated record and the advantage of being five years younger than Cotto.  The question mark surrounding Trout was his lack of experience against high-level opponents.

This proved to be a non-factor.

Austin Trout came out looking impressive within the first two rounds.  He was more active than Cotto and did a nice job of maintaining his distance with strong right jabs, which set up the straight left.

Rounds three and four were better rounds for Cotto.  He was able to cut down the distance and land his classic left hook.  He still wasn’t landing as often as Trout, but his hooks were stronger punches than Trout’s.

From there on the fight saw some great back-and-forth action. Cotto had a big sixth round and looked like he was starting to take control of the fight, but Trout had a very good seventh round where he started to cause swelling around Cotto’s eyes.

This fight started to resemble the pattern of the Cotto vs. Mayweather fight. Cotto played the role of aggressor, while Trout was the slick defensive counterpuncher.  Trout did his homework and did a nice job of mimicking Mayweather’s game plan.

The ninth round seemed to be the definitive turning point in the fight.  Trout landed a borderline low-blow punch that hurt Cotto.  Cotto then started to run.  I think the accumulation of Trout’s body shots started to take its toll.

Cotto tried his best, but Trout controlled the rest of the fight with his defensive skills and athleticism. 

Trout won this fight via unanimous decision and proved to the world that he is a legitimate champion.  The future looks very bright for Austin Trout.

Miguel Cotto is still a strong boxer, but he is on the decline.  His best days are behind him.

I think this fight was the springboard to superstardom that Trout was looking for.  Austin Trout is for real.  There is no doubt about that.

When Miguel Angel Cotto (37-3) squares off against Austin “No Doubt” Trout (25-0) Saturday night in Madison Square Garden for Trout’s WBA Title, the boxing world will be ready for a heavyweight brawl in the light middleweight division.

This is the kind of boxing match even the most casual fan won’t want to miss.

Cotto is trying to mount a comeback in the boxing community after two tough losses to legends Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, and Trout is a younger fighter trying to get the definitive win that would send him into the upper echelon.

On Saturday night, something has to give.

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City

When: Saturday, Dec. 1 at 9 p.m. ET

Watch: Showtime (premium channel)

Live Stream: Showtime Anytime (subscription required)

Cotto’s Key to Victory: Keep Trout Guessing

Cotto is fighting for his boxing life right now. With two chances at glory thwarted, the 32-year-old ring veteran knows that if he ever wants another chance to go down in history, he must defeat Trout Saturday.

Trout has the definitive size advantage, but Cotto has stood toe-to-toe with the best and knows how to use his in-ring tactics to outmaneuver his opponent.  

Junito must keep Trout guessing all night.

With a mixture of punches coming from all different angles, Cotto must use the entire ring and force Trout out of his comfort zone. The lack of predictability in Cotto’s attacks will have the young champion on his heels and Junito on the attack.

Trout’s Key to Victory: Use the Size Advantage

While Cotto has the experience of being in the ring with some of the best, it's Trout with the definitive size advantage in this battle. At 5’10”, the WBA champion is three inches taller than Cotto.

While that doesn’t sound like much, in boxing that’s night and day.

Add in Trout’s reach advantage and southpaw stance, and there is little doubt that this will be one of the toughest tests of Cotto’s career.

As long as Trout can stick to the game plan and keep Cotto outside where his reach advantage can be exploited, the champion has a good chance at retaining his title.

Prediction: Cotto Wins via Unanimous Decision

After a hard-fought battle that will go the distance, it will be Cotto that stands tall at the end of the fight as the new WBA Light Middleweight Champion.

While boxing fans will be looking for the knockout punch, both of these fighters are too tough to go down in this momentous of a fight.

With 12 long rounds in the books, the judges will make the call and hand the unanimous win to Cotto.

Check back for more on boxing as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s Boxing page or listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics.

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A raucous atmosphere awaits Miguel Cotto and Austin Trout when they walk into Madison Square Garden on Saturday night to battle for Trout's WBA light-middleweight title.

Cotto (37-3 with 30 KOs) is the savvy veteran and future Hall of Famer who has nothing to lose, fighting in front of a heavily pro-Cotto crowd at the Garden.

Trout (25-0 with 14 KOs) is the upstart youngster who is determined to prove that his name belongs in the same sentence as those considered to be the best fighters in the world.

Let's take a look at what each fighter needs to do to walk out of the World's Most Famous Arena with the WBA light-middleweight championship around his waist.

Keys For Miguel Cotto

The last thing Cotto wants tonight is for the fight to take place in the center of the ring.

Cotto must keep Trout on the ropes so that he can go to work inside, taking away Trout's reach advantage and making the youngster's jab a virtual non-factor.

Turning Trout's long arms into a hindrance by keeping things tight and close is the most important thing Cotto can do to ensure victory.

Allowing Trout to land jabs and keep distance between the two could end with catastrophic results for Cotto, who, while he has superior firepower to his opponent, cannot afford to fight Trout's fight.

Keys for Austin Trout

The champion is looking to do everything that Cotto will try to prevent him from doing.

Trout, who has the reach advantage, simply cannot allow Cotto to force him to the edges of the ring and get inside when he finds himself up against the ropes.

His jab is his biggest weapon, and he must keep his distance so that he can use it effectively against the harder-hitting veteran.

Trout has never faced someone as powerful as Cotto, and finding out whether his chin can withstand a flurry from Cotto is not something that he should be in a rush to discover.

Prediction

My gut tells me that Trout wins this one, but I can't shake the feeling that this fight is going to come down to the judges' scorecards—and that the heavily pro-Cotto crowd will prove to be the one opponent that Trout can't dispatch.

Cotto wins a split decision.

Respected trainer Pedro Diaz has predicted that his charge, Miguel Cotto, 32, will capture a fifth world title on Saturday, December 1 when he challenges Austin Trout (25-0-0, 14ko) for the American's WBA belt in his adopted fighting home of Madison Square Garden in New York: "We're going to win," the ex boss of Cuba's highly successful amateur boxing program proclaimed recently at a public workout.

For eight years and counting, Cotto (37-3-0, 30ko) has boxed at the elite level, collected the sport's highest honors in three weight classes and done so in an exciting and fan-pleasing manner. Under Diaz, the popular Puerto Rican prizefighter has undergone a rebirth in style.

The pair united after Cotto had a two-fight partnership with the late and legendary coach Emanuel Steward. Versus Antonio Margarito one year ago and in a highly-anticipated rematch laden with bad blood, Miguel—with Pedro in his corner issuing instruction between rounds—picked Margarito apart, broke him down, gobbled him up and spat him out in one of 2011's most intelligent performances.

Five months later, Cotto met Floyd Mayweather Jr in a Las Vegas ring but lost a hard-fought decision. Cotto stormed back to his dressing room without giving a post-fight interview as he fumed at the result.

"Since I started working with Miguel Cotto, we talked about the future, different training techniques and new preparations like training at high altitude," said Diaz on the changes in Cotto's camp.

On preparing for Trout, he added:

We trained for three weeks in Puerto Rico to prepare Miguel for Big Bear. Once we got there, training was excellent.

The final result was exactly what we wanted and we met our physical and mental goals for Miguel. Miguel has been in some very tough and difficult fights and we wanted to give his body some extra oxygen by training in Big Bear. Everyone knows the benefits of training at a high altitude and it paid off.

We came back to Orlando to finish our preparations and everything has gone smoothly. He's 100 percent ready and Miguel can feel the difference from this training camp to the others before."

Against Trout, Cotto trades blows with a genuine junior middleweight looking to preserve an unblemished professional record. Diaz, though, is undeterred. 

"I know were going to win on December 1st."

If you could sum up the career of Miguel Cotto in just one word it would be "tough." He's been through wars—against Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito among others—and has never left a fight without leaving it all in the ring. 

At 32, which is not old but a tricky age in boxing, could all these ring wars and his age finally catch up to him?

It's something that Cotto says he isn't worried about:

"I've just put myself through a hard training camp just to be the winner. And it's as it was in my whole career," Cotto said Monday. "I'm here to face Austin [Trout] next Saturday. I'm here to win and I'm not going to rest until I get it."

One thing that can never be questioned about Miguel Cotto is his determination. He’s become boxing's example of the superstar who refuses to die.

Many were writing him off after his devastating knockout defeat at the hands of Antonio Margarito in 2008. Even more jumped off the bandwagon when he suffered another crushing knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao just over a year later.

But Miguel Cotto isn't interested in the critics or those who tell him he can't do something.

He just loves to fight and turned in one of the best performances of his career, albeit in a losing effort, against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. this past May. It was a fight he says gave his career a jump-start and in the eyes of many signaled he was still able to compete at an elite level.

But the question that has yet to be answered is whether Cotto’s performance was the beginning of a resurgence or a last hurrah.

One tremendous advantage Cotto will get will be from the partisan crowd, with few traveling to MSG on a cold Saturday night in December to cheer for Austin Trout.

New York is a second home for the four-time world champion Cotto, and he will have the backing of over 20,000 people cheering his every move. It will be the type of atmosphere his opponent has never seen before, despite his previous fights in Panama and Mexico against popular local fighters.

And it's something that can be quite intimidating—many a fighter has lost a fight before stepping into the ring—but also adds tremendous pressure on the hometown guy to put on a good show.

Cotto has been down this road many times before. He’s undefeated in seven fights at MSG, and he’s just going to enjoy the experience.

"I'm just thankful for being here and I'm going to do my best, just for all of the fans and all of the people who are going to be there for me. I don't know what will pass through Austin's mind, but I'm going to enjoy the whole night,” Cotto said.

It’s this experience gap, and the enormity of the moment, that many feel will catch up with Austin Trout when the two meet in the ring on Saturday night.

But to dismiss Trout as another fighter who will wilt under the big lights shows a lack of understanding of the man and what makes him tick.

Many feel that Trout could do himself wonders, win or lose, if he puts in a good performance on this stage. But the 27-year-old doesn’t feel like he’s coming to the ring to defend just his WBA championship, he feels his entire career could be on the line.

“I feel like the powers that be don’t necessarily want me in the boxing game because I feel like I’m a thorn in everybody’s sides. A loss will be the best way for them to get me outta there. So losing is really not an option,” Trout said.

More than anything, he’s young, hungry and determined to show he belongs. Make no mistake about it, he’s coming to win and nothing less will do.

“Even if I still perform to the best of my ability [in a loss]. I think that they won’t let me in. And they didn’t let me in anyway I had to kinda climb through the window.”

The stage is set for a very intriguing matchup. Both fighters feel they have something to prove, and beyond that, feel they’re fighting for their careers.

It’s the classic battle of age and experience against youth and determination.

It could well come down to whomever feels they have more to fight for—and which man feels they have more to lose.

Kevin McRae is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted all quotes were obtained personally