ESPN Reports on Steward’s Shouting Match with Mayorga

Writes Dan Rafael at ESPN.com:

Even as trash-talking Ricardo Mayorga lambasts junior middleweight titlist MIGUEL COTTO yet again, Cotto remains the calm, stoic figure he has always been. Mayorga’s boasts and rants do not seem to move him one iota.

The same can’t be said for Emanuel Steward, Cotto’s Hall of Fame trainer, who has been listening to Mayorga talk and talk and talk for the past few months as they promote their fight Saturday night (Showtime PPV, $49.95, 9 ET) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Steward is an affable sort, but he has been on a slow burn listening to Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KOs), the former welterweight and junior middleweight titleholder, who always verbally pounds his opponents — but has rarely done anything to back it up in recent years.

Mayorga, who apparently is not very studied in boxing history, has been referring to Steward, one of the most successful and revered cornermen in boxing history, as a failure during the promotion.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Emanuel Steward is a failure in this boxing business,” Mayorga said during one of his media sessions. “He’s had some sort of fame and been very lucky in his career because he helped a very famous name [Thomas Hearns] back in the day. That’s how he grabbed some sort of attention and fame. But how sad for Cotto to change his style and try to change his boxing game at this late stage of his career. It’s only going to mess him up and play into my favor.”

Read the full article HERE.