The knock on Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s career is that he is rarely enjoyable to watch, in the sense that every showing is an exhibition of boxing excellence, a kind of conveyer belt display of efficiency. Miguel Cotto dragged him out of that factory-like comfort zone Saturday night on HBO pay-per-view, but it didn’t keep Mayweather from winning a unanimous decision.
I had it a draw, and I seem to be in the extreme minority. But some folk had it pretty close, whatever the judges had it. Cotto crowded Mayweather, jabbed his head backward and connected on combos that are rare to see folk land against the defensively astute Mayweather. Mayweather even bled his own blood, which is rare for Mayweather fights.
It didn’t seem to be about the junior middleweight limit, or the 10-ounce gloves, exclusively. Mayweather was highly accurate, as is usual, and overall landed more shots. But at times, Cotto landed the more flush shots, and that is the kind of thing that can often win over judges. It just wasn’t to be this time. Mayweather did an excellent job late in the fight, too, winning the 12th round by massive margins, even nearly hurting Cotto for the first time.
Mayweather ultimately didn’t look his usual perfect self, and Cotto fought nearly as well as he could’ve against such an elusive foe. Cotto and Mayweather both come out of this winners, because Cotto was as good as he’s ever been against an elite-level foe, and Mayweather had to establish his greatness anew. This might be a hint of Mayweather showing his age, 35, or maybe it’s a sign of us having underestimated what kind of fighter Cotto is after so many hard fights. But whatever it was, it sure was as fun as any Mayweather fight you’ll see.
