REALITY CHECK FOR A CONTENDER

In what has become a sports mantra, Mark Twain once said, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." But when it comes to Cotto vs. Gomez, the amount of size in the underdog could very well be a factor.

by Nat Gottlieb

If fighting Shane Mosley was a full meal, then putting Alfonso Gomez on Miguel Cotto's plate is like serving the unbeaten champion an appetizer. Or so it would seem. But as with everything else in life, appearances can be deceiving. Although virtually nobody has come out and said Gomez, the former "Contender" star, can beat Cotto, there are many who believe he is a "live dog".

Certainly Gomez's undistinguished record of 18-3 (8 KOs) is nothing to put fear into the lion heart of Cotto (31-0, 25 KOs), who has faced and beaten seemingly much better opponents. So what does Gomez bring to the plate that would give Cotto's countless fans any reason to believe this won't be just another notch on the champion's welterweight belt?

For one thing, the 5'9"Gomez is a natural welterweight who fought at middleweight for the first Contender series and beat two boxers on that show who have since moved up to become super middleweights. The 5'7"Cotto, on the other hand, is only four fights removed from being a junior welterweight, and the only man he has faced who is as big as Gomez was Shane Mosley, still brilliant at 36, but not the buzz saw he was in his younger days.

Gomez's record, while not inspiring, does contain some intriguing victories, particularly when he was on the Contender show. The Mexican fighter was a big underdog in his first match-up against then unbeaten Peter Manfredo Jr. But from the opening bell of the five-round fight, Gomez completely outfought Manfredo, using a classic Mexican two-fisted attack in which he worked his opponent's body hard with quick combos and landed several thudding uppercuts and right hooks to the head.

On more than one occasion, Gomez stunned the naturally bigger Manfredo. Perhaps more significant was that Manfredo also tagged Gomez good on a few occasions and the Mexican just shook it off. In a rematch on the show's semi-final round, Manfredo squeezed out a close victory, but it was far from a walk in the park.

What is the significance of this? Well, while Manfredo has not yet proven to be a world beater, he has fought his last seven bouts in the 168-pound class, winning five times. Manfredo's first loss came when he was overmatched against Joe Calzaghe and taken out in three rounds. But against hard-punching, former champion Jeff Lacy last December, Manfredo far from disgraced himself in a close unanimous decision loss, 94-95, 93-96 and 92-97.

Gomez again was a big underdog in the Contender's consolation fight for third place. He was just 12-3 when matched up with Jesse Brinkley, who was 25-2 at the time. Gomez won that fight, and two bouts later Brinkley moved up to super middleweight, where he has won four of his last six.

Having fought and beaten bigger men than Cotto, perhaps that is why Gomez has been exuding surprising confidence since this fight was announced. Against all odds, Gomez insists he can and will beat the champion.

"How many times do I have to be the underdog and come out on top for me to show that I'm the real deal?" Gomez said. "Although I've had losses, I have never been stopped. I've been the underdog many times and I have prevailed."

Gomez has tremendous respect for what Cotto has accomplished, but still believes he has what it takes to beat him. "Cotto has a strong KO ratio against good, solid fighters, and he showed against Mosley that he can also box and counterpunch," Gomez said. "But styles make fights and his style is suitable for me because I am faster and my boxing and counterpunching skills are superior. I hope he doesn't underestimate me."

Last November, Gomez demonstrated another admirable quality -- the ability to fight through pain, something Cotto specializes in dishing out. Facing the rugged veteran Ben Tackie, who has gone 12 rounds on his feet with champions like Kostya Tszyu, Sharmba Mitchell and Ricky Hatton, Gomez broke his left hand in the second round and still managed to gut it out and win a unanimous decision.

Of course Gomez can exude all the confidence he wants, but the fact remains that even with perceived flaws, Cotto has always found a way to win. He is not the perfect champion, but his record is perfect, and his will to win is unquestioned.

It has been widely said that DeMarcus Corley, Mohamad Abdulaev and current 140-pound champion Ricardo Torres exposed flaws in Cotto's ability to take a punch. But even after being hurt early in all three fights, and knocked down once against Torres, Cotto managed to come back and take out all three opponents.

In a November interview with Newsday after Cotto beat Shane Mosley in a very close fight, Oscar De La Hoya said he saw "a lot of vulnerability in Cotto...I noticed he doesn't like pressure. When Shane pressed him, he backed off. And when Shane was on his toes and used his jab, Cotto was completely locked up. He relies too heavily on the left hook, because his right hand is not that impressive. When you hit him to the body, he bends down and he's wide open for uppercuts."

For the record, let it be noted that even with all these so-called flaws, De La Hoya has never seriously considered getting in the ring with Cotto. Neither for that matter has Floyd Mayweather Jr. It is one thing to say Cotto is beatable, another to actually take a shot at beating him, as Gomez is.

What also may work in Gomez's favor is that other than Carlos Quintana, who quit on his stool after five rounds, Cotto has struggled to take out lesser opponents early. Cotto needed eleven rounds last year to score TKOs against both Zab Judah -- arguably on the down side of his career -- and the light-hitting German, Oktay Urkal. In three of his last four fights at junior welterweight, Cotto required nine rounds to knock out Abdulaev, seven for Torres, and eight for the very undistinguished Italian Gianluca Branco. In his farewell fight at 140, Cotto broke Paulie Malignaggi's cheekbone in the second round and was still forced to go the distance with the courageous current champion.

Worth noting, Gomez has never been knocked out -- even by middleweights who went on to fight at 168. If he stays on his feet, then look for this bout to go the distance, something Cotto has had to do just three times in his 24 ten and twelve-round fights. Gomez is big, he is tough and he is confident, and who knows what can happen in the "championship rounds?"

That being said, this fight may boil down to one simple thing: Cotto is Cotto. He just doesn't know how to lose.