Cotto-Corley HBO Pairing Could Be Scorcher
by George Elsasser
Doesn’t take more than a quick scan of the junior welter rankings of your
choice, to come away with the feeling it near impossible to make a weak
pairing in a division so loaded with talent.
No surprise then, to expect this Saturday’s HBO (after dark) offering to be
a scorcher when undefeated Miguel Cotto (22-0, 18 KO’s) puts his WBO strap
on the line against veteran southpaw DeMarcus "Chop-Chop" Corley of (29-3-1,
16 KO’s) fame.
Cotto, age 24, enters as the betting favorite on superior punching power …
knockout victims include Randall Bailey, Kelson Pinto, Victorian Sosa - not
to mention a convincing decision win over Lovemore Ndou.
Corley, age 30, but still slick and quick while working from the port side.
While the resume` shows losses when moving up in company to such as Zab
Judah and Floyd Mayweather - only the Mayweather fight was a beating. One
that saw "Chop-Chop" on the canvas in stanzas 8 & 10.
Expectations here is Cotto pressure to slowly but surely wear down the
talented southpaw … and while Corley is the veteran, and one with a solid
chin, the shortage of punching power will carry him only so far.
This neutral corner sees the power punching Cotto as something special - no
flash, no dash - but rather a complete package of power and skill that has
really only just begun.
