Emanuel Steward on Cotto/Mayorga, Donaire, & more

boxingBy Vivek Wallace: On the evening of March 12th, Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto will step back in the ring for the first time since dethroning former WBA Champion Yuri Foreman.

After facing a lengthy list of highly notables in the sport, some may find Ricardo Mayorga a break from the norm, but after sitting down with legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, it became blatantly obvious that this is not someone they plan to take lightly.

Steward covered wide array of topics, ranging from Cotto’s pending showdown with Mayorga, to Filipino Nonito Donaire, as well as the excitement level of the sport and why he feels Cotto’s pending battle won’t disappoint. Here’s what the legendary trainer had to say:

Vivek W.: Emanuel, Ricardo Mayorga presents a very intriguing matchup for Miguel Cotto. Considering that there are a few other challengers out there that he could have considered that carry equivalent reward in comparison to the risk, tell me, why Mayorga?

E. Steward.: “Cotto has fought Mosley, Judah, Clottey, Margarito, Pacquiao, and down the line. He really has fought everyone between 147 and 154 worth fighting. This is the only name that he hasn’t fought. It’s a dangerous fight, and in some ways it’s a no-win situation.. I say that because if he beats him badly, many will say “he should have won”; but if doesn’t look as good, suddenly you have people saying “he’s (Cotto) lost it, and he isn’t a top fighter any more”. This is the kind of fight we want for Cotto. When you look at Mayorga, people think it’s a drop down in competition, but you never know what to expect against this guy.

Every time he’s up to bat he’s swingin’ for the home run and you never know when he’s gonna hit one…..we don’t wanna be that particular night that he hits one! So, we plan to come prepared”.

Vivek W. Many fight fans out there have made a little noise about the matchup, considering Mayorga’s inactivity over the past 2 years or so. What would you say to the fight fans out there who question the interest gauge of the fight?

E. Steward: “It’s an intriguing fight, and the fans are gonna be there – both at home and in attendance to see the fight – because it’s two marquee names and both have been in very exciting fights, and they’re known for being in very exciting fights. I think it’s gonna be a highly viewed show! I didn’t know if it would be at first, but seeing the amount of calls and so forth that I’ve been receiving…..the interest is really, really picking up because these are two exciting fighters that come to fight”!

Fans of fighting sports are tired of all these technical situations. They want action and they want fights with a lot of action. When you look at that sport, (MMA/UFC), it’s all about excitement, not just someone with a great record of 18-0 against another undefeated record. (Laughing) Hell, in MMA they put together a card with one man who has a record of 5-5 against another man who’s 4-8, and they sell the whole place out! You know why? Because fans know they’re gonna get a certain level of action, not just fighters with a great winning record. Fight fans want to see action, and this fight will have action.

Vivek W.: This past weekend the world had a chance to see a young man that I’ve raved about for a while now, referring to rising star Nonito Donaire. What were your thoughts about his performance?:

E. Steward: (Smiling) I hadn’t seen much of Donaire before, but from what I saw…..Oh my God! He’s a total package! His balance, his precision punching, his coordination, ring intelligence…..and the knockout punch…..I mean, Montiel hadn’t even really done anything wrong. If you watch the replay, Donaire has so much power……after getting hit with a punch himself, he was still able to remain balanced enough to land stop the guy cold. To see a little guy land with that kind of power……I never saw nothing like it.

I like his intelligence……listening to him in and out of the ring. He has all the makings of what we need in boxing right now, especially with that power. Seems all the power is going to the little guys more so than the big guys now days! (laughs).

Vivek W.: When you listen to the media, you see this constant, what I call “swinging pendulum”, where the moment a fighter pulls the curtains on an opponent and closes the show, he immediately jumps to the head of the class – in terms of P4P worthiness. We saw it with Martinez, now we see it with Donaire. I love his talent and would love to see him in the P4P mix, but if you put him at #2 after two or three credible defenses, by that logic, another solid victory and you’re questioning his status in comparison to a Pacquiao, or an active Mayweather. What I’m saying is that I think the title is tossed around so much by the media that people are totally confused about what a true P4P entitlement should be. Where would you rank him at this time with regards to this topic?

E. Steward: I think we’ve gotten so carried away with this P4P stuff, when you think about how people rate it today. I could agree with saying that you have to consider how well a fighter does against the best. Based on that, I could be wrong, but he’s been pretty consistent, and you have to like the way he performed in such a big fight. I think, with me not being so crazy about that P4P ratings stuff……if i had to give a number I’d have to say he probably is somewhere in the top 3 in the sport.

(Tune in Thursday afternoon for an in-depth look at PACQUIAO/MOSLEY as Boxing Scribe Vivek Wallace returns to Youtube with his first Boxing Channel release of 2011).

(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEKWALLACE747), Skype (VITO-BOXING), and FaceBook).