I think out of the two, Miguel Cotto has had the most focused camp and as such is probably as well prepared as he possibly can be.
Manny’s had a more turbulent first half of training. His camp does annoy me. To many people in it with a high degree of self importance and ego. That said however Manny Pacquiao’s training does seam to have turned out ok. He looks fit and sharp as ever.
What is intriguing about this one for me is the clash of styles. I believe Cotto will struggles with constant relentless pressure, which is very much Manny’s game. In doing this though Manny has a bad habit of being to square on and finishing combinations then leaving his chin in the air. This was exploited by Marquez. But as it’s a known problem no doubt it has been corrected by his trainer, Freddie Roach. At least in the early rounds.
The early round I think will be very hard for Cotto. I see him struggling with the early tight defense and sharp hard punches coming from Manny.
From what I have said so far it may sound like I am predicting a one sided fight. But that is far from the truth. I still believe Pacquiao has not had to face the power of a proper welterweight. Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya don’t count in my opinion. Cotto may seam damaged to some boxing experts, but this for me is where he will derive most of his motivational energy from. When Cotto lands heavily on Pacquiao I don’t see him letting Pacquiao of the hook. I am very interested to see how Pacquiao responds to some real power shots from a live welterweight.
As with all fights I can see it going a few different ways, but my feelings are a stoppage win for Manny in the 10th round. I think Cotto will get overwhelmed by Manny’s constant attacks. I could well be wrong and feel free to leave a string off “ you know *@&$ all about boxing “ type comments after the event.
Boxing needs to have well matched exciting, hard to predict fights. I hope both fighters bring everything to the ring on Saturday Night. We could all use a classic to end 2009.
Having studied the form of both fighters and watched the build up carefully, I am now ready to stick my head on the line with my fight prediction..
