The classic warriors of boxing's yesteryear, Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta, are fighters who were a breed unto themselves and can never be equaled.
That being said, I hope you will please allow me to make a pale comparison between these two great boxers and two of modern day's finest pugilists, who are scheduled to meet this coming November.
When 28-year-old Caguas, P.R., native Miguel Ángel Cotto took on Mexico's Antonio Margarito on July 26 of last year, it ended with Cotto acquiring his first and only loss so far.
The tough Latino boxer took a vicious beating at the hands of Margarito without any thoughts of self-preservation, and when it came time to surrender to the onslaught, he let his cornermen decide his fate.
Giacobe La Motta, born July 10, 1921, and still residing somewhere in New York, is better known as Jake LaMotta, a tremendous body-banger.
A pressure fighter who possessed the type of ferocious punching power that could take you down with one well-placed shot to the liver.
And not unlike Cotto, he too would use his bullying style to get inside his weary opponent's defense; there he could unleash tremendous hooks to the rib cage.
Style wise, Cotto is a dead ringer for La Motta—who, by the way, would also sooner die than surrender.
The Raging Bull, or the Bronx Bull, as he was known at the time, could truly "take a lickin' and keep on tickin'."
LaMotta would "roll" with the punches, minimizing their force, thus escaping knockdowns, knockouts, or, ultimately, any form of future brain damage.
These natural boxing skills also awarded him with the—not totally accurate, but irrefutable—reputation of having one of the best chins in boxing.
The Raging Bull had a great career—he had 83 wins, 19 losses, and four draws with 30 wins by way of knockout.
Undoubtedly, however, one of LaMotta's biggest boxing achievements was being the first man to dethrone the greatest pound-for-pound boxer who ever lived: Sugar Ray Robinson.
La Motta knocked the great Robinson to the canvas during the first round, and simply out-pointed him over the entire course.
The fight was second of their legendary six-bout rivalry. Jokingly, La Motta once said, "I fought Sugar Ray so many times that it's a wonder I didn't get diabetes."
Cotto can be compared to The Raging Bull as well, in that he enters each match with the same workman like mindset. Not to mention, an unequaled toughness against fighters known for their speed, lateral movement, and boxing ability.
His unwavering pressure fighting skills, combination punching, and body assault at close quarters enable him to negate, or nullify the speed of his quicker opponents.
Cotto can also take an early beating, put his money in the bank so to speak, and come on strong down the stretch, which systematically brings an end to the fight in the later rounds, or by doing enough in the second half to win the decision.
This was evident in his win over journeyman Shane Mosley, however in no other fight was it more apparent than in his classic Madison Square Garden war with Zab Judah.
Judah constantly rocked Cotto early in the fight with hard left uppercuts, and later in the eighth round, the deadly accurate southpaw opened a cut inside Cotto's mouth with a brutal right hook.
Cotto, however, is no ordinary boxer—he is an elite fighting machine, who is used to taking a few lumps in order to give some back—so even with blood dripping, he quickly recovered, and came on stronger.
He landed 90 power punches over the last four rounds, compared to 24 for Judah, which eventually—due to Cotto relentlessly pressuring him with heavy blows—wore Judah down.
The quick-fisted Brooklyn, N.Y. native was forced to take a knee in the ninth round, and was decked by a left hook that ultimately finished him in the 11th.
In Cotto's next fight, nothing changed except the face and the name, just another banged up, blood dripping, courageously fought battle, this time against top contender Joshua Clottey.
It was a close fight in front of a packed MSG house of Cotto fans, but he once again showed heart, courage, and determination, and gained the decision.
Cotto will now face off against Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao, in a 12-rounder on Nov. 13, for one of the numerous alphabet Welterweight Championship titles.
The similarities, and the potential for fans to witness an old-time throwback welterweight war, are now firmly in place; however, questions still exist.
Will the young version of La Motta be able to bully the smaller Pacquiao around the ring as he has done against past opponents?
Can he nullify the Filipino native's quickness, or will Pacquiao's tremendous hand speed prove too much to handle for the brawling Cotto?
In regard to the Pacquiao comparison, the name Henry Armstrong has been mentioned, yet, although "Homicide Hank" was one of the best—I personally feel Pacquiao's popularity and greatness is more similar to Robinson.
True that there will never be another Robinson; he was, unequivocally, the best ever—a fighter who invented the term "pound for pound."
That being said, if we were to look for a fighter to match up with Robinson in terms of dominance over several different weight classes, we would be hard-pressed not to consider the Filipino superstar.
And, if Pacquiao should win a seventh championship by defeating Cotto, and then go on to defeat the winner of the Mayweather-Marquez matchup, it would support a solid argument concerning him equaling, or surpassing the greatness of Sugar Ray.
Unfortunately, for Cotto, a loss to Pacquiao at this point, could possibly take him completely out of the welterweight picture in terms of super fights.
As a fan, I'm simply hoping for a good competitive boxing match—but wouldn't it be great to look back in the coming years and say, "Hey! We knew that one was destined to be a classic."
"The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence, but in the mastery of his passions."
— Alfred Tennyson
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