Mayweather vs. Cotto Predictions: 3 Reasons Why Cotto Will Go the Distance

Miguel "Junito" Cotto may be a huge underdog in his fight against Floyd "Money" Mayweather on Saturday night, but you never know what might happen. When a fight goes to the scorecards especially, it leaves the decision in the hands of the judges, and that has certainly led to some mind-boggling results over the course of boxing history.

With that said, as long as Cotto can hang in there and last 12 rounds, he has a shot at handing Mayweather the first loss of his Hall of Fame career. Obviously, going the distance plays into Mayweather's hands as well, but it may represent Cotto's best chance, so I fully expect him to try to win on points.

Here are three reasons while Junito will last the entire fight and leave his fate up to the judges in his 

Mayweather Can't Be Knocked Out

Mayweather has competed in 42 professional fights, and he has won all of them. So it goes without saying that he has never been knocked out. He also has never been legitimately knocked down either, so Cotto's chances of becoming the first to do so aren't great.  

Cotto probably has more power than anyone Mayweather has ever faced, and he has the advantage of being used to the 154-pound weight class, whereas Mayweather moved up, but I can't see Mayweather being knocked out.

Perhaps Cotto doesn't think that he can beat Mayweather on the scorecards, but he has to know that going for a knockout is a losing proposition as well. Mayweather is tough to hit flush, and he's a dynamic counter-puncher who can make Cotto pay if he messes up. Since so many bad things can happen if he sells out for the knockout, Cotto will play it safe and go all the way. 

Past Failures Will Make Cotto Cautious Late

Cotto is still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing. He has only lost twice over the course of his career, but both of his defeats came in similar fashion. He was knocked out in the 11th round by Antonio Margarito and in the 12th round by Manny Pacquiao. What that says is that he has gotten lackadaisical in the latter stages of some fights, and that is something that he can't afford to do against a fighter as smart and opportunistic as Mayweather.

There is no question that Cotto and his camp are well aware of the mistakes he made in his two losses, and they won't want to repeat them. As long as Cotto isn't getting absolutely massacred in his mind by the time the final two rounds come about, he should be content to remain fairly cautious in an effort to get to the final bell. If it goes the distance, he might not win, but if he gets knocked out, then it eliminates whatever chances he had to begin with.

Mayweather's Style Is Tailored to Decisions

Because of his quickness, Mayweather has pretty much dictated the pace of every fight that he's ever been in. That will once again be the case against Cotto, whether Junito likes it or not. Cotto can try to push the pace if he wants to, but Mayweather will simply find a way to fight on his terms, so Cotto might as well go with the flow and hope that he can beat Mayweather with his own game.

Mayweather simply won't be goaded into a slug fest, so even if Cotto wants to end the fight early, I highly doubt he'll be able to, unless it results in him getting knocked out. There is obviously an outside chance that Cotto will get a bit overzealous and leave an opening for Mayweather, but if he plays it smart, he'll just hang around. This fight going 12 rounds doesn't have much to do with Cotto's style, but he'll be along for the ride, as Mayweather will take it to the scorecards.