The great English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson once said, "The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence, but in the mastery of his passions."
Former middleweight champion Giacobe La Motta, born July 10, 1921 (better known as Jake La Motta) was a tremendous banger—a pressure fighter who possessed ferocious punching power and was nicknamed "The Raging Bull."
In his heyday, La Motta rolled with the punches, minimizing their force and escaping any real damage during most fights—this rewarded him the reputation as having one of the best chins in boxing.
The Raging Bull compiled a record of 83 wins, 19 losses, and four draws with 30 wins by way of knockout. He was the first man to beat the greatest pound-for-pound boxer who ever lived: Sugar Ray Robinson.
La Motta knocked the great Robinson down during the first round and simply outpointed him over the entire course of 10. This fight was the second of their legendary six-bout rivalry.
If we were to look for a fighter to match up with Robinson in terms of dominance and power over several different weight classes, we would be hard-pressed not to consider Filipino sensation and pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao.
A fighter who comes to mind that would most closely resemble La Motta style-wise would be the tough Puerto Rican sensation named Miguel Cotto.
The 28-year-old Cotto is much like the Raging Bull, showing a durable toughness and an impressive record against fighters known for their movement and boxing ability.
His unwavering pressure, combination punching, and body assault at close quarters enable him to slow quicker opponents down and systematically bring an end to the fight in the later rounds.
In no other fight was that fact more evident than in his classic war with Zab Judah.
Judah rocked Cotto early in the fight with hard left uppercuts and opened a cut inside Cotto's mouth in the eighth round.
Cotto, however, is a fighter who doesn't mind taking a few to give some, and, with the blood visibly dripping from his mouth, he quickly recovered.
He landed 90 power punches over the last four rounds compared to 24 for Judah. Ultimately, his relentless pressure and heavy fists wore down Judah, who dropped to a knee in the ninth and was decked by a left hook that finished him in the 11th.
As it turns out, Judah will be a common denominator in Cotto's next fight. With a recent cut-stoppage victory over Judah, Joshua Clottey has earned a title shot against Cotto.
Recently, there have been rumors of the great Pacquiao facing Sugar Shane Mosley later this summer. The talks stalled, however, when Mosley stated he had no interest in dropping to the required catch weight that Pacquiao's team was proposing.
Team Pacquiao, which consists of trainer Freddie Roach and promoter Bob Arum, would like to have their fighter face off against someone—at or near 140 pounds—later this summer, but, as of yet...no partner has been named.
Cotto (33-1-0 and 27 KOs) will meet Clottey (35-2-0 and 20 KOs) in a 12-rounder on Jun. 13 for the WBO Welterweight Championship.
Will the young version of La Motta be able to bull Clottey around the ring like he has done against past opponents? If he does, it will pad his résumé toward a possible fight with Pacquiao.
Will Clottey's speed prove too much for the young Cotto? A loss to Clottey at this point, sadly, would take Cotto completely out of the picture.
Cotto vs. Clottey will take place in the world-famous boxing Mecca, Madison Square Garden in New York City, which also happens to be the current residence of Jake La Motta.
Authors note: This article was previously written by me under the alias: Rocky Scotland
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/180697-pacquiao-vs-cotto-would-rival-robinson-and-la-motta (May 21, 2009)
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