Floyd Mayweather vs Miguel Cotto: Loss to Money Puts Junito at Career Crossroads

Miguel Cotto’s career has come to a pivotal point after his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. this past Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

With the defeat, many can speculate on who Cotto’s next opponent will be, but one thing is for sure: If he wants to continue to be thought of as a top notch prizefighter, he must be victorious in his next bout.

Despite his valiant effort vs. Mayweather Jr., the truth, with no chaser, is that Cotto hasn’t won many fights against elite fighters. Throughout his successful career, Cotto has only fought three future Hall of Famers: Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley.

Cotto was only victorious against Mosley. One could argue that victory is a bit tainted. He won a close unanimous decision over Mosley in 2007, but that fight could have been the beginning of the end for Mosley.

We have seen the less-than-stellar performances Mosley has produced of late, but I believe the Cotto fight is where he began to decline. Since that fight, Mosley is 2-3-1 and clearly ready to retire.

This was, without a doubt, the best win of Cotto’s career, but it certainly did not come over Mosley in his prime. Cotto was clearly beaten by the other two boxing greats. He was TKO’d by Pacquiao in Round 12 of their 2009 bout.

The revenge win over Antonio Margarito in December was important to him personally, but let’s face it, Margarito is not a quality fighter. He’s a tough guy, but he’s nowhere near an elite talent.

So where does this leave Cotto? If you examine his body of work, there are several spirited performances but few victories over noteworthy opponents.

Cotto’s next fight could come against an up-and-comer like Canelo Alvarez or even the winner of the Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto rematch. No matter who the opponent is, he must be victorious. If he loses, it will signify a downward spiral in his career.  

If he chooses to continue his career after another defeat, Cotto could earn gatekeeper status. That is the place of purgatory many contenders land after they have hung on too long.

Now they become the grizzled veteran that the young contenders must defeat before they are considered legitimate.

That would be a huge downgrade for Cotto. If he drops another fight, I’d like to see him walk away at that point; there would be nothing left for him to gain by continuing his career.

He is a warrior, but without a win over a big-time up-and-comer or an established veteran, the quality of his career will be questioned. This is a career crossroads for Cotto.

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