A Life Lesson

There is no way Miguel Cotto wanted to fight another round in that condition, but he did anyways

Rocky Balboa said it best: It's not about how hard you hit, but how hard you can get hit and keep going. 

It's a lesson in boxing that separates the prospects from the champions and the champions from the legends. But it's also a lesson that applies to much more than the epic battles that happen in the squared circle. It applies to all facets of life. 

As you can clearly see, the content on this blog has not been updated for the last month and a half. The reason for the absence is because life hit me harder than any punch any boxer has ever thrown. It's a blow no one should ever have to experience. 

So for the last month and a half I have been picking myself up off the canvas and trying to get back on track. I haven't had a whole lot of interest in the fight game during that time, but I decided to watch it again last weekend, which brought me back here. 

I watched Cheick Kongo get absolutely dismantled by Cain Velasquez at UFC 99 and it made me think of that important lesson. No matter how hard Kongo got hit and no matter how much punishment he was taking, he didn't give up. He could have easily stayed down, but he tried to get to his feet and he tried to fight even when he was pinned on his back. 

He wouldn't let Velasquez beat him.

Then the main event saw Wanderli Silva take on Rich Franklin. Once again, Silva was exhausted and battered, but in the closing seconds of the fight, he threw everything he had at Franklin in one last effort to win. 

After watching those fights, it reminded me of why martial arts is more than a sport and why it's a lifestyle. 

Then there was the Miguel Cotto vs Joshua Clottey boxing match. Cotto's left eyebrow was a bloody mess for the whole fight and it bothered him to no end, but he never stopped. Clottey later fell to the canvas and hurt his knee. He was immobilized for the next few rounds, but he hung in there. 

Both men fought through adversity and never quit. 

At the end of the day, a sport is just a sport, but when it comes to combat sports, it teaches you to never quit. You don't need to win, you don't even need to be technically sound, but the one rule is don't give up on yourself. 

Boxing pushes your body to places you never thought you could go — life pushes you into areas you don't want to go.

Kongo lost badly and will now have to start all over if he wants to get to his dream of winning the title. But he will be back and give it his best shot again, and that's the beauty of the sport.

Sure, I haven't written for the last two months, but it's time to come back. Not because what I write is important, but because writing is what I do and now is no time to give up on things. 

The ring is a scary place to return to after a bad loss and life is a scary place after a bad loss too. But whatever happens, always walk back in. You might get knocked out again, but if you keep coming back, you'll get your win.

I don't know when I'll get my win or how hard I can hit life back, but I do know I can get hit really hard and keep going. So if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to get going.   

The Quick Hits

I wouldn't mind seeing this fight one more time after the dominating performances from both men in their most recent fights.

It was another top notch weekend of fights and there is a lot to go over and not much time, so I will highlight the main stories and some of the things I saw that got my attention.

Cotto and Pavlik bounce back
The first loss of a fighters career is always a hard reality to accept. But like the old adage goes, a true champion will get back up and learn from the loss, which is exactly what Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik did Saturday.

After losing to Antonio Margarito in an absolute war back in July, Cotto was finally ready to get back in the ring and take on Michael Jennings in Madison Square Garden. Cotto put on a show for the fans at the Garden and looked as impressive as ever.

Cotto had the snap on his jab and power on his hook that has made him one of the most feared boxers in the game. In the fifth round, he unleashed a blazing combination that overwhelmed Jennings and brought the fight to a close.

It was a fight Cotto was supposed to win and he did so convincingly. Now that he has his career back on track he is ready for another big money matchup. I hope he takes on Shane Mosley. Cotto took down Mosley in a very close decision in 2007, but I think it would be even closer the second time around.

Meanwhile Kelly Pavlik proved he belongs at middleweight and should not try to move up in weight. After he lost to Bernard Hopkins in October, Pavlik was ready to put his belts on the line and did so in impressive fashin against a game Marco Antonio Rubio.

Pavlik didn't land any of his famous power shots, but he landed good shots consistently and put on a clinic until Rubio did not answer the bell at the end of the ninth. Now that "The Ghost" is back to dominating, he too is ready for a big money fight.

I would like to see him step in the ring against the super dangerous Arthur Abraham or take super athletic Paul Williams if he is willing to move up in weight. It was nice to see two of the best boxers back in top form.

UFC 95: Forget Thales Leites, you got Demian Maia
If there was anyone doubting the skills of Demian Maia, I think he answered the questions Saturday. The hottest middleweight prospect in the UFC dismantled another opponent by submitting the tough Chael Sonnen in the first round.

Not only did Maia submit him, but he did it with plenty of style. After securing a full mount, he locked in a triangle, rolled to his back and applied the pressure. Absolutely amazing. Putting on the triangle from the full mount is very difficult and he did it in seconds. He is now 5-0 in the UFC with five submissions.

I'm not saying he could beat Anderson Silva, because I don't think anyone can. But he is truly more deserving than Thales Leites, and that is not a knock on Leites. He is a very impressive 14-1, but you can tell when he fights that he is outclassed in every area when matched against Silva. Maia, on the other hand, is the best jujitsu player in the UFC.

After Silva makes his mandatory defense against Leites at UFC 97, please give Maia a shot at the strap as quickly as possible.

In other action, Nate Marquardt looked back to his usual self after some uninspiring performances the last few times out. He beat a dangerous Wilson Gouveia soundly. He used his superior counter punching to dictate the fight and didn't even have to do a lot of work on the ground where I thought he would have the biggest advantage.

As a fellow fan and good friend of mine pointed out, Gouveia could have gotten the better of the stand up action if he threw the leg kick when pushing the pace. He even forced Marquardt into the cardinal sin of moving straight back at one point instead of circling.

Instead of going for a Muay Thai clinch and delivering knees and short, powerful punches, Gouveia let him off the hook by swinging wildly and missing. My friend and I both agreed Gouveia could have made that fight much closer and possibly won with a better strategy.

In the main event, Diego Sanchez defeated Joe Stevenson in a solid effort for a unanimous decision. He looked a lot healthier than I thought he would at 155 and said later he planned on staying in that division for a while. If he does, I hope he keeps his walk-around weight at 170 so he does not have to make such an extreme cut.

Stevenson was unimpressive, trying to show a striking game that he could never get going. He did not throw enough punches, couldn't find a comfortable range and struck from poor angles. Sanchez looks like a threat at lightweight, but Stevenson needs to get back to the drawing board and reinvent his game.

The road to redemption

Kelly Pavlik hopes to avoid this situation in his first match back on Saturday since losing to Bernard Hopkins.

In 2008, two of boxing's biggest stars had a first-time experience.

A loss.

Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik were in almost every top-10 pound-for-pound rankings heading into their respective fights last year. Cotto took on the dangerous Antonio Margarito in July and Pavlik took on the legendary Bernard Hopkins in October.

Cotto looked like the best boxer in the world early on in his fight against the Tijuana Tornado, but eventually the power and pressure of Margarito was too much and Cotto's corner was forced to throw in the towel in the 11th round.

Three months later Kelly Pavlik took the squared circle against Hopkins. The undisputed middleweight champion was outclassed from the very beginning and could never get on track. His habit of trying to move straight back to avoid punches caught up to him as Hopkins kept finding a home for his counter right hooks.

Both fighters could claim legitimate excuses for their losses, but they didn't. After it was discovered Margarito loaded his gloves against Shane Mosley, many believed he very well could have loaded his gloves against Cotto. But Cotto would only say Margarito was the better man that night.

Pavlik had to move up in weight to fight Hopkins. He was visibly slower and more fatigued from moving up in weight, but Pavlik did not use that as an excuse.

Now the undisputed middleweight champion is back at his comfortable weight ready to get back on the winning track against a dangerous contender in Marco Antonio Rubio. Pavlik will be defending his titles in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, which should give him an extra confidence boost after a crushing loss.

"The Ghost" felt some pressure from his promoter to switch up coaches and seek the services of Freddie Roach, but Pavlik stayed with the team that got him to the top. Saturday's fight against Rubio should be a telling sign of whether or not Pavlik's intangibles are good enough to make up for his slight lack of technique.

The two biggest criticisms of Pavlik in his last fight were that he would move straight back to avoid punches and get too close when throwing his jab. Pavlik's power and work rate should be enough to keep him on top of the middleweight division come Saturday.

Cotto, on the other hand, has a slightly easier road to the top. The former champion will take on Michael Jennings at Madison Square Garden. Jennings is a great story, but his boxing skill and the level of competition he has faced is far inferior to Cotto.

The Puerto Rican native should have no trouble reminding everyone that he is going to be the king of the welterweights once again, especially with Margarito suspended for one year.

Jennings does not have much power as evidenced by his 16 knockouts in 34 wins and Cotto tends to be much too fast for anyone to handle. The only way Cotto loses this fight is if he gets too distracted from all the talk about if he thinks Margarito cheated in his fight. This is almost a 100 percent win for Cotto.

It's not often two fights of this magnitude happen within the same month let alone the same night though. So even though Cotto should win, the Pavlik fight should still be competitive and boxing fans get to see two legitimate stars on the same night.

There has been a lot of unfair criticism to the fighters ever since they lost, especially Pavlik who has been written off as "good" instead of "great." I disagree with those experts and think Pavlik and Cotto will show why they are two of the best in the world when they start their road to redemption.