Congratulations to Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO’s), the new WBO Welterweight titlist for his dramatic beating of another naturally bigger Welterweight with a title. Less than two years ago, Pacman was fighting at 130 pounds. Today, he’s possibly the most dangerous Welterweight in the division. Maybe he really IS the best pound for pound fighter in boxing! But styles make fights and we all know who Pacman will hopefully fight next.
HBO has been salivating for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Jr. on Pay-Per-View since Mayweather returned from his “retirement”… but maybe Floyd won’t be interested now, after seeing how handily Pacman beat Puerto Rican Welterweight star, Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KO’s). Floyd’s a businessman, and
he won’t take a fight unless he is certain he will win.
On Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas , Cotto became the latest victim of the little Pinoy Pugilist with the big power and tremendous stamina. Cotto looked good early and showed his grit but ultimately lacked the speed and agility to deal with Pacman’s constant attack.
Between all the hype and history of these two fighters, I wasn’t too sure who’d win this fight because Cotto is a very good “boxer” and would be the naturally bigger man, possibly capable of out boxing the smaller, yet aggressive Pacman. There were a couple of rounds, like the first round, where Cotto looked capable of winning but that didn’t last long. From the second round on, Pacman administered a beating to Cotto, knocking him down in the second and again in the fourth round and battering him with left hooks that Cotto could hardly avoid. Sure, Cotto landed a few impressive counter punches in spots but not enough to ever turn the tide in his favor as the rounds wore on.
This was a good action fight but it became more and more one sided as Manny Pacquiao took full control of the pace and forced Cotto into a back peddling mode that’s not conducive to winning rounds. Cotto appeared to rest his hopes on landing a lucky counter punch that never came. That appeared to be Cotto’s strategy after experiencing the constant effective pressure from Pacman.
Over the course of this fight, Cotto took more of a shellacking than he did against Antonio Margarito. Questions about whether Cotto is ‘damaged goods’ remains an open topic but there’s no question that Cotto has a lot of heart. He did appear to fade in the later rounds but considering all the punishment he was taking, it’s not fair to attribute his fading to any lack of preparation but fully on account of the non-stop effective aggression from Pacman.
Pacman attacked Cotto with swarms of fast, powerful punches from all angles, most choreographed to exploit Cotto’s tendencies. Though Cotto was floored and getting rocked frequently, he never showed any signs of quit; not even in the late rounds where a Decision win was out of the question for him and a knockout win was even less likely. Cotto had been badgered damn near out of his stamina but to his credit, he fought like a champion, in spite of all the punishment he took, he fought to the finish. Or at least, he tried to.
With 55 seconds left in the twelfth round, referee Kenny Bayless waved the fight off, after a Pacman flurry stunned Cotto and Manny was moving in for an attack that the ref must’ve thought Cotto was too hurt to take. The stoppage was a good call but why wait till the last minute of the last round if Cotto was still on his feet? Arguments can be made that the fight should’ve been stopped earlier for the sake of Cotto’s long term health. Cotto’s corner should’ve considered that, since their man was too far behind on points with little perceivable chance to win.
All pride aside, Cotto was no match for the smaller Pacquiao who looked capable of going 20 rounds. But for Cotto’s bravery in a tough fight, he sort of earned the right to at least finish out the last round, considering all it took every ounce of his heart to get him there.
Congratulations to Manny Pacquiao for an outstanding performance. At 29, I think Cotto is past his prime—but still a formidable fighter—with a title. At 30, Pacman has been around as long, if not longer than Cotto has and he’s still definitely in his prime. Pacquiao outclassed Cotto Saturday night. Kudos to Cotto for giving all he had and never surrendering.
After seeing the beating Manny Pacquiao administered to Miguel Cotto, maybe Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. will become disinterested in HBO’s dream fight. We saw how easily Floyd handled Juan Manual Marquez, winning just about every round. And though Marquez had close fights with Pacquiao doesn’t mean Floyd beating Marquez translates to an automatic win over Pacman. If Floyd really wants to fight Manny, he won’t try to price himself out or say Manny can’t muster up enough of a crowd (like he recently said regarding the challenge from Shane Mosley). If Floyd doesn’t insist on unacceptable conditions, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao will probably be the biggest Pay-Per-View event of the decade and Floyd is all about the money.
A lot of people love Manny and will pay to see his fights and a lot of people want to see Floyd get his ass kicked, especially by a smaller man. It would be a great contest of two contrasting styles. Manny is mostly an offensive fighter built from the bottom up, with thick calves that give him a strong base for his power. Floyd is sleekly built for speed and is mostly a defensive fighter that has proven to be at his best against smaller men. I think they match up well speed wise and stamina wise. It would be great to find out how they match up fight wise. Time will tell.
