By Sal V After all the talk, 24/7 episodes, and hype, Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto lived up to it all and more. The destruction of Miguel Cotto in 12 round TKO proved much more than just a new champion at 147lbs, it was the way in which it occurred that was the most telling.
Many fans and experts alike had said this would be Manny Pacquiaos most dangerous fight, and it was, for about 2 ½ rounds. Cotto used his boxing skills beautifully in the first round, setting up the jab and countering with combinations. By the 3rd round Manny Pacquiao was getting through Cottos defense, hitting with combinations so fast there was nothing Cotto could do.
Cotto responded with a barrage of his own, landing heavy blows but instead of sending Pacquiao down, it seemed to entice Pacquiao to give even more than he took. In Rounds 3 and 4 Manny showed a dose of his own power, sending the proud Puerto Rican warrior down twice, once in each round! A feat other bigger welterweights like Margarito and Clottey could not achieve early on. By the 5th round, it was all a matter of time for the Puerto Rican to call it a night.
Puerto Rico should be proud of the warrior in Miguel Cotto. He stuck to his guns and took punishment reminiscent of the Margarito fight. This time around, no doubt about any gloves being tampered with. The manner in which Pacquiao took Cotto apart has many now comparing him to the all time greats and rightly so. There is still unfinished business left in Floyd Mayweather (more on that in a separate article). To start a career at 107lbs, beat 3 of Mexico’s best, Europe's best in Ricky Hatton and then TKO the best of Puerto Rico across multiple divisions is a herculean feat. His ability to carry and Knockdown lb4lb opponents across divisions is now drawing comparisons to the great Henry Armstrong.
Pacquiao won his first pro WBC title at flyweight, 112lbs and has since become the first to win titles across 7 divisions. Sure one may say that “titles” have little significance nowadays but to currently be fighting Welterweights and still TKO opponents is stunning nonetheless.
Its hard to make comparisons to the modern era as with guys like Armstrong who had over 150 fights in his career. There is no wonder though how Armstrong is rated one of the best fighters of ALL time. Henry Armstrong who won his title at 126lbs then challenged the 147lb Welter champ Barney Ross and won via UD. Armstrong then took on the 135lb Lightweight champ Lou Ambers beating him via decision. Armstrong made history becoming the only boxer ever to hold titles in 3 divisions at the same time.
Armstrong then vacated the featherweight belt and fought back and forth between lightweight and welterweight beating the likes of future Middleweight champ Ceferino Garcia. He then tried to make history once again by becoming the first boxer to win world titles in four different categories in a rematch with Ceferino Garcia (who was now the middleweight champ.) History would not be made that night however as the fight ended in a draw. Many felt though Armstrong had won the fight.
Although fighters today do not fight nearly as often as they did back then, the power both Armstrong and Pacquiao demonstrate in totally different weight categories is remarkable. We're used to seeing fighters move up, but their Knockout potential goes down significantly as they fight bigger men. Fighters like Pacquiao and Armstrong come a couple of times every era, its time to enjoy it while we can.
Pacquiao is a special fighter...112lbs title? wow!
Cotto popped him good early but he was laughing and chit. I never seen him hit so hard, right on the button. He just kept coming...I knew it was over after that. Now we know why De la Hoya quit
This guy is Boxing. He took a little more punishment than I thought in a hard phisical fight. Other potential oponents might think they either see a way to solve the Pac puzzle or that cuz the fight is hard that he might be good for the taking, but I dont think so. He is gonna be hard for anyone to take. What a lil Monster!
The fight went pretty much the way i though it would... i knew that Cotto was going to be able to get to Pacquiao.. and he did early on. Pacquiao was hit more, and harder than i think he ever has been hit.. what i didn't figure on was him being able to absorb those punches and not be worn down by them.. i was impressed... he's got some whiskers! I think Roach and Manny were more worried early on than they let on about how much Cotto was able to counter and connect.. even saw Manny come back to his corner and cross himself after round 1.. but Manny turns out to be one touch customer.. more so than i thought.
haha! floyd wont retire, they'lle fight at some point. its too much money for either of them to back away. Manny's is simply a bad motherfucker! good piece sal!
Impresive whiskers indeed! i imagined bigger cotto landing them punches earlyon and take control of fight from there on. But freakin LIL-Monster kept on coming for more!. Then one punch and cotto's plan went out, without plan B the fight was over (4th round). A trully great showman! This is the kind of boxers that reguvenate the sport.
in an early days of armstrong, i don't even think that they trained as hard as today's fighters. so we can't say that armstrong is much better than manny by comparison. on the other hand, manny concluded that he always pray to God that nobody gets hurt between them two. he also stated the he gives himself to God every time he fights in the ring and that's why he's always smiling. that right there it shows that he's strong believer of God.
We're not gonna see his kind in boxing for a very long time again. Probably not in our own time. a boxer his caliber is yet to be born. He is what others would call a "freak of nature" and it comes once in a while... well said SAL.
Hey, do you think Pacquiao get away with Cotto that easy. Cotto give him dirty boxing trick thats why he has pop ears and a broken right ear drum. You need evidence try to watch this on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmtlw1N1TYQ advance video to 2:50/7:15 you'll see
In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, Sadaf Rahimi, an Afghan woman boxer, practices at a boxing club in Kabul, Afghanistan. As one of the first women to ever box in the Olympics, besides going after a medal in the boxing ring at the London Olympics, Sadaf Rahimi will be taking a few punches in the fight for equal rights for Afghan women.
