Ricardo Mayorga is a quote machine and his accusations and predictions about what he will do when he faces Miguel Cotto on Saturday night in Las Vegas are pure genius.Just when you think it couldn't get better it does. In the case of Mayorga however, the material goes lower on the tone scale of words rather than higher when he gets in a groove.
In Monday's final press conference, held in Los Angeles he hit such a low note I'm not sure he can top himself now. I'm concerned he is peaking too many days away from the fight to take Cotto's WBA Super Welterweight belt. A sampling of his greatest hits:
“All the Puerto Ricans coming to the fight will leave as Ricardo Mayorga fans. The best time of his career was when he fought at 140 (pounds). When he came up to 47 and 54, that’s when he made the mistake.
“Don’t take a knee on me like you did with Margarito. Let me finish punishing you. I come from a country where women give birth to men.
“Take your shirt off just like me and show me your weight."
A vote for any of the above three statements couldn't be a loser but a personal favorite has got to be Mayorga's claim that he's the only man in the ring since women in Nicaragua actually give birth to men. Priceless.
As for Cotto, well, the photos to the left of this column tell you everything you need to know. If you see confidence in his stoic gaze you wouldn't be wrong, but you could also interpret his lack of facial expression as emotionless. Presumably the emotion gets unleashed when the gloves are on. One can only hope.
Mayorga got one in for his promoter of the moment, Don King. He has vowed to put King back on top of Mr. Top Rank himself, Bob Arum when he takes the belt on Saturday night. Nice thought Ricardo, except Arum promotes the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game today and you my friend are no Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is always on Mayorga's brain however, or more precisely, the $ Pacquaio can bring to an opponent. "I want Pacquiao", says Mayorga looking past Cotto.
Don King returned the favor in his comments about Mayorga. "For all you who have little, just a little bit of money, put it all on Mayorga because the odds are in his favor. You will have the chance to be wealthy. Don’t wait till Saturday night. Do it now. Mayorga will win by a knockout. Check it all out on SHOWTIME pay-per-view.” Showtime thanks you Don.
Say what you will about the matchup but the the war of words was all one could have hoped for and more. Will it make the fight more appealing to PPV buyers?
That remains to be seen since as Fight Sports Examiner Rick Rockwell noted, the loss of the Clottey-Green under card match leaves a gaping hole in the lineup. For those who aren't aware, Clottey injured himself while out for a run and pulled out of the match.
Source: examiner.com
