"Say hello to the bad guy..."

The title of this latest post is a line in the classic Al Pacino anti-hero movie Scarface and when I've heard it mentioned on TV over the the past few years it has made me think of Nicaraguan bad ass Ricardo 'El Matador" Mayorga. The former welter weight champion of the world and conqueror of Fernando Vargas and the late Vernon Forrest is involved in a major pay per view fight against WBA junior middleweight ruler Miguel Cotto, which at age 38 with 7 losses on his ledger is a major victory of and in itself. But as usual Mayorga wants more, he dares to dream big always and aspires to capture the WBA belt by spectacular KO no less and ascend to bigger fights against the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., all the while proudly wearing the black hat of the villain to promote this fight, attacking Cotto at every press stop as is his modus operandi.

Many in the media, along with fans and the usual gaggle of boxing 'experts' deride this fight as being nothing more than a hyped up mismatch between a skilled champion who although is fighting the label of damaged goods due to the violent nature of his two defeats, is still a level above the non-skilled faded blowhard that is being offered up as a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter. I personally don't get this logic and am not buying into the thinking that there is no method to the madness of Mayorga. El Matador who fights more like a raging bull, is a former world champion that earned that title by blasting out two highly skilled boxers in Andrew 'Six Heads' Lewis and Vernon Forrest, his only losses have come against the cream of the crop (Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley) in fights in which he gave each man hell, a debatable points deduction loss against Cory Spinks and a few learning experience losses early in his career. The man always comes to fight if not always comes in shape, brings the action at all times and never quits. His swing for the fences style more often than not leads to the knockouts that all boxing fans crave and that the sport needs to lure in new fans.

So why the knock on this man by fans and media alike? By most accounts it is the trash talking that gets Mayorga on people's bad side. Many, including Miguel Cotto, have slighted Mayorga for talking the talk but not being able to back it up with winning results. Some media members in particular have ripped the man for his rants and antics during the promotions of his fights. This is the height of hypocrisy. Most reporters who cover boxing pray for a man like this, without him what you normally get in a boxing press conference is something like the recent Manny Pacuiao vs Shane Mosley love fest in New York (on Valentine's Day no less!) promoting their fight in which Mosley could not get Manny to admit that he wanted to knock him out. Not even their stare down was full of any indication that sparks will fly on fight night as the two good guys could not stare at each other without laughing.

This is where a guy like Mayorga sparks things up. His verbal attacks on his rival boxers, trainers, and promoters are becoming stuff of legend. He routinely keeps the audience in attendance (same fans and media that go against him) in stitches and effectively riles up his foes. Here are a few of his classic verbage:

Against Vernon Forrest: "Tell Forrest whether he runs, stops or bends over, whatever he does, I will knock him out in two rounds." --- "Not even Forrest's dog is going to recognize him when he goes home." --- (In the rematch) "I am upset because he (Forrest) did not call me for Father's Day. I am going to give him a whipping because I did not get my present."

Against Fernando Vargas: "Your as fat as my 11 year old son's ass." --- "After I kill Vargas, I will volunteer to be the step-dad to Vargas' kids after his death." --- "I had a dream last night that I threw a rotten orange at Fernando Vargas and hit him in the chin and he went down and he didn't get back up. That's what is going to happen on September 8th."

Against Oscar De La Hoya: "You remind me of an old lady that's past her prime that should be sitting home in a rocking chair doing nothing." --- "When we were doing the HBO shoot, I remember him (Oscar) saying that he was going to take this belt away from me,...I go, 'The only way your going to take this belt away from me is if you let me have your wife for a night and I'll let you have the belt for an hour." --- and last but not least "After I knock you out Oscar, I look forward to drinking the warm milk from your wife's breast."

Sure these comments are crass, lack class, and some are not intended for kids but you have to admit they are eye catching and a heck of a lot more interesting for a reporter to write about and reader to read about then a discussion on cutting off the ring and using the jab. And I don't want anyone to confuse Mayorga's trash talking with that of Floyd Mayweather or Roy Jones Jr., both of which bragged about destroying opponents yet consistently have refused to close out their foes with the resounding KO or refuse to fight the best available opposition. Mayorga talks about knocking everyone out and goes out and tries to do just that every time. And whatever you think about the man, he is a big game hunter and only targets the biggest and the baddest.

Of the three victims of Mayorga's insults (read above) only Oscar De La Hoya was able to gain a full measure of revenge overwhelming Mayorga with speed, skill, and power to knock out the Nicaraguan. The knock against Mayorga about not being able to deliver on his threats is misguided when you stop and think that when you challenge a murderous line up your not going to be able to strike out every single hitter. Cotto is not Oscar De La Hoya in terms of speed or power, but he does possess the discipline and fighting heart of the Golden Boy. There is no denying that Cotto is the more skilled fighter between the two. He has a better grip of the fundamentals, has Olympic pedigree and more amateur experience. But there are many signs that point to a possible upset that makes this a legitimate fight despite the naysayers.

Mayorga is 38 years old which in this sport can be considered over the hill but that is balanced out by the beatings that Cotto has taken in his career and the time off Mayorga has had between his last KO loss (to Mosley in 2008). Cotto has received many punches, cuts, and injuries in some of his biggest wins (against Ricardo Torres, Joshua Clottey, Zab Judah, and Shane Mosley) and has received depleting beatings in his losses against Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito. In the Margarito fight in particular the concern is that we will never know if the Mexican won that fight with the use of loaded gloves to deliver that beating as he tried to do (whether he admits it or not) against Mosley. That is a lot for a fighter to recover from and fighting Yuri Foreman who is not known for his power is not a true test of punch resistance. Mayorga will be that test.

Another positive sign for this fight is the reunion of Mayorga and his original trainer Al Bonnani who trained Ricardo for his signature wins against 'Six Heads' Lewis and Vernon Forrest. Bonnani has gotten Mayorga in the best fighting shape possible and has set realistic goals for conditioning and shortening his man's punches. As a result Mayorga appears fit and much more motivated for this fight than he has in his last camp in which he was training to take on a mixed martial artist. In that camp he appeared fat and way too loose. Not the case for this fight.

Then there is the old adage of styles make fights. I have seen Cotto's entire professional career, I've seen him fight southpaws, brawlers, speedsters, technicians, veterans, and boxer punchers. I can't vouch for his amateur career but in the pros I have never seen him face off against someone as unpredictable and wild as Mayorga who throws punches from weird angles with power. Think of Naseem Hamed, pound for pound I believe 'The Prince' had a bit more power than Mayorga in his division but both were similar in that they threw hard from all angles. Hamed dispatched many more polished technicians this way (Tom 'Boom Boom' Johnson, Wilfrido Vasquez) as has Mayorga. I don't know if Cotto has ever faced a guy like this and we won't really know how he will react to that style.

Lastly it appears that Mayorga has gotten under his skin. The usually stoic Miguel Cotto has responded to some Mayorga's constant insults in kind which is not his norm to do. In the last press conference in Vegas this week he refused to pose with Mayorga for the traditional stare down photo shoots, telling Mayorga to pose with his mother. Totally unlike Cotto is usually a complete gentleman but understandable because Mayorga is just the type of guy to bring out the worst in you. Exactly what 'El Matador' wants. Cotto has vowed to knock out Mayorga in a few rounds, promising a wipe out. This plays well for a 38 year old power puncher who does not want to chase down his opponent and would rather stand and trade to see who falls first. In a fight like that anything can happen.
All that being said I might be completely wrong about Mayorga's chances and Cotto certainly has the tools to produce a spectacular blow out win. If he does he will have deserved it because no one is ever in 'easy' with Ricardo Mayorga. And should Cotto win he will also deserve the glory for he has represented this sport with class, dignity, honor, and courage. But call me crazy, call me a rebel, call me what you will, I'm going with the bad guy on this one.

Miguel Cotto vs Ricardo Mayorga, March 12th on Showtime Pay Per View Boxing