Miguel Cotto vs Michael Jennings Fight Preview
Miguel Cotto returns to the ring this Saturday for the first time since his loss to Antonio Margarito last July. Since that defeat, the first of his career and a punishing setback, Margarito has been caught with illegal hand wraps and has been suspended for at least one year. This not only puts a potential rematch with Margarito on the backburner, it also adds the question of whether or not Margarito cheated during the Cotto fight.
The fight saw Cotto brutally punished and stopped with his face battered into a bloody mess. Considering the recent revelations about Margarito’s hand wrapping, that win becomes suspect, and Cotto’s loss seems less important. That is of course if he can rebound in convincing fashion against unknown Michael Jennings of the UK.
Meet The Fighters
Miguel Cotto
32 (26) – 1
Height: 5’7” Reach: 67”
Former junior welterweight and welterweight champion
Michael Jennings
34 (16) – 1
Height: 5’9”
WBO #3 welterweight contender
Cotto vs Jennings Prediction
Miguel Cotto doesn’t just need to get back in the win column, he needs to re-announce his claim to the welterweight crown. The top of the welterweight division is crowded right now, and no fighter stands alone as the clear number one fighter. Mosley is coming off of his upset win over Margarito, but Cotto holds a recent win over Mosley.
Maybe Cotto would be the top dog, but he lost to Margarito, who not only is tainted and suspended, but has lost now to Mosley and Paul Williams. Williams can’t get anybody to fight him in the division, and has been campaigning between 154 and 160 lbs. Joshua Clottey suffers from the same fate, with few men willing to meet him in the ring. Meanwhile, Andre Berto is a title holder looking for a big time dancing partner to establish himself as one of the welterweight elite.
Cotto is going to be focused and will be, as usual, in great condition for this fight. If he wants to be seen as the best in the division, he needs to look it. His last outing before the Margarito fight was a brutal and almost playfully easy assault on Alfonso Gomez. Cotto will be looking for a similarly early evening, and will find it against the untested Jennings.
> Be sure to check out the entire 2009 boxing schedule of events & check out the great discount boxing equipment here at Pro Fighting Fans!
How Jennings sneaked up to the number 3 spot in the WBO rankings is anybody’s best guess. A quick perusing of his resume would leave even the most steadfast of ring experts scrambling to find a name that he recognizes.
Look for Cotto to come out boxing and working his jab. He will use his superior skills and speed to create angles and circle Jennings. Slowly he will begin to open up his game, launching left hooks to the body followed by hooks and uppercuts to the head. This fight shouldn’t make it pass the middle rounds, and if Cotto is on his game, the referee or Jennings’ corner will end the affair somewhere between the 6 th and 8 th rounds.
With a Margarito fight out of the picture, Cotto could elect to rematch Shane Mosley. He could also choose to fight Andre Berto. Either would provide a stern test and a chance for Cotto to climb to the top of the welterweight mountain.
By Jake Emen
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer & Director of Boxing Content