Miguel Cotto: Among Boxing's Greatest Chins Ever?

[elmersalsa]

I would say yes.

Ray Mercer, Sugar Shane Mosley and Cotto probably had the best chins of the last 33 years. Boy, can they take a shot!

[gilgamesh]

Cotto wouldn't crack my Top 20 of best chins in the last 20 years.

He was one of the most consistently entertaining fighters around, but it was quite possible to hurt him, and we saw it happen on more than a few occasions.

He didn't have a weak chin by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think of him as Iron chinned either.

[gilgamesh]

David Tua, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez

Those are some names that spring to mind when I think of best chins in recent decades.

[margaret thatcher]

definitely not in greatest chins category, he was hurt often

[gilgamesh]

definitely not in greatest chins category, he was hurt often

That's a big part of what made his fights so exciting. The ability to hurt his opponent, and the vulnerability to be hurt by them.

His 2005 fight with Ricardo Torres would've been FIght of the Year most years, it just happened to be in the same year as Castillo/Corrales.

[elmersalsa]

Miguel Cotto was hit with plastered yeast bandages by Antonio Margarito. How did he took those punches for a long fight like that? He got to be in the top 20 conversation when it came to great chins.

[margaret thatcher]

there are guys around even in the same period who took shots from high level punchers and were either barely hurt or not hurt at all, let alone hurt several times like cotto. there are the names in gil's post, and also guys like mariusz wach and ruslan provodnikov. even cotto opponent josh clottey took shots better. every era has some iron chins like this. then of course the more well known famous chins like mccall and chuvalo

cotto recovered well but he was hurt regularly, often early in fights without having taking much punishment. enough for him to not be in the absolute top tier.

[gilgamesh]

Miguel Cotto was hit with plastered yeast bandages by Antonio Margarito. How did he took those punches for a long fight like that? He got to be in the top 20 conversation when it came to great chins.

He's not in the Top 100 when it comes to that conversation.

I'm a big fan of Cotto, but you're the only person I've ever seen say he had one of the best chins ever. He certainly wasn't glass jawed, but he wasn't one of the toughest of the tough by any stretch.

[elmersalsa]

there are guys around even in the same period who took shots from high level punchers and were either barely hurt or not hurt at all, let alone hurt several times like cotto. there are the names in gil's post, and also guys like mariusz wach and ruslan provodnikov. even cotto opponent josh clottey took shots better. every era has some iron chins like this. then of course the more well known famous chins like mccall and chuvalo

cotto recovered well but he was hurt regularly, often early in fights without having taking much punishment. enough for him to not be in the absolute top tier.

He was only stopped twice. One of those stoppages were done illegally by Antonio Margarito. The other was with the great Manny Pacquiao. Pacman had to throw lots of punches to do it. I don't recall Cotto being flat out knocked out.

[margaret thatcher]

Ya and a bunch of other guys were only stopped twice or not at all, and werent hurt as easily as Cotto was

what makes his chin better than josh clottey's for example? clottey fought pac too and was never close to being down or stopped. clottey fought judah and wasnt hurt, yet judah rocked cotto after just a couple minutes. clottey wasnt hurt, stopped, or dropped when he fought margarito. clottey was never stopped at all, cotto was.

[gilgamesh]

Just off the top of my head without even giving this any deep thought.

The names I've already mentioned above...then.

Randall "Texx" Cobb
George Chuvalo
Jake Lamotta
Oscar De La Hoya
Julio Cesar Chavez
Fritzie Zivic
Joey Maxim
Lou Ambers
Marvin Hagler
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Leonard
Maxie Rosenbloom
Ray Mercer
Evander Holyfield
Oliver McCall
Muhammad Ali
Erik Morales
Rocky Juarez

I'm gonna stop now because I had to think about 45 seconds for Rocky Juarez so that's not really coming off the top of my head anymore

But I think I've made my point.

[gilgamesh]

there are guys around even in the same period who took shots from high level punchers and were either barely hurt or not hurt at all, let alone hurt several times like cotto. there are the names in gil's post, and also guys like mariusz wach and ruslan provodnikov. even cotto opponent josh clottey took shots better. every era has some iron chins like this. then of course the more well known famous chins like mccall and chuvalo

cotto recovered well but he was hurt regularly, often early in fights without having taking much punishment. enough for him to not be in the absolute top tier.

He was only stopped twice. One of those stoppages were done illegally by Antonio Margarito. The other was with the great Manny Pacquiao. Pacman had to throw lots of punches to do it. I don't recall Cotto being flat out knocked out.

I recall him being shook, and noticeably rocked in several other fights he had. There are guys where I have to struggle to think of a time I've seen them hurt. I don't have any difficulty conjuring up a hurt Miguel Cotto in my mind.

[elmersalsa]

Just off the top of my head without even giving this any deep thought.

The names I've already mentioned above...then.

Randall "Texx" Cobb
George Chuvalo
Jake Lamotta
Oscar De La Hoya
Julio Cesar Chavez
Fritzie Zivic
Joey Maxim
Lou Ambers
Marvin Hagler
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Leonard
Maxie Rosenbloom
Ray Mercer
Evander Holyfield
Oliver McCall
Muhammad Ali
Erik Morales
Rocky Juarez

I'm gonna stop now because I had to think about 45 seconds for Rocky Juarez so that's not really coming off the top of my head anymore

But I think I've made my point.

Still, Cotto belongs somewhere in there in that list. He could take a shot.

[margaret thatcher]

Just off the top of my head without even giving this any deep thought.

The names I've already mentioned above...then.

Randall "Texx" Cobb
George Chuvalo
Jake Lamotta
Oscar De La Hoya
Julio Cesar Chavez
Fritzie Zivic
Joey Maxim
Lou Ambers
Marvin Hagler
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Leonard
Maxie Rosenbloom
Ray Mercer
Evander Holyfield
Oliver McCall
Muhammad Ali
Erik Morales
Rocky Juarez

I'm gonna stop now because I had to think about 45 seconds for Rocky Juarez so that's not really coming off the top of my head anymore

But I think I've made my point.

Still, Cotto belongs somewhere in there in that list. He could take a shot.

somewhere below josh clottey

[gilgamesh]

Just off the top of my head without even giving this any deep thought.

The names I've already mentioned above...then.

Randall "Texx" Cobb
George Chuvalo
Jake Lamotta
Oscar De La Hoya
Julio Cesar Chavez
Fritzie Zivic
Joey Maxim
Lou Ambers
Marvin Hagler
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Leonard
Maxie Rosenbloom
Ray Mercer
Evander Holyfield
Oliver McCall
Muhammad Ali
Erik Morales
Rocky Juarez

I'm gonna stop now because I had to think about 45 seconds for Rocky Juarez so that's not really coming off the top of my head anymore

But I think I've made my point.

Still, Cotto belongs somewhere in there in that list. He could take a shot.

I think of Cotto as a really excellent, all around fighter. He wasn't one of the all time greatest at any one thing, but he was very good at several things.

He had a very good jab. Very good straight right. Good combinations. Good chin. Great body punches. Good timing. Good defense.

He had what it takes to make him able to hold his own with virtually anybody. That being said, there's not any 1 category where I'd say Cotto had one of the Greatest of This.

The thing that makes Cotto special for me. Is I can't recall ever seeing a boring Miguel Cotto fight.

[elmersalsa]

Just off the top of my head without even giving this any deep thought.

The names I've already mentioned above...then.

Randall "Texx" Cobb
George Chuvalo
Jake Lamotta
Oscar De La Hoya
Julio Cesar Chavez
Fritzie Zivic
Joey Maxim
Lou Ambers
Marvin Hagler
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Leonard
Maxie Rosenbloom
Ray Mercer
Evander Holyfield
Oliver McCall
Muhammad Ali
Erik Morales
Rocky Juarez

I'm gonna stop now because I had to think about 45 seconds for Rocky Juarez so that's not really coming off the top of my head anymore

But I think I've made my point.

Still, Cotto belongs somewhere in there in that list. He could take a shot.

I think of Cotto as a really excellent, all around fighter. He wasn't one of the all time greatest at any one thing, but he was very good at several things.

He had a very good jab. Very good straight right. Good combinations. Good chin. Great body punches. Good timing. Good defense.

He had what it takes to make him able to hold his own with virtually anybody. That being said, there's not any 1 category where I'd say Cotto had one of the Greatest of This.

The thing that makes Cotto special for me. Is I can't recall ever seeing a boring Miguel Cotto fight.

He had a great chin. I give him that.

[margaret thatcher]

not as good as josh clottey's

[gilgamesh]

Still, Cotto belongs somewhere in there in that list. He could take a shot.

I think of Cotto as a really excellent, all around fighter. He wasn't one of the all time greatest at any one thing, but he was very good at several things.

He had a very good jab. Very good straight right. Good combinations. Good chin. Great body punches. Good timing. Good defense.

He had what it takes to make him able to hold his own with virtually anybody. That being said, there's not any 1 category where I'd say Cotto had one of the Greatest of This.

The thing that makes Cotto special for me. Is I can't recall ever seeing a boring Miguel Cotto fight.

He had a great chin. I give him that.

On a scale of 1 to 10.

10 being Cast Iron, 1 being Glass jaw

I'd say Cotto's like a 7 in that category.

Everything is not All or nothing. Everyone is not one of the all time greatest this or that. There's a LOT of Middle ground in Boxing, and it's no shame to be standing on it.

Boxing has a rich, and deep history. A lot of people feel like you're sh*tting on a guy if you say he's not Top 100 or something, but hell if you're even Top 2000 you're pretty f*cking amazing. I mean, we're talking about a sport that's been around for over a Century.

[elmersalsa]

not as good as josh clottey's

You could put him in the mix, too. I don't recall Miguel Cotto having a glass chin. He got one of the greatest chins that I have ever seen in my lifetime. He could take good shot. He was never flat out knocked out. I give him his props for that.

Was he a true all time great pound per pound fighter? Not in my view. Even though he fought the very best and won 4 world titles in 4 different weight classes.

[gilgamesh]

not as good as josh clottey's

You could put him in the mix, too. I don't recall Miguel Cotto having a glass chin. He got one of the greatest chins that I have ever seen in my lifetime. He could take good shot. He was never flat out knocked out. I give him his props for that.

Was he a true all time great pound per pound fighter? Not in my view. Even though he fought the very best and won 4 world titles in 4 different weight classes.

Nobody recalls Cotto having a glass chin. We just also don't recall him having an iron chin because he doesn't.

He doesn't have either.

He's somewhere in the middle.

[Flump]

not as good as josh clottey's

You could put him in the mix, too. I don't recall Miguel Cotto having a glass chin. He got one of the greatest chins that I have ever seen in my lifetime. He could take good shot. He was never flat out knocked out. I give him his props for that.

Was he a true all time great pound per pound fighter? Not in my view. Even though he fought the very best and won 4 world titles in 4 different weight classes.

Nobody recalls Cotto having a glass chin. We just also don't recall him having an iron chin because he doesn't.

He doesn't have either.

He's somewhere in the middle.

This. He was certainly sturdy enough, amongst many other qualities, but he's not in the top tier chin wise.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Cotto had an average chin at the world class level

Margarito hit clottey and paul williams and couldnt hurt either. So by your logic they have the best chins of all time.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

glenn johnson had a hell of a chin.

[Flump]

glenn johnson had a hell of a chin.

He did. As did Wayne McCullough

[Ketchel]

Wayne McCullough always springs to mind when great chins are mentioned. Morales hit him with great shots and Wayne just did a shuffle and went straight back at him.