Fight Night
This weekend's fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto should be boxing's second fight of the year to garner 1 million PPV buys. More importantly, it should be a far better match-up than the lopsided Floyd Mayweather/Juan Manuel Marquez fight was. It is a clash of styles and on top of that, if you told someone about this fight two years ago, that person would have told you Cotto was a 3 to 1 favorite. Vegas has Pacquiao at slightly better than a 2.5 to 1 favorite entering the weekend.
Manny Pacquiao is trying to win a title in a seventh weight class. And that brings me to one of the bigger questions of this fight. How will Pacquiao do fighting against a true welterweight? Oscar De La Hoya was a shadow of the Golden Boy that fought in the late '90's. I put pretty much zero stock into that bout. Cotto on the other hand, despite the catch weight of 145 lbs., will likely weigh close to 160 lbs. on fight night. Pacquiao on the other hand doesn't figure to put on nearly that amount of weight. On top of that, Cotto is one of the sport's biggest hitters and, as the Mosley fight proved, Cotto might be a better boxer than he is brawler, and that's saying something. Just ask Zab Judah, Paulie Malinaggi, and a slew of others. Cotto wears his opponents down and takes away their will to keep coming forward. However, nobody to date has stopped Pacquiao from coming forward. All that said about Cotto, one huge question remains, how is he after the beating he took at the [plastered?] hands of Antonio Margarito? Will the effects of that fight show up when Pacquiao lands his first big punch? Cotto looked good against Joshua Clottey and while Clottey is a world class fighter, he's still nowhere near the fighter Pacquiao is. How Cotto responds to Manny's early flurries will tell you much of what you need to know as you watch the fight evolve.
As stated above, Manny Pacquiao is fighting his first true welterweight in his prime. Pacquiao made De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton look silly but there's no way he makes quick work of Cotto. Pacquiao's overwhelming advantage in this fight lies in the speed of his hands and feet. He will be throwing power punches from all kinds of angles and in combinations that Cotto has never seen up close. Cotto did handle Zab Judah's speed but Judah doesn't press on with anywhere near the consistency of Manny Pacquiao. Make sure to watch for whether Cotto can get Pacquiao's timing down early in the fight. If he can, it could be a long night for Manny and that's not even taking into account the fact that he has a singing concert planned for after the fight (and they're charging $40 a ticket for it so he better show).
Basically, I may have wasted your time making you read the above. It boils down to this: Pacquiao's never been hit by anyone as big or as good as Cotto. Cotto's never faced anyone with the relentless quickness of Pacquiao. If you like power, go with Cotto. If you like speed, go with the Pac Man. Personally, I like the speed in this one. Pacquiao will not knock Cotto out as Vegas has it but he will land more than enough to edge out a unanimous decision. That said, this is a fairly tight match-up and I would not be at all shocked if Manny finished this fight on his back. Cotto is a top pound for pound fighter in the world and his only loss could be a disputed one to Margarito. This fight is nowhere near the 2.5 to 1 advantage that Vegas has it. Cotto is far better than the casual fan thinks he is. It should be a very interesting clash of styles. For anyone who says boxing's dead, watch this fight, see the A-listers who show up, enjoy the action, and thank me later. Oh, and get Tecate's $25 rebate. Turns a $54.95 evening into a $29.95 one.
Manny Pacquiao is trying to win a title in a seventh weight class. And that brings me to one of the bigger questions of this fight. How will Pacquiao do fighting against a true welterweight? Oscar De La Hoya was a shadow of the Golden Boy that fought in the late '90's. I put pretty much zero stock into that bout. Cotto on the other hand, despite the catch weight of 145 lbs., will likely weigh close to 160 lbs. on fight night. Pacquiao on the other hand doesn't figure to put on nearly that amount of weight. On top of that, Cotto is one of the sport's biggest hitters and, as the Mosley fight proved, Cotto might be a better boxer than he is brawler, and that's saying something. Just ask Zab Judah, Paulie Malinaggi, and a slew of others. Cotto wears his opponents down and takes away their will to keep coming forward. However, nobody to date has stopped Pacquiao from coming forward. All that said about Cotto, one huge question remains, how is he after the beating he took at the [plastered?] hands of Antonio Margarito? Will the effects of that fight show up when Pacquiao lands his first big punch? Cotto looked good against Joshua Clottey and while Clottey is a world class fighter, he's still nowhere near the fighter Pacquiao is. How Cotto responds to Manny's early flurries will tell you much of what you need to know as you watch the fight evolve.
As stated above, Manny Pacquiao is fighting his first true welterweight in his prime. Pacquiao made De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton look silly but there's no way he makes quick work of Cotto. Pacquiao's overwhelming advantage in this fight lies in the speed of his hands and feet. He will be throwing power punches from all kinds of angles and in combinations that Cotto has never seen up close. Cotto did handle Zab Judah's speed but Judah doesn't press on with anywhere near the consistency of Manny Pacquiao. Make sure to watch for whether Cotto can get Pacquiao's timing down early in the fight. If he can, it could be a long night for Manny and that's not even taking into account the fact that he has a singing concert planned for after the fight (and they're charging $40 a ticket for it so he better show).
Basically, I may have wasted your time making you read the above. It boils down to this: Pacquiao's never been hit by anyone as big or as good as Cotto. Cotto's never faced anyone with the relentless quickness of Pacquiao. If you like power, go with Cotto. If you like speed, go with the Pac Man. Personally, I like the speed in this one. Pacquiao will not knock Cotto out as Vegas has it but he will land more than enough to edge out a unanimous decision. That said, this is a fairly tight match-up and I would not be at all shocked if Manny finished this fight on his back. Cotto is a top pound for pound fighter in the world and his only loss could be a disputed one to Margarito. This fight is nowhere near the 2.5 to 1 advantage that Vegas has it. Cotto is far better than the casual fan thinks he is. It should be a very interesting clash of styles. For anyone who says boxing's dead, watch this fight, see the A-listers who show up, enjoy the action, and thank me later. Oh, and get Tecate's $25 rebate. Turns a $54.95 evening into a $29.95 one.
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