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Houston Boxing Examiner Page
The fight that most boxing fans anticipated is official. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum announced on Monday that IBO and Ring Magazine junior welterweight champion, and current top pound-for-pound fighter, Filipino Manny Pacquiao will face off against WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico. The two will meet on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at an agreed 145 lb. maximum weight.
Pay-per-view sales on the fight should approach 1 million buys for the U.S. market.
Pacquiao vs. Cotto is a legitimate mega-fight, and should be one of the most anticipated clashes in recent years for several reasons.
First, the boxing community will be able to witness if Manny Pacquiao can continue to thrive and succeed in his heretofore impossible journey. Starting out at a mere 106 lb., the "Pacman" is vying for Cotto's welterweight belt. For Manny, that represents an astonishing 7th title in his 7th weight class. Among the all-time greats who have ever laced on the boxing gloves, no one in the entire history of the sport has ever attained such a feat (Oscar de la Hoya is the only other fighter to win 6 titles in 6 weight classes). Not Muhammad Ali. Not Rocky Marciano. Not Roberto Duran. Not Jack Dempsey.
Secondly, Miguel Cotto represents a formidable challenge for the former flyweight Pacquiao. Cotto is a legitimate welterweight, and may weigh in as big as 160 lbs. come fight night on November 14. And this is a weight range that he is most comfortable in. The Puerto Rican has previously defeated highly respected fighters in Shane Mosley, Joshua Clottey, Zab Judah, Carlos Quintana, and Ricardo Torres. Carlos Quintana is the only boxer to have defeated 6 foot 1 inch Paul Williams, who possesses an 82" reach. In short, Cotto has defeated boxing stars in his climb to the top.
The third reason why this is a mega-event? Both Pacquiao and Cotto are heroes in their respective homelands. Cotto is regarded as one of Puerto Rico's best boxers, following in the lofty standards set forth by the great Felix Trinidad, and his fan base is augmented by general boxing fans that like his brawling and attack style. Pacquiao on the other hand has elevated himself to national hero status at home, but also as an international superstar. His impossible journey, starting out as a homeless boxing aspirant, continues.
Tale of the Tape:
Manny Pacquiao (49 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws)
Status: IBO and Ring Jr. Welterweight Champ
P4P Ranking: #1
Age: 30
Hometown: General Santos City, Philippines
Height: 5 feet 6.5 inches
Weigh-in Weight: 141 - 143 lb.
Likely Fight Night Weight: 148 - 150 lb.
Reach: 67 inches
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Artwork - Richard T. Slone
Miguel Cotto (34 wins, 1 loss)
Status: WBO Welterweight Champ
P4P Ranking: top 10
Age: 28
Hometown: Caguas, Puerto Rico
Height: 5 feet 7 inches
Weigh-in Weight: 145 lb.
Likely Fight Night Weight: 156 - 159 lb.
Reach: 67 inches
We find three keys to victory for each fighter.
Manny Pacquiao's Keys to Victory
1. Cotto's recent tough fights with Mexican Antonio Margarito and Ghana native Joshua Clottey reveals that he does not like to fight back-pedaling. When he is forced backwards, Cotto is susceptible to jabs and hooks, and this vulnerability could be exploted by the quicker Pacquiao. Manny can force Cotto to retreat when the Filipino throws his lightning fast combinations at a staggered Cotto.
2. Pacquiao undoubtedly possesses a speed advantage over Cotto. Manny has fought a faster fighter in Juan Manuel Marquez before, and the Filipino's ability to telegraph Cotto's moves can simultaneously - in real time - guide Pacman's offensive bombardment.
3. Manny's ability to block Cotto's power punches upstairs and to the body will be a critical success factor in this fight. Cotto has fought and defeated bigger fighters than Manny, and packs more power, especially to the body. An unpredictable in-and-out movement as well as effective blocking can either eventually wear down Cotto or allow Manny enough time to land a flush knockout punch.
Miguel Cotto's Keys to Victory
1. Pacquiao is susceptible to getting hit with combinations when he is forced to move backwards. Ricky Hatton's ability to parry with, and roughhouse, Pacquiao in the 2nd round of their fight should be cause for a lot of worry by Pacquiao's fans. If you look closely in that fight, a larger and more powerful boxer like Cotto would have done significantly more damage to Manny if he was in the ring instead.
2. Cotto's power will have to be leveraged by utilizing the entire arsenal of punches, from right jabs and hooks, to uppercuts. The variety of angles is necessary to make Cotto less predictable for Pacquiao, making a surprise body blow or hook much more effective. That sneaky punch could do just enough to stagger the Filipino for a few seconds that gives Cotto enough time to throw combinations and / or trap the Pacman. Cotto's power has worked on bigger fighters before, landing them on former flyweight Pacquiao could have a more pronounced effect.
3. Cut off the ring. Freddie Roach will likely have Pacquiao go in and out in order to use his speed advantage, as well as, employ lateral movement. Cotto, however, frequently was able to brilliantly cut off the ring and keep Joshua Clottey in front of him. Pacman trapped against the corner or the ropes would have no choice but to trade in heavy exchange against Cotto. Unfortunately, in my view, that would be a losing proposition for Pacquiao against an opponent like this.
Sylvester Stallone and Roberto Duran during the filming of Rocky II.
Historic Implications:
This fight is a historic fight for the sport of boxing. As mentioned earlier, a victory by Pacquiao allows him to claim an astonishing 7th title in his 7th weight class. He would be the first and only boxer in history to claim such a feat. If this was basketball, perhaps that would be equivalent to scoring 100 points in a game. Or if this was baseball, perhaps (just perhaps) that would equate to hitting over 70 homeruns in a single season. Or if this was football, perhaps that might amount to winning a Super Bowl three-peat.
The sports community will likely crown Manny Pacquiao as an all-time great and living legend should he defeat a legitimate welterweight star in Miguel Cotto. Much like a Roberto Duran during his prime. Unfortunately for boxing fans, Manny has stated on interviews that this fight could be his last prior to retirement.
Alternatively, a loss by either fighter still presents many exciting and intriguing matchup possibilities with several other boxers. A loss by Pacquiao - if he chooses to fight into 2010 - can set up a showdown with the loser of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. Perhaps we may encounter a much anticipated Pacquiao vs. Marquez III in order to finally settle the long-winding debate between these two. Shane Mosley would probably no longer want to fight Pacquiao should the latter lose, and thus a Marquez showdown might be Pacquiao's only credible option.
Given that Shane Mosley has a hard time finding an opponent (he may fight Andre Berto next), a Cotto loss could set up a big rematch between Cotto and Mosley. Miguel Cotto could also avenge his defeat to Antonio Margarito in a rematch. Both fights would be exciting.
Copyright 2009. Marv Dumon. May not be republished without author's written consent.
___________________________
Boxing Articles: Houston Boxing Examiner
Blog: mdumon.blogspot.com
Marv Dumon has been an avid boxing analyst and observer for over 20 years, and additionally serves as the National Business and Finance Examiner. Marv's professional background conveys experience in investment banking and management consulting, as well as, operational experience with two Fortune 500 companies. He has published over 200 articles and client research papers for Forbes and related organizations. Marv received his BA, BBA, and MPA from The University of Texas at Austin. Contact information @ marvin.dumon@gmail.com.
Comments
ya pac is 2-1 betting favorite but he facing a really tough opponent in cotto. if cotto can cut off the ring, manny could seriously get staggered by a guy weighing 160 lbs
i only bet on manny. heres $500 for the fight but this one is tough
if marquez fight cotto he would get killed like a silly boy getting run over by tricycad. thats shows manny is a great fighter
sorry but i have $100 on cotto to end packy's 10 win streak
if phillipino packy loses, mac marquez 3 would be great fight. if cotto loses, mosley and margarito would be great fight. fans can only win
pacman fever is on again. 7 titles in 7 weight class. An outstanding accomplishment. after pacman demolish cotto, mayweather will be next in march 2010 and marquez as a finale for the year. then pacman will unretire himself to be a "fighting congressman of the philippines" and take $20 million per fight. wow amazing..
the best way for cotto to win is to cut off the ring bec he is stronger fighter. he has taken shots from bigger fighters so trading with manny should be advantage for him. cut off ring and prevent pacman from escaping. just like in the video game
cotto looks like he wears lipstick and sings for menudo
The only way cotto will win this fight is,he has to hold a knife in his hand and stab manny's feet and hand so that he can take out his speed..lol
mannys only advantege in this fight is he has longer hair. that hair will lie neatly on the canvass in nov
The fight can be tricky for Manny because he will be fighting back to heavier weight 145 lbs., unlike 138 in his Hatton match.However in my calculation they will train him for greater stamina and to score points heavily in the first few rounds to test if Cotto will flinch,if it is, then the fight won't last long.Then plan"B"will commence via unanimous decision win.
For Cotto key to victory#1:
Pacquiao purposely opened up his face so that Hattom would fire left-hooks(which can be seen miles away since he cocks it back to which, a perfect counter would be a southpaw-right hook) toward Manny's face.
Mr. Dumon forgot to factor in (the single most important) Roach's ability to concoct unpredictable gameplans to counter an elusive yet obvious flaw (i.e. De la hoya being slow compared to manny; Hatton's wide left hook beimg sucker to the southpaw right)
I can ser this fight ending up looking a LOT like the David Diaz fight.
Cotto cut in rd 4 - Pacquiao victory via KO in rd 7
you right mj,but cotto will get tired blocking the machine gun punches of pac!!!go go pacman!
fight manny rough and close... is d big mistakes coto can make...
7th title in 7th weight division in Rd 7.
I should bet on it. Ha
i think cotto will KO manny! go cotto!
pusta ako kuni manny, logro dyes pay.
I place $1000 on bobby pacquiao against cotto or even manny! lmao
there is a reason why no one has ever won 7 belts in 7 weights and cotto will show why. bec big boxer will beat down small boxer like a kid who pickpocket wallet
$1000 for pacman..no one can defeat a machine boxer..go iron pacman..!!
what should cotto do is just to land a killer punch which i douted. with the way cotto fights clottey it will not happen even a single lucky punch to the pacman. you need more much quicker punch to land tp packy but just fight an exiting fight... we love to see that...mwah
Pacquiao is just too fast for Cotto. So fast that he could let Cotto punch, go to the ringside and give Jinky a kiss, go back inside the ring and dodge Cotto's punch, throw a left and best Cotto to the punch.
This fight is advantage Cotto. Cotto has to cut off the ring and land hooks. If his chin holds up, Cotto can knock Pacman out. Then Mayweather will really want to fight Pacquiao.
bobby pacqyaw will be crying and carrying his brothers sleeping body back to locker room
BOOIINGG!!!!
boing boing
cotto and his corner would surrender in the 7th rd. to avoid further beating and a KO. just like hoya would hit nothing but air...
cotto spelled backwards is ottoc
and after fight he will no longer have his ottoc
I think we should all wait for the fight to happen. The outcome can go either way. Despite Pacquiao's talent advantage and Cotto's size and physical advantage, anything can happen in the ring. So for now, let's refrain from laying down excuses for each fighter in the event they lose. And after the fight, we should all refrain from making excuses why your fighter lost and we didnt see them before the fight.
Making these kind of excuses before and after the fight only encourages the fighters either to wrongly overrate themselves or to stupidly whine even more for losing.
In the end, the fighters agreed to fight and what matters most is that what happens inside the ring.
I wont take a pick on who's gonna win but I will surely watch the fight. May the best man win.
i have been following pacquiao's fights since his Blow by Blow days on TV. Eversince, i have never doubted his ability atop the ring. Come Nov. 14, the Pacman will rewrite the history of boxing: 7th title in 7th division
it is a really though fight for manny. but we dont know. everytime manny fights he is improving. i hope manny can pull this one.as far a im concern 145 lbs. is very dangerouse for manny. i wish they agreed on 143 or maybe 144 perhaps, manny will go up for 4 lbs and coto will cutdown to 4 lbs. coto can take a have punch. but we dont know yet. a series of hard punches will put coto down , and for manny just a single punch from coto will bring him down to the canvas. i am a fan of manny i believe in him but i know it will be a very difficult fight for him.i respect mr. miguel coto's ability. godspeed manny.. i hope you will win. will pray for you
Pac! Here comes Pacman's slap on the canvass by his ass!
like diaz, dela hoya (though he didn't hug the canvass) and mayweather, the same fate will happen to cotto. aurely it is.
the Pacman would win against Cotto and that is for sure or if not that is the most probable and anticipated result.
the GOD fearing and humble man is destined for greatness. No one could snatch his imminent crowning for greatness in the sports of professional boxing.
A humble Pacman has a talking fist comes the fight night. See and experience once again the real Pacman.
i love u manny ... very much ... very much...
The real winner here are the boxing fans by just watching this super fight, compare to a circus fight coming this september between two clowns,floyd gayrunner and manuel"cry baby waiter" marquez!!!whoever wins ,it'll be a great fight..CAN'T WAIT!!
They are both power boxers. Who can score first will most likely become the winner... In this case, I go for Manny.
Manalo si Cotto kung may Kuyamad, Lusa si Manny. Cotto gumamit ka nagn Washout para tanggal lahat Cotto Ni Manny
manny must take care of cotto's low blows.. look at what he did to judah when judah staggered cotto by a huge uppurcut,, cotto countered him with a wicked low blow not once but thrice in the entire fight.. everytime judah staggers cotto..cotto counters with a low blow..
BLACK SPIDER THE NEXT POUND POR POUND KING IN MENTAL HOSPITAL... A PURE STUPID MORON..
My money is on PaCmAn...I'm gonna place my bet at Mandalay Bay tonite!!!
i think it's gonna be by stoppage due to too much punishment. cotto will be "pacquiaoed"! i'm a bit scared though, bcoz cotto is too big! look at his bones.
This is my fight analysis for Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto
Cotto's best strategy against pacquaio.
1. Land heavy and accurate punches
2. Defense
3. Cut off the ring
4. Focus on the body and Fight close and rough
Add this all together and Miguel Cotto will win within 6 rounds.
Pacquaio’s best strategy against Cotto
1. Defense
2. Land punch and quickly get out
3. Look for the knockout punch the whole fight
4. Get out of ropes.
5 Lateral movements, in and out and side to side, move quick
Add this all together and Manny Pacquiao will win within 11 rounds.
The speed,evasion,skills,power & brilliant strategy provided by roach..my theory is if cotto got hurt in just a single punch i know manny wont stop throwing fast & strong punches untill cotto hit the canvass..manny juz too fast for Cotto its obvious manny can dodge his punch..ds fyt wud end up lyk delohoya fyt or worst david diaz fyt going down d canvass face first.
even if packy wins he will never be the greatest, because he is not american. how sad...
hate this fight. why? because after the fight people will say that cotto was dehydrated, washed up, and all those alibis. just accept the fact that MAnny is the greatest of all time!!!
fastForward VS slowMotion
with his right hand improved,a sledgehammer left,tremendous footwork&stamina..pac is unbeatable!!!...pac by 8th round ko that's for sure!!!
Cotto is easy to hit I dont think theres anything to worry about for Pac.The fighter that can give MP a trouble is a fighter that is hard to hit and a movable target as well.He is also too good on his feet and Cotto has to be unpredictable, no need 4 him to cut the ring because MP will surprise with a big shot if you are worried how to land your punches.Its gonna be very tough for Cotto.
im sure manny by late KO victory
bernzkiboy the greatest american moron!!
tsak2 gid na.boylolo!mas mayo pa gid kon madala si cotto papel de liha ikuskus sa ulo ni manny para patay tanan nga cotto!!LOL.
why Greatness is for american only?
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