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Cotto victory sets the stage for Pacquiao
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With Puerto Rican phenom Miguel Cotto squeaking past hard-nosed contender Joshua Clottey, suddenly the table appears to be set for a potential Miguel Cotto/Manny Pacquiao showdown.
Taking a good look at fan views across the internet, many felt that Joshua Clottey actually won the fight, but that won't in any ways hinder the prospects of Cotto advancing and ultimately being a part of a fight that mutual Top Rank promoter Bob Arum seems to desperately want.
After the fight, Arum was quoted as saying that he sees a potential fight between Cotto and Pacquiao being "dead even".
A few months ago I would probably have agreed with him, but currently, I think there are two things that separate the two fighters. Cotto has power, but Pacquiao's speed and relative power makes you wonder if this could potentially be a revisit of the Hatton/Pacquiao fight with the same man winning - albeit on points rather than a KO.
For so long Cotto was viewed as a body-snatcher on a near invincible nature, but Clottey proved yet again that anyone who brings the fight to Cotto stands a huge chance, and as we all know, Pacquiao will not fight going backwards for anyone.
Never in his career has Pacquiao faced anyone with this type of power, but rarely in Cotto's career has he faced a fighter this elusive with both speed and power, and when he did, some would say those performances should bare an asterisk.
Zab Judah was a close template, but Judah doesn't have the heart of Pacquiao. Mosley was another example, but Mosley failed to pull the trigger when he had Cotto shaken up on at least two ocassions.
In the eyes of his critics, Pacquiao has many questions left to be answered, but the one thing that no one could ever say is that he has EVER failed to pull the curtains on an opponent who was visibly hurt. Pacquiao's fiery nature would undoubtedly be catastrophic for Cotto if he can avoid the heavy shot.
A punchers chance is perhaps the best shot for Cotto, as overall skill clearly goes to Pacquiao.
Considering the potential money issues, I think this victory for Cotto clearly solidified the showdown with he and Pacquiao.
Arum will remove all doubt about the potential money problems between his fighter and Mayweather by cashing in on a promotional card pinning Cotto and Pacquiao against one another first. By doing that, he would allow the winner to create more buzz for their name, giving Mayweather less leverage at the bargaining table.
It's a win/win for Arum, and he knows this.
The only trouble now is that Cotto may have to sit for a while longer than expected to heal the flesh of that nasty cut sustained above his eye - which makes an October 17th date a tough one to make possible.
Either way, I see the fight going on, and if I had to make an early prediction, I think the Filipino nation would have yet another reason to celebrate in the end....again.
(Vivek Wallace can be contacted at vivexemail@yahoo.com, Facebook, and Myspace)
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