barn burner: (noun) one that arouses much interest or excitement.
This Saturday night, we were re-introduced to the term above, which rarely describes super fights these days. If you don’t know what I mean, think back a few months when you or someone you know forked over nearly $55 dollars for the supposed “fight to save boxing.” Cotto-Judah made De La Hoya-Mayweather look like a “walk-out” bout (the fight that takes place after the main event).
As most boxing pundits predicted, Judah started very fast, buzzing Cotto in round one with a huge left uppercut. Perhaps taking a chapter from the Felix Trinidad-Fernando Vargas super fight, Cotto landed a vicious low blow that dropped Judah, similar to one that Trinidad landed when Vargas had him buzzed in their fight several years ago. The already raucous crowd was sent into near-hysteria with the sudden, explosive turn of events. Did the illegal shot save Cotto from possible defeat? We’ll never know, but the fight was now “on!”
Round two was fought at a measured pace, as it was obvious that Cotto was wary of Judah’s powerful left hand. “Low blow number two” occurred in round three, as Cotto landed an even harder shot below the belt, felling the visibly pained Judah and drawing a point deduction from veteran referee Arthur Mercante, Jr. After round three, you began to wonder if these blows would lead to the unraveling of Judah despite his solid work up until this point.
After a competitive round four, you started to sense the tide turning in Cotto’s favor. Although Judah fought well in spots and occasionally stopped Cotto in his tracks with blistering left uppercut counters that kept the record Madison Square Garden crowd (approx. 20,600) on edge of their seats, the next seven rounds saw Cotto systematically batter and bruise the game Judah until his finish (via TKO) in round 11.
Sure, the low blows played their part in the victory, but Cotto’s relentless pressure and overall consistency probably had more to do with it.
To no one’s surprise, Judah cited the debilitating low blows as the main reason for his diminishing output over the final rounds. Naturally, he wants a rematch. Whether it takes place (which I doubt) or not, Zab “Super” Judah clearly has something left in the tank, especially more heart than many previously believed.
Most likely, Cotto is poised to move on from the most taxing (look at his left eye and bottom lip for evidence) fight of his career to possible mega-fights with the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley, or the winner of the upcoming Antonio Margarito-Paul Williams bout. Whoever he fights next, if the fight with Judah is any indication, the next fight will a barn burner too.
Im From Puerto Rico and for Cotto , But I was expecting Judah to retaliate for the low blows or to quit on the stool at the end of several rounds , Niether of which he did, Now I like judah , He showed class and Heart, and would like to see a remach after Judah gets a tile from say Margaritoo
Very unbiased feedback regarding the low blows, especially considering that you are a Cotto fan. I, like you, almost felt as if they not only helped Cotto weather the storm, but were thrown to try to unravel Judah (which we have seen happen on occasion =). That being said, I am glad cooler heads prevailed and that it ended up being a great fight – the year’s best so far.
The fight pretty much unfolded the way I thought it would: Judah getting off to a blistering start, shocking Cotto with his speed early, but Cotto eventually turning the tide by pressuring him and breaking him down to the body (although he went low on two occasions), and wearing Zab down to the point of submission. Zab showed that he was in remarkable physical shape for the showdown and displayed Gatti-esque heart throughout. As you alluded to in the article, the low blows could have contributed to Judah’s ultimate demise. I have a different take on it: Judah has become much like the post-incarcerated Tyson in that when he wasn’t having his way with his punching power, he was like a lost little boy in the ring. I couldn’t help but shake my head every time Cotto chopped Zab to the body (I could almost see him doubling over with every punch) and he would look over to the ref for help, even though the punches were legit. He even did it with a couple of punches when he got hit square in the head/jaw and I couldn’t understand why he was turning to the ref. And much like Tyson, he was too one dimensional, seemingly willing to take punishment in the hope that he could land his lead left uppercut. He didn’t set any of his punches up with jabs, he didn’t go to the body, he didn’t use his obvious speed advantage as the fight wore on. All that ultimately spelled doom for Zab. I had a debate with a friend during the fight that this can all be traced to Zab’s lack of quality training, i.e. his father needs to go if Zab has any hopes of resurrecting his career. I can only imagine how good Zab might’ve been with all that raw talent under the tutelage of a Manny Steward or even a Floyd Mayweather Sr. Unfortunately, we’re left to wonder what might’ve been. As for Cotto, he has a couple of options including the winner of Williams/Margarito or the winner of Hatton/Castillo. If I were a match maker, the most attractive fight, strictly from a fans perspective, would be Hatton/Cotto, although Cotto/Margarito wouldn’t be a bad fight either. I think of all the fighters I just mentioned, the best of the lot is Williams. Needless to say, we the fight fans will be the big winners from this welterweight round robin.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. =)
As I predicted in my pre-fight post…Cotto in a knockout in a later round. I did think the ninth round but he needed a little more time for those low blows to set in.
Very funny, re: the low blows. I do think they were, at best, timely “crouch shots.” Don’t want to tarnish Cotto’s victory though…nice call on your part.