Pacquiao vs. Cotto (Photo: Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo)
Moments ago at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Manny Pacquiao stopped Miguel Cotto to claim the WBO Welterweight championship of the world. The bout had been eyed for months ahead of time and the contest proved to be exciting, compelling, and ultimately convincing.
Cotto came out with a very sound game plan and it was obvious that he was concerned about not getting caught with a big punch from the Filipino. The first two rounds were feel-out affairs and many in the crowd felt that the Puerto Rican did enough to steal them.
In the third round Pacquiao turned the tide of the fight completely with a crunching right hand. Cotto seemed more upset than hurt and fought back well enough to regain some momentum. The fourth round was one of the best of the year as Cotto, obviously looking to make a statement in the fight, had much success firing power shots against Pacquiao. However, Pacquiao would land a beautiful left uppercut that had Cotto dazed and on the deck. Cotto never seemed to recover fully from the shot.
As the fight reached its mid rounds, Pacquiao began to land more effectively with his piercing shots. Cotto's moments were worth note but he was simply letting the opportunity slip away as Pacquiao approached his comfort zone. Pacquiao appeared to sweep round after round as the fight approached its late stages and Cotto began to look worse for wear.
Bloodied and battered, Cotto fought on but his only moments of success were the occasional right hand shots that didn't seem to bother his confident foe. The last three rounds saw Cotto dancing and moving, obviously weary of Pacquiao's power. In the 12th round Pacquiao woud land a shot againt Miguel on the ropes and referee Kenny Bayless jumped in to stop the bout. The crowd erupted as reality set in that the Phiippines' hero had done it yet again.
Afterwards both Pacquiao and Roach were respectful of the former champion, stating that Cotto had fought a great fight but that they knew their plan of attack would be successful. Roach went on to note that Pacquiao's speed was simply to much for the Puerto Rican to cope with.
Cotto would later speak and would prove himsel to be classy in defeat, giving all credit to the new champion.Cotto went on to state that he had trouble dealing with all of the angles in which Pacquiao attacked him, as he stated he couldn't see the punches coming. Cotto also noted that Pacquiao was one of the best champions he had faced and that he still planned to continue fighting.
The event proved to be worth the wait. Despite the fight being one-sided and void of huge action down the stretch, it was still a memorable performance by one of this generation's premier fighters. Some questioned earlier whether Pacquiao's run in the boxing world would end but tonight certainly wasn't the night. Patient, poised, and dangerous as always, Manny Pacquiao is the new WBO champion of the world.
To Read about the Atmosphere inside the MGM, please click HERE
To Here what Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao had to say about the fight, click HERE Rumors have it that Bob Arum is looking to set up a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown. To read more on that click HERE
Comments
Thanks Chris..
My prodiction came almost 99%. "Pacquiao win in 12 rnds with both blooded faces." I based that prediction on both fighters performance and ability to fight as real warriors. Unfotunately only one came out blooded and the other was untouched.
Chris are you also covering Manny's singing concert? Kindly do us one more favor, "the singing champion."
Congratulations!!! Thank you for making us proud to be Filipinos!
Thank you Miguel Cotto for a good fight and a galant and humble stand against our warrior Manny Pacquiao.
Someone needs to change "Ali Mall" (mall in cubao, philippines named after Mohammed Ali) to "Pacquiao Mall".
up to now...3 hours had been passed..am still feeling the thrill and the excitement of the fight...a good fight on which the good fighter wins...congratulations PACMAN...and kudos to cotto..u gave a good fight...hope floyd fights pacman next...in a 50-50 split...Mabuhay ang PINOY!!!!!!!!!!!!
its michael marley victory..mabuhay ka mike.. and also chris come and visit phils
I Love manny..... a very big win for my favorite boxer. thank you for the exciting fight.. i just love to watch it again and again.. watch the complete fight of PACMAN and COTTO at
www.veoh43.com
okiks3 Yo! I'll honestly say that the idea of 50-50 is such a lousy thing for you to say..oh, oh NO OFFENSE please!! Listen..the reason why Pacman wouldn't fight Fraud is the fact that Manny wants 60-40 to his favor..and now winning Cotto 60-40 is not even the right deal..IT SHOULD BE 70-30 MANNYS FAVOR..CAPEESH"?
Great, solid, and clean fight! Congrats to Pacman! Manny IS NOT KILLING THE SPORT OF BOXING (message to other media writers out there that shall remain nameless), he's leading a great example to all young and upcoming prospects to the game.
I am Filipino, and I'd like to give props to the Puerto Rican fans and for the big heart of display from Cotto, Cotto didn't
low blow (when in trouble), and came out classy during the post fight.
Much respect, and much love to you all!
I'll be watching and rooting for Cotto (as I've been before he inked to fight Pacman) on his next fight for sure. Cotto's story for the boxing books is not over and I hope he fights again.
Again much love and respect to all the Puerto Ricans.
forget mayweather, let him and his group work it out to be with pacquiao consideration of fighting next.
i do admired cotto eversince and will still go for him in his next fight. infact, i want a cotto vs. mayweather, i still believe cotto gonna shut mayweather face
I like to see Cotto vs Mayweather... Cotto trained under Freddie Roach
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