Weigh-In results: Manny Pacquiao 144 vs Miguel Cotto 145 l Daniel Santos 154 vs Yuri Foreman 154 l Julio Cesar Chavez 160 vs Troy Rowland 159 l Alfonso Gomez 145.5 vs Jesus Soto-Karass 148 l Matt Korobov 160.5 vs James Winchester 158
I have underestimated Manny Pacquiao time and time again. I picked against him in his rematch with Eric Morales, I picked against him in his rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez, and I made myself look like a complete ahole when I penned an article entitled De La Hoya Will Inevitably Beat Pacquiao. Even when I thought Pacquiao would emerge victorious I’ve still managed to underestimated him, as was the case when he recently made quick work of Ricky Hatton in a fight I expected to be very competitive. After that, I swore to myself that I would never underestimate Manny Pacquiao again..
Considering my track record, one would think I am not thoroughly impressed by Pacquiao. Nothing could be further from the truth. I remember being absolutely mesmerized back in November 2003 when he totally dominated Marco Antonio Barrera. At the time it was inconceivable to imagine anyone overwhelming Barrera with such speed, power, and ferociousness. No matter what Barrera did, he was unable to put a stop to Pacquiao’s relentless assault which was mercifully halted in the eleventh round. That fight was almost six years ago to do the day and the most frightening thing is, Pacquiao has improved tremendously since then. Under the guidance of Freddie Roach, he has become a complete fighter who has honed his skills and mastered his craft.
Pacquiao will be facing his toughest opponent to date when he squares off against Puerto Rican pugilist Miguel Cotto. Cotto is a strong, quick fighter who will have a natural size advantage. He can punch well, he throws nice combinations, and he has exhibited heart and courage inside the ring. He has faced and overcome adversity in the past. This is a fight that Cotto can certainly win. The big question is, can Manny Pacquiao handle the punching power of a natural welterweight? We simply do not know. In his previous two contests against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, he never got hit with anything big. Of course, Oscar was moving down from junior middleweight and the Hatton fight was at junior welter, but since he moved up after having just one fight at lightweight, Pacquiao’s dominance has been so thorough that his chin has not been properly tested.
This is a fight that Miguel Cotto can certainly win. In order for him to do so, he is going to have to exploit his natural size advantage. He needs to rough Pacquiao up in close quarters and try to pin him against the ropes so that Pacquiao cannot create the space he needs to find his flashy in-and-out rhythm. For Cotto to be successful, he is going to need to get Pacquiao’s respect early by landing something big. If he can do that, and make Pacquiao more reluctant to open up, he will have a good chance. However, if Cotto cannot gain Pacquiao’s respect and cannot hurt him with something serious during the first three or four rounds, there is a strong likelihood that his stamina will fail him. Cotto has a tendency to tire out in the later rounds, and in his last fight with Joshua Clottey, he appeared to be winded as early as the fifth round. It is imperative for Cotto to make a statement early.
Pacquiao is a master at utilizing his style of fighting to his advantage. He has a tremendous ability to find openings during exchanges and he has pinpoint punching precision. Against Cotto, he will have an advantage in terms of speed, both hand and foot. Pacquiao needs to maintain a safe distance so he can dart in and out and establish a rhythm, whereby he lands shots and avoids being hit with any return fire. Although we have no way of knowing whether or not Pacquiao can withstand Cotto’s best shots, I tend to think he should be okay. Pacquiao simply loves to fight! He seems to thrive in situations where the challenge before him is perceived as a major threat, and he has faced no bigger threat than Cotto. I foresee a back-and-forth see-saw battle that ultimately sees Pacquiao take control of the action by the start of the fifth round.
At the end of the day, I am expecting (and hoping for) a terrific fight that will be highly competitive.
My Prediction: Pacquiao TKO8
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Source: eastsideboxing.com
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