Miguel Cotto staked his claim as boxing's most brutal diva last weekend, but what does the future hold for the history making champion? Oscar De la Hoya wrested control of Golden Boy Promotions from the man who made it what it was, but can De la Hoya succeed in a role he has never fully embraced? All of that as well and more in your After Action Report!
Never Truly Dead. Cotto Dismembers Martinez to Win Middleweight Gold.
In what could very well go down as one of the most impressive performances of 2014, Miguel Cotto became the first Puerto Rican to win titles in four weight classes at the expense of Sergio Martinez. Cotto took the fight to Martinez right away, dropping the aging and rickey champion three times in the opening round and never letting up until Martinez's team stopped the fight in the tenth.
Cotto finally won the big one and yet again silenced the skeptics that wondered if his latest setbacks signaled the end of his career, leaving those very same skeptics in anticipation as to where he will face next. The logical choice is the long-gestating bout between himself and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, a fight that is all the more likely thanks to the mended relationship between Oscar De la Hoya and Bob Arum, but Arum threw out a curveball by saying that he would entertain a fight with Timothy Bradley.
Alvarez has to get past Erislandy Lara, who is going to present a far different challenge than the immobile and boorish Alfredo Angulo and Bradley is...well, Bradley is nearly getting his head knocked off at 147, so what kind of fight would that be? Andy Lee, who was victorious on the undercard could also be a viable foe should Cotto's next fight take place in New York once more.
As for Martinez, the end couldn't come any more emphathetically as it did last weekend. Clearly not fully healed from the multitude of injuries his aging body has suffered, there was nothing that Martinez could do to keep Cotto away from him. Martinez was predictably coy about retirement, but there's nobody that doesn't think he'll beat anybody half-alive right now. It's a sad way for a champ to go, especially someone who tried as hard as he did to finally land a big fight, but there's nothing left in the tank for the former Middleweight king.
Cotto finally won the big one and yet again silenced the skeptics that wondered if his latest setbacks signaled the end of his career, leaving those very same skeptics in anticipation as to where he will face next. The logical choice is the long-gestating bout between himself and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, a fight that is all the more likely thanks to the mended relationship between Oscar De la Hoya and Bob Arum, but Arum threw out a curveball by saying that he would entertain a fight with Timothy Bradley.
Alvarez has to get past Erislandy Lara, who is going to present a far different challenge than the immobile and boorish Alfredo Angulo and Bradley is...well, Bradley is nearly getting his head knocked off at 147, so what kind of fight would that be? Andy Lee, who was victorious on the undercard could also be a viable foe should Cotto's next fight take place in New York once more.
As for Martinez, the end couldn't come any more emphathetically as it did last weekend. Clearly not fully healed from the multitude of injuries his aging body has suffered, there was nothing that Martinez could do to keep Cotto away from him. Martinez was predictably coy about retirement, but there's nobody that doesn't think he'll beat anybody half-alive right now. It's a sad way for a champ to go, especially someone who tried as hard as he did to finally land a big fight, but there's nothing left in the tank for the former Middleweight king.
So, How Many of You Work For Me Again? De la Hoya Faces Uncertainty at Golden Boy.
The big news outside of the ring last week was the outing of Richard Schaefer from his CEO position at Golden Boy Promotions and De la Hoya retaining control of his company. Schaefer had been running the day to day operations of GBP since they started 12 years ago, whereas De la Hoya smiled in the background, giving interviews like he was reading them off of a teleprompter and not doing much else besides telling the media how much he wanted to fight again.
With Schaefer out and De la Hoya in, the former six-division champion finds himself in a precarious position with his recently won spot as top dog. FightHype's Ben Thompson put out the list of fighters tied to Al Haymon, but not necessarily to Golden Boy, and what Golden Boy does have isn't much at all. Due to sour grapes from losing to Floyd Mayweather back in 2007, De la Hoya made it a point to scrutinize the man who's made his company millions.
His mental state is also still at question. During the biggest promotion of his companies lifespan (Mayweather vs. Alvarez), De la Hoya checked himself into rehab for substance abuse. Can De la Hoya keep it all together if things at GBP start to go south in a hurry?
At the end of the day, De la Hoya has his work cut out for him. The company has nothing scheduled past this July's Alvarez/Lara pay-per-view, his fighters that have brought his company to the peak of the boxing world probably aren't his fighters and he's showing a willingness to work for a man who has a reputation of having a bad reputation. If this was supposed to be the comeback that never happened for De la Hoya, it looks like it's as muddy as it can get.
The Furious Flurries
- Besides anticipating his downfall, I do want to congratulate De la Hoya as well as Felix Trinidad and the other inductees to this weekend's Hall of Fame class.
- ...But I wouldn't have voted for Joe Calzaghe.
- Former Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson is making his return to the ring against George Blades this June, his first fight since back-to-back KO losses to Andre Ward and Adonis Stevenson. Here's to hoping Dawson is more "Bad" than "Bum."
- Nicholas Walters might be up next for Nonito Donaire this fall. If Donaire continues to half-ass it in the ring, Walters will be more than happy to punch Donaire's ticket to exit the sport.
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