Video Courtesy of YouTube
Sunday, November 15, 2009
PACMAN BEAT UP COTTO
Pacquiao knocked Cotto down once in the third round and again in the fourth, pummeled him repeatedly and easily lifted the World Boxing Organization welterweight belt from the Puerto Rican with a 12th-round stoppage. The time was 55 seconds into the final round, as referee Kenny Bayless leaped between the fighters to save Cotto a more savage beating and ignominious end.
Cotto came out strong and landed some hard punches, but Cotto couldn’t deal with the speed. Pacquiao was landing three shots for every two Cotto did early. After the knockdown in the fourth, Cotto’s offense was nonexistent as he spent most of the last two thirds of the fight fending off Pacquiao’s onslaught.
Cotto landed in single digits in power shots in every round from the fifth forward.
Pacquiao nearly had the stoppage after the 11th when Cotto trainer Joe Santiago walked onto the ring apron and waved his hand at Bayless.
It appeared he was going to stop the fight, but then Bayless and ringside physician James Game spoke and allowed it to continue. It was only extending the misery as Pacquiao poured it on in the 12th.
When the fight ended, the crowd began to chant, “We want Floyd!” It was a reference to Floyd Mayweather Jr., the other man with a claim to the top of the boxing pound-for-pound list.
Pacquiao, who has won championship belts in five divisions and beat the linear champion in two others, can no longer be knocked as a small man who was beating washed up fighters.
In Cotto, he took on an elite and powerful welterweight whose only loss came under suspicious circumstances to Antonio Margarito last year. There is suspicion that Margarito’s gloves were loaded for that fight, though it has never been proven.
But Pacquiao proved he was able to not only take a welterweight punch, but rock him repeatedly. It was a magnificent performance and will create public demand for a fight with Mayweather.
By Kevin Iole
Monday, October 19, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
TOP 5 ADVANTAGES: MANNY PACQUIAO [49 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws]
1. History is on the line. Motivation. He is not called "The People's Champ" for nothing. Pacquiao will be fighting for his country again, and attempt to do what no one in the history of boxing has ever done. Call him Lance Armstrong or Michael Jordan. Along with Manny, only Oscar "The Golden Boy" de la Hoya has won six titles in six different weight classes. A win over Cotto will make Pacquiao the only fighter in history to win an unprecedented seven belts in seven weight classes.
Let's apply a so-called "Pacquiao Standard." For all the talent that a Shane Mosley or Floyd Mayweather, Jr. bring to the table, we do not see them fighting a big Paul Williams at junior middleweight. Similarly, we won't see a Paul Williams - as talented and big as he is - fighting a Bernard Hopkins at light heavyweight. As great as he was, you did not see a prime Roy Jones, Jr. fight a 5'11" Mike Tyson.
The point is, Manny is raising the bar. Like no one before has ever done - in terms of weight climbing and mauling the big boys. Here's a 5th grader who's been beating up 6th graders, 7th graders, and now 8th graders in de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Now that 5th grader is trying to maul a high school freshman in Cotto. People say, that's one bad-ass 5th grader. Don't mess with him!
2. Faster hands. This everyone knows. Both throw combinations. Cotto's combos are heavier. Manny's combos are quicker. Additionally, I attribute Manny and Cotto to be on par in terms of footwork. The Puerto Rican is an effective footwork tactician in the ring and understands spacing and cornering.
Speed or power?
3. Cotto's historically open defense. This makes the Puerto Rican susceptible to straight lefts. However, this may not be as important factor in the fight as Pacman fans would readily assume. Cotto will be working on tightening up his defense. Specifically, his gloves can be close together, protecting his cheeks and temples, while his elbows tend to be spread apart. That forms a triangular shape that makes Cotto vulnerable to a quick jab from the shorter Pacquiao, similar to what happened to de la Hoya last December 6. Cotto has to tighten up that opening or he'll be eating straight lefts. Worse for him, Roach might concoct a nasty "upper cut cocktail special" for Cotto to drink all night, and get drunk to.
Straight left or upper cut?
4. Venue. Manny will have his legions in Las Vegas. Cotto enjoys a home court advantage in New York. This fight is at the MGM Grand. Chants of Manny, Manny, Manny!!! will be ringing in people's ears before and during the fight. Pacman will raise his gloves signaling the start of the war.
5. Stamina. Pacquiao should only hold a slight edge here come fight night. Cotto tends to slow down later in the rounds, a reflection of the energy he expends on his power punches during the beginning and toward the middle of a fight. Manny, on the other hand, is one of the most conditioned fighters in the sport - along with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Shane Mosley. Surely that is why Cotto is starting his training over three months prior to the fight. Cotto should, to an extent, negate most of this advantage.
Source
TOP 5 ADVANTAGES: MIGUEL COTTO [34 wins, 1 loss]
1. Manny Pacquiao is shooting movies, tv shows, and commercials. Miguel Cotto has been in training for nearly a week, three months in advance of the November 14 showdown. (It is important to note, however, that the Puerto Rican is no longer working with his regular trainer.)
Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach anticipates an eight-week regimen for the Filipino to be conducted after the promotional roadshow. The added training should boost Cotto's stamina.
How much will the extra training tip the balance of power between these two fighters?
2. Cotto has fought, and beaten, bigger (as well as fast) opponents.
Antonio Margarito stood at 5'11" with a 73" reach, compared to Manny's 67" reach. Granted, Cotto lost at the hands of what now appears to be suspect gloves of Margarito.
Shane Mosley, Carlos Quintana, Joshua Clottey, Zab Jjudah, Ricardo Torres. These were all impressive conquests by the Puerto Rican. Cotto out-boxed the speedy and powerful Mosley, and outclassed the quick Judah.
3. Pacquiao is training outside of the U.S. for at least half of his training regimen. Due to taxation rules in the United States, it appears Manny will have to temporarily set up quarters in Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, or possibly the Philippines, in order to train against Cotto. The Filipino is superstitious and typically prefers the same routine prior to a fight. Water and air quality differs by country. The food intake can also provide a variation in diet. (For instance, mango in Mexico is vastly different from mango in the Philippines.) Weather and dietary differences can provide for bodily adjustments. The Pacific Northwest and Vancouver, Canada, for instance, is famous for its constant rain and inclement weather.
4. Size. While Cotto is at best only an inch taller than Manny, the Puerto Rican will enter the ring approaching 160 lbs., a middleweight size. Thomas Hearns, the taller, lanky fighter with legendary power fought many of his battles at welterweight, but then faced Marvin Hagler who fought at a more comfortable, bigger weight. A smaller fighter with explosive tendencies can find out that the bigger opponent is used to that kind of power - as Hearns found out when Hagler adjusted well during the fight. Manny will enter the ring closer to 149 lbs. Cotto has gone face to face with the likes of Antonio Margarito, who could fight at junior middleweight or middleweight if he wanted to.
5. Ability to trap and corner his opponent. The Joshua Clottey and Zab Judah fight reveals Cotto's brilliant ability, skill, and power to constantly pressure his foe, and force his opponent into the ropes or with his opponent's back against the corner. Cotto unloads power combinations when he successfully traps his opponent, and the Puerto Rican has the footwork to effectively cut off the ring. Even when Clottey blocked Cotto's relentless barrage, he became noticeably worn down.
Source
PACMAN VS. COTTO
A deal has been completed for boxing's biggest fight of the fall: a showdown between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and welterweight titleholder Miguel Cotto.
Pacquiao and Cotto, two of boxing's most popular and crowd-pleasing fighters, will meet at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Nov. 14 (HBO PPV), Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com on Monday.
"It's done," said Arum, who was back at work in his Las Vegas office after a vacation in London and Italy and attending a wedding in Israel. "While I was away I reached a verbal agreement with each side. Pacquiao committed to the fight this weekend and Cotto the week before while I was in Israel. I was on the phone all the time trying to get this done."
Arum said his attorney, Michael Heitner, was preparing the documents for signatures.
"But everything is agreed or I wouldn't say what I am saying," Arum said. "The weight, the percentages, the guarantees -- it's all agreed to."
Although the percentage split was not disclosed, Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) will receive more than 50 percent of the money. That was never a serious sticking point, however. The key holdup had been the contract weight.
Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs), a titleholder at 147 pounds, had agreed to drop below the welterweight limit for the fight. Pacquiao, the 140-pound junior welterweight champion, wanted him to come all the way down to 143 pounds. Cotto refused. Ultimately, they agreed on a 145-pound maximum weight.
Pacquiao, 30, the national hero of the Philippines, scored a sensational knockout of Ricky Hatton to win the junior welterweight title on May 2 at the MGM Grand. The victory gave Pacquiao a world championship in a record-tying sixth weight division.
Cotto, 28, of Puerto Rico, is coming off a bloody split decision victory in a title defense against Joshua Clottey on June 13 at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Given their penchant for all-action brawls, Arum said he had high expectations that Cotto and Pacquiao would produce another memorable fight.
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