Cotto rediscovers his rhythm with trainer Steward

The same people who favored Miguel Cotto over Manny Pacquiao last November because of his toughness and strength now question whether Cotto is fading rapidly after he was stopped by Pacquiao in the 12th round. It was the second stoppage for Cotto in four bouts after winning his first 32 pro fights, so he's suddenly viewed as the proverbial "shot fighter."

This is a situation made for trainer Emanuel Steward, who has resuscitated the careers of several other top fighters, names like Evander Holyfield, Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez. The Miguel Cotto who went through a two-hour workout in front of the media Tuesday before challenging WBA super-welterweight champ Yuri Foreman Saturday night at Yankee Stadium looked like a supremely fit fighter who understands his career is at a crossroads.

Cotto danced in front of a mirror, jumped rope and shadow-boxed virtually non-stop for 50 minutes. Then, he provided a hint of his fight plan while hitting the mitts held by Steward.

Does Cotto look like a new man? That might be overstating the case, but Steward's alterations are real enough to make a difference in style and attitude. "That's the reason we bring Emanuel to our team, to bring new things and a new kind of atmosphere to work in," Cotto said. "He's backing up every kind of thing he can to help us."

Steward was careful not to take away what Cotto does well, especially his left hook. But he reminded Cotto of the jab he possessed as a young fighter and devised a plan of attack for Foreman, whose skills and power were underrated until he won the title convincingly over Daniel Santos on the Pacquiao-Cotto undercard.

"We've spent quality time talking about life," Steward said. "He likes me to talk about the experiences I've had with other big fighters. Lennox [Lewis] and Chavez and Oscar. He's extremely intelligent. You show him a little bit, and the next day, he's added something on to that."

Cotto's entire training camp has been conducted to the beat of his favorite salsa musicians, such as Victor Manuelle and Luisito Carrion, whose rhythms accompanied yesterday's workout. Think of it as music to jab by.

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Foreman is more boxer than puncher, and Steward said, "Boxers don't like people who jab back. They get all unorganized. Early in his career, Cotto used his jab a lot. He gradually drifted away from that, so, I made him get back to it and operate off rhythm because he loves to dance."

Now, Cotto is upbeat about where his career is headed. "I don't know what comes after this fight," Cotto said, "but I know good things come for Miguel Cotto's career."