Pacquiao prays for fellow boxer

The Straits Times

LAS VEGAS (Nevada) - MANNY Pacquiao says when he was just 18-years-old a boxer on the undercard of one of his fights got into trouble in the ring and ended up dying in his arms.

The seven-time champion Pacquiao was reminded on Saturday of the incident that took place just over a decade ago when Filipino bantamweight Z Gorres was hospitalised on Friday with a serious head injury following his victory over Juan Melendez of Colombia.

'I pray to God for his recovery and I am very sorry for him and his family,' said Pacquiao, prior to his 12 round technical knockout of Miguel Cotto in a WBO welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand hotel.

The 27-year-old Gorres, who was fighting on a smaller Las Vegas card, was hurt in the last half minute of his fight Friday at nearby Mandalay Bay hotel.

Pacquiao's trainer and former boxer Freddie Roach said the Filipino superstar understands the risks whenever he steps in the ring. 'He told me this is what we do. This is what we signed on for,' Roach said of Pacquiao.

Gorres had undergone surgery on Friday night to reduce swelling to the head and is expected to be in hospital for the next few days. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Sunday that Gorres was in stable condition after undergoing treatment for a subdural hematoma. -- AFP

Source: straitstimes.com

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Pacquiao-Mayweather match must be made

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

LAS VEGAS – Just minutes after Manny Pacquiao had violently turned Miguel Cotto’s face into raw hamburger, the chant rose up from the stands of the MGM Grand Garden Arena:

“We want Floyd.”

Pacquiao had delivered a systematic demolition job of Cotto, winning the World Boxing Organization welterweight title via 12th round TKO with round after round of devastating shots against a bigger, stronger man.

It was the second electrifying boxing performance of the fall. The first was Floyd Mayweather Jr’s 12-round decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in September. That fight broke the rare 1 million pay-per-view bar, a number that will likely be exceeded by this fight too.

So now the stage is set for a super fight that could set box office records – Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. It’s the dream bout between the two best pound-for-pound champions in the sport, hopefully sometime in 2010.

“If Floyd Mayweather wants to fight Manny Pacquiao he knows who to call,” said Bob Arum, the CEO of Top Rank Boxing, the promotion which handles Pacquiao.

Within minutes, Ross Greenberg, the head of HBO Sports said he had spoken to Richard Shaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Mayweather.

“Richard told me point blank, Bob Arum will be getting that call Monday,” Greenberg said. “He plans on meeting next week with Bob to make the Mayweather fight.”

There will, no doubt, be posturing and preening and negotiating over the split. There are no small egos in this battle; no small checks, either.

“Benjamin Franklin is the most important personality [in the negotiation],” said Greenberg, whose company would handle the pay-per-view. “His face, multiplied by 15 million brings people to the table. Each guy needs to look at the big picture and the big picture is a boat load of cash and a fight too important for the sport.”

Greenberg said the 2007 fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya resulted in an $80 million purse.

“Is this one smaller?” Greenberg said, shaking his head. “Bigger.”

For boxing fans who care little about who gets more of the final millions and just want to see two legendary fighters in the prime of their careers, this will be a tantalizing wait.

“I think that is the fight the world wants to see,” Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said.

Pacquiao’s performance here was a thing of beauty, the continuation of a run of brilliance. He chopped a big, powerful opponent down with a combination of speed, smarts and toughness to take shots of his own.

He didn’t shy away from leaning on the ropes and mixing it up with Cotto because he said he wanted to prove he can fight a physical fight and was tired of hearing about Cotto’s supposed strength.

“I yelled at him every time, why are you fighting his fight?” Roach said. “Manny says, ‘I can handle it.’ I said, ‘Well, prove it.’ And he did.”

Post-fight, Cotto was sent to a local trauma unit. Pacquiao performed an eight-song set with his band at an outdoor concert at Mandalay Bay.

The night left little doubt about his genius.

Pacquiao, 30, who has won titles in a record six or seven weight classes (depending on which version of history you believe), said his 5-foot-6 frame can’t handle a weight higher than 145, so he’s running out of challengers.

The only real one left is Mayweather, 32, the 5-foot-7 welterweight who presents his own combination of historic quickness, boxing smarts and defensive skills.

Likewise, Pac-man is about the only real threat to Mayweather, who has dominated boxing in putting together a 40-0 record. Nearly two years ago, Mayweather was so bored from the lack of challengers, he retired for a stretch.

In his absence, Pacquiao rose, defeating both De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in a much more brutal manner than Mayweather did. Now it’s Pac-man (50-3-2) who many call the pound-for-pound king, a fictional title that Mayweather insists is still his.

Now they can prove it.

Both are known for their ability to throw and land punches from unusual angles, from avoiding contact and for making each punch count. It would be speed against speed, true boxer against true boxer, two all-time greats, lined up and ready.

Each fighter’s colorful entourage had already started the debates and trash talk.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. launched into a circular rant that essentially accused Pacquiao of being on HGH. “I’ve been in boxing since I was 15 years old, I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said of Pacquiao’s new-found size and chin. Not that Senior said it would matter if Manny fought his son.

“When it’s time for us to fight, I’m going to show you all who the master is,” Mayweather Sr. said.

For good measure Mayweather Sr. claimed Roach was only a great trainer because he has a great fighter.

“Tell him to go [expletive] himself,” Roach said.

Roach said the game plan against Mayweather is obvious, catch him if you can.

“Mayweather is a very defensive fighter,” Roach said. “He doesn’t like to engage much. You have to pressure him. I think we have the hand speed to do that. We’d have to set traps for him and fight every minute of every round. I hear he [trains like] a machine too. I’d like to see who lasts longer.”

Roach also feels that with the chin Pacquiao showed against Cotto, that forcing the action against the softer hitting Mayweather won’t present a risk.

“Floyd can’t break a nail, he hurts his hands all the time,” Roach said. “He can’t knock Manny Pacquiao out.”

Pacquiao said he was taking a vacation and would fight whoever Arum set up for him. Mayweather Jr. did not attend the fight even though he lives in Las Vegas. His father said he did watch at home though and the loquacious boxer would have plenty to say in the future.

No one doubts that one.

And for once, it seems that boxing’s suicidal politics and factions won’t stand in the way of the fight everyone wants to see.

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. See you in 2010.

Source: sports.yahoo.com

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Manny Pacquiao knocks Miguel Cotto down

(Source: http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID739/images/pacquaioknocksdowncotto(JaeCHong).jpg)

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Izenberg: In taking down a bigger opponent, Manny Pacquiao morphs from Mighty Mouse into Godzilla

By Jerry Izenberg/Columnist Emeritus, The Star-Ledger

LAS VEGAS — So what did Manny Pacquiao achieve on Saturday night beyond winning his seventh title in seven different weight classes to catapult himself to a place where no fighter had ever gone?

He brought boxing back into the newspapers, back onto the television and back into an unbroken chain of conversations across America from its office water coolers and its neighborhood saloons.

Yankee Stadium and the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium are now talking about outdoor championship fights with guess who as the magnet that will pack them in.

The face of all of boxing is indelibly stamped with that of Manny Pacquiao today. And if you try to sketch-in the face of the man who will become the other half of the equation that could bring the sport — and the crowds — and the money back to a prominence that used to be trumpeted by names like Ali, Tyson and Sugar Ray Robinson, it takes on the image of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Together they could restore the kind of magic and drama that just a week ago nobody thought was possible. They could be the twin genies of Ali and Frazier and the rivalry that will never fade into obscurity.

Manny Pacquiao is the Merlin who set up this situation by unleashing the final ingredient into a night filled with Filipino and Puerto Rican flag-waving, roars that shook down thunder from the very rafters of the building and with a final coda of agreement among both sets of highly partisan groups that on this night they had seen the very best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet and his name is Manny Pacquiao.

There had been a thought among many (not including the town’s linemakers who had Manny as a powerful 3-1 favorite) that perhaps Manny had let his reach exceed his grasp by agreeing to fight a bigger and, most thought, stronger opponent as his litmus.

But Miguel Cotto never had a chance.

So this is the way the dream ended for Miguel Cotto on Saturday night. From the fifth round on, he was able to throw fewer than 10 power punches per round. That’s like trying to stop a swarm of killer bees with a feather duster. He was trying to survive on legs that had begun to look like twin pillars of wet spaghetti. And it kept on getting more and more hopeless. He was all alone on a rapidly melting ice floe while the cuts that looked like small tributaries at the beginning of round 12 had turned part of his face into a crimson mask.

And through those final seconds, from every corner of the MGM Grand Arena, a one-word chant told the entire story:

‘‘Maanny..MaannyÂ…Maanny.’’

Back in the Philippines, it was would have translated into a single Tagalog phrase:

‘‘Manny, mabuhay ka’’ (Long live, Manny Pacquiao)

Here in Gomorrah-by-the-Desert, it was a tribute to the oldest of gambler’s adages:

‘‘The race (or fight) may not always go to the army with the most guns — but that sure as hell is the way to bet.’’

This wasn’t just a great welterweight fight here at the Grand Garden. What it was, was a coronation. Manny Pacquiao morphed from Mighty Mouse into Godzilla on the strength of a single, dramatic evening. In a field of contenders and pretenders, he now shines above them all like the Hope Diamond atop a landfill of broken cheap wine bottles.

The Star-Ledger card gave Cotto only two of the 11 rounds preceding the stoppage. When Kenny Bayless, the referee, stepped in to stop it 55 seconds into the 12th round, it was an act of mercy, certifying reality. Pacquiao floored Cotto twice. He took away his legs. He took away his will. He neutralized every weapon that Cotto had brought to the battle. He was equally deadly with either hand.

And he exhibited the kind of domination over Cotto that reaffirmed a mantra that thousands of trainers know is a rock solid proposition:

Speed will always defeat power if the speed is consistent.

Pacquiao was a whirlwind that turned the underdog’s first-round hope into pure disaster. The plan had been repeated by Freddie Roach, Manny’s trainer, until it sounded like a boxing catechism:

‘‘Stay off the ropes. Don’t let your back touch them. Make this a dead-center of the ring fight and it will be easy.’’

In the very first round Manny let it happen. It was the only time all night. But there he was back on the ropes and Cotto was on him. He had driven Pacquiao there with his jab, which had been surprising effective. He threw the hook. Manny slipped it and soon after the bell rang.

Cotto had won the round. But the near miss had jarred Pacquiao’s memory and that memory had won him the fight.

Manny had never again come even close to ceding the geography of the ring. It became his territorial imperative. With no place left him from which to counter punch (Cotto’s strength), Pacquiao took advantage of every angle, took advantage of his spectacular hand speed and took advantage, well, of Miguel Cotto.

He dropped him in the third round and again in the fourth. The first cut began to leak midway through the scheduled 12-rounder. In Cotto’s corner, Joe Chavez, his cut man, began to earn his salary. By the ninth round, everyone in the joint knew the fight was over. In the 11th, Cotto began to run and Pacquiao picked him off again and again at his leisure.

At the start of the 12th, a single right hand opened the bigger of the two cuts. Bayless did not wait.

He jumped in and put his arms around Cotto and ended it — much to both corners’ relief.

It was a for Pacquiao a declaration and a challenge.

The ball is in Floyd Mayweather’s court now.

Source: nj.com

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Manny Pacquiao puts Miguel Cotto to the canvas in the 3rd round

(Source: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Media/ReM_Manny_Pacquiao_Cotto5_G.jpg)

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Pacman eyes Floyd feast

By Niall Hickman, Daily Express

MANNY Pacquiao has only Floyd Mayweather Jnr in his sights after dismantling Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas yesterday with a performance of near perfection.

Filipino legend Pacquiao destroyed Cotto for round after round and mercifully referee Kenny Bayless pulled the bloodied and battered Puerto Rican out of the fight in the final round.

Pacquiao has now stopped Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Cotto in his last three bouts to become a seven-weight world champion and now all that remains is for him to take on Mayweather, widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer.

‘Pacman’, who took Cotto’s WBO welterweight crown, said: “I’ll rest up and then think about the next fight, but obviously everyone is talking about Mayweather.

“I think we have to fight, there is no doubt about that. It is the fight the whole world wants to see, the best against the best. It needs to take place next year and I am sure he will want to fight me as much as I want to fight him.” Pacquiao delivered arguably the most awesome display of his stellar career in dethroning Cotto, who came into the ring clearly the bigger man but with nothing like Pacquiao’s stunning accuracy and speed.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach was furious that Cotto’s corner did not pull him out of the fight several rounds before the stoppage as the battle increasingly became a one-sided affair.

Roach said: “What I saw out there was a disgrace and Cotto should have been taken out of the fight three rounds earlier than the referee did it. It was one-way traffic and getting worse by the minute.

“They should not have let him take that beating because it will be worse for him in the future.”

Roach had a point as Cotto was a beaten man well before the end, even though he battled throughout the one-sided encounter and caught Pacquiao on numerous occasions. The difference was that Pacquiao’s detonating punches had an impact, but he walked through anything and everything Cotto could throw back.

Cotto started strongly, using his extra weight to gain a slight advantage, but a flash knockdown early on was a warning that this was not going to be his night.

As the bout wore on Cotto’s face started to lacerate and Pacquiao, who was strong at the end of every round, took control.

Pacquiao said: “It was the hardest night of my career. I hit Cotto with everything but he would not go down. It was a great performance from him but I think the referee was right to stop it.”

Source: express.co.uk

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Miguel Cotto bloodied after fighting boxing's best Manny Pacquiao

(Source: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Media/ReM_Manny_Pacquiao_Cotto6_G.jpg)

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Pacquiao-Mayweather a Match Made in Heaven (or Yankee Stadium?)

By GREG BISHOP, New York Times

LAS VEGAS — Three hours after Manny Pacquiao dispatched Miguel Cotto on Saturday night to capture his record seventh title in seven weight divisions, he jogged onto the stage at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Pacquiao wore a bandage over his right ear, which had been drained, a fedora and the smile of a man who had just made at least $13 million and boxing history. But while Pacquiao and his band launched into “La Bamba,” the boxing world had already turned toward his next potential fight, a sure blockbuster if it happens against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“I get chills just thinking about it,” said Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. “The reality is there’s only one fight to be made. We’ve waited a long time to get one of this magnitude.”

With the undefeated Mayweather and an international superstar in Pacquiao, the biggest draws in boxing, Greenburg said the bout would deserve a “Super Bowl-type stage.” That presents an enticing option, as early as next May — Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees are interested in hosting a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight next spring, according to a person in baseball who spoke on the condition of anonymity because a deal had not been completed. There have been no formal discussions, and there will not be before an agreement is reached between the fighters, but high-ranking Yankees employees have told boxing officials of their interest.

The Yankees held a news conference for Pacquiao and Cotto this fall, part of the effort to showcase the Stadium as a multipurpose site. Yankee Stadium has three times the capacity of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the site for the Pacquiao-Cotto fight, which holds just over 17,000.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, said he believed Pacquiao and Mayweather would sell out Yankee Stadium. “That’s a fight the world wants to see,” he said.

Still, obstacles remain.

Mayweather used to fight for Top Rank Boxing, but when he left he said that Bob Arum, Top Rank’s chairman, shortchanges his fighters for money and opportunity. Arum did not hide his dislike for Mayweather on Saturday, but said personal feelings would not interfere with business.

Considered the best in boxing until he retired for more than a year, Mayweather made serious money after leaving Top Rank, in bouts against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez. The Marquez fight surpassed one million pay-per-view buys, according to HBO, fueling Mayweather’s contention that he remains the biggest draw.

Early projections for the Pacquiao-Cotto fight, which ended with a 12th-round technical knockout, suggest pay-per-view buys in the 1.3 million to 1.4 million range. A fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather would likely surpass that, which would rank it among the most viewed bouts in boxing history.

“No matter who Manny fights right now, he’s going to draw a big crowd,” said Bruce Trampler, Top Rank’s matchmaker. “That’s the difference between these guys. Floyd needs a Manny. He needs a De La Hoya, a Hatton. And that’s no disrespect to Floyd. But one guy is an attraction and the other is a good draw.”

Perhaps. But boxing optimists hope that how the fighters would split the money will matter less than their interest in the total pot, which would be well into the tens of millions.

Arum said he planned to begin discussions Monday with Richard Schaefer, the chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions and the promoter for Mayweather’s last three fights. But the solution seems obvious at the outset, although in boxing, obvious does not always translate to a deal.

“There’s too much in the pot,” Greenburg said. “There’s too much of an opportunity here. Just take that big wad of money, all those millions, and split it down the middle.”

Greenburg labeled the likelihood of Pacquiao’s meeting Mayweather as great. He compared the level of interest in that fight to those staged in the 1980s by Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

Still, the possibility exists that either fighter, or both, could schedule another bout before they face each other. Greenburg called that prospect ridiculous and said just thinking about it made him ill. But as recently as last month, Roach said he wanted to fight Marquez, who had a controversial loss to Pacquiao.

As evidenced against Cotto, Pacquiao keeps improving and winning in punishing and dramatic fashion. Roach has developed Pacquiao into a devastating finisher. Pacquiao declined Saturday to compare himself to other boxing greats, but Roach did not hesitate, labeling Pacquiao “the greatest fighter of his era, for sure, 100 percent.”

That said, should Pacquiao and Mayweather never square off, their legacies will not be complete, Greenburg said.

“Pacquiao’s place in history is rising on a daily basis,” he said. “But he can only complete it by taking that next step. And it’s an obvious next step. Until he beats Floyd Mayweather, his legacy’s not cemented. And the same goes for Floyd, against Pacquiao.”

Michael S. Schmidt contributed reporting from New York.

Source: nytimes.com

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Freddie Roach transformed Manny Pacquio into a fighting machine

(Source: http://beta.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00012/PACQUIAO_COTTO_BOXIN_12512e.jpg)

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Boxing: Pacquiao savagery paves way for Mayweather super-fight

By Steve Bunce, The Independent

It was gruesome to watch in the end as Manny Pacquiao's punches distorted Miguel Angel Cotto's bloody and bloated face for far too long on Saturday night in the MGM ring, Las Vegas.

The referee, Kenny Bayless, finally stepped in after just 55 seconds of the 12th and last round to end a fight that Cotto's cornermen should have stopped a few rounds earlier. The endgame was a savage reminder of just how brutal boxing can be, and also a gentle reminder that behind Pacquiao's expert soundbites, smiles and political ambitions he is a vicious little fighter.

Pacquiao won the World Boxing Organisation welterweight title and collected something called the World Boxing Council's Diamond belt. In reality fighters with Pacquiao's brilliance make a mockery of the men with VIP passes, slick suits and fake smiles who leap into the ring to wrap their baubles across the chests of champions at the end of fights.

The fight was always going to be memorable and it had nothing to do with the tacky leather belt that Cotto entered the ring to defend and everything to do with both his bravery and Pacquiao's extraordinary talents. Pacquiao has now picked up belts in six different weight categories of varying quality from the multitude of sanctioning bodies. Right now Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and probably the people's champion and both mythical titles carry more respect than any belt.

There is thankfully a true super-fight for Pacquiao on the horizon in the shape of unbeaten Floyd Mayweather, a fighter of undoubted excellence inside the ropes but questionable ability to maintain a respectable lifestyle away from boxing. Little Floyd, as he is known, is 40 and zero in fights, not a champion at the moment, but he has held belts at five weights and beaten the best in the business during the last decade. The pair share several opponents including Oscar De La Hoya, who Pacquiao forced to quit and Mayweather narrowly beat on points, and Ricky Hatton, who was stopped in 10 by Mayweather and left unconscious in two by Pacquiao.

Making a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight happen will be extremely difficult for Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum and Richard Schaeffer, who appears to have been given the task by Mayweather, because of the huge sums that both boxers will demand. It will take skill and patience to put in place a fight that will break all existing financial records.

However, Pacquiao will now concentrate on winning a seat in the Philippines congress for General Santos City next May and in theory he may take his eye off the fight to begin another career that many expect to end in a run for the presidency. "I don't like Mayweather and he doesn't like me, but I can do a deal with Richard," claimed Arum. "Richard and I can negotiate tough and fight hard, but he is a good businessman and I trust him."

The thinking before Saturday's fight was that May next year would suit everybody, but with Pacquiao pursuing his political ambitions it now looks far more likely that September will become the date. Mayweather, who has only fought once since beating Hatton in December 2007, is considering a 10-round fight in January.

There were still some bold whispers in secret chambers late in the Las Vegas night that a March date, instead of May, could be found for a showdown. Boxing is a slow business when a big fight is on the agenda of the stubborn men that run the sport and March seems far too optimistic, even though Schaeffer announced that he would fly in late this week to begin talking. A March fight would have to be announced by the end of the month to allow the full marketing process to gloriously unfold, and traditionally nothing ever tries to fight Father Christmas, not even Pacquiao.

It is a pity really that so many people are understandably looking to the future and the Mayweather fight, because Saturday's performance by Pacquiao was breathtaking. He firmly established his credentials as a modern great, a fighter who has risen through the weights from world champion at flyweight 10 years ago, to the finest boxer in the world eight weights above and two stone heavier.

It was not as one-sided as Cotto's battered face suggests and Pacquiao needed to have the blood drained from his swollen right ear and was clearly exhausted at the end. Cotto, meanwhile, accepted the intervention and in many ways firmly closed the book on those in the business that questioned his heart after Antonio Margarito stopped him last year. Cotto will consider his future, but beatings like this ruin careers and it would not be a surprise if he walked away.

Cotto was dropped for the first time in round three and went down heavily in round four, just at a point when he had decided that playing safe was not going to help him. Pacquiao takes tremendous risks in fights by standing close to fearsome punches, but his speed gives him an edge and that is exactly what happened against Cotto.

It was a joy to watch it unfold, to watch Cotto run out of ideas and slowly take a career-ending beating from a master. That might sound cold, but that is what makes boxing work and there were moments when both fighters were at the very edge of their own abilities; they are rare in prizefights and demand to be cherished.

The end came too late, but then it is often said that the bravest men in the boxing ring are the cornermen and Cotto's posse certainly qualified for that dubious title on Saturday night.

It was over after a moment of mercy from Pacquiao, who looked at referee Kenny Bayliss and appeared to say something, and just a few seconds later, after one more left crunched into the side of Cotto's jaw, it was stopped. Boxing has a new modern master in Pacquiao, a tiny man in many ways who can now walk with the giants of the ring.

Kings of the ring: Bunce's legends

1 Muhammad Ali Won Olympic gold, had 25 world title fights, regained the heavyweight title three times and took part in some of sport's biggest events. He was a pro from 1960-1981 and won 56 of his 61 fights.

2 Sugar Ray Robinson Had 25 world title fights, held titles at two weights and would have held more in the modern era because there are more divisions. Pro from 1940-65 and won 175 of 202 bouts.

3 Sugar Ray Leonard Won Olympic gold, had 13 world title fights and held titles at five different weights. Was involved in major wins in great fights. A pro from 1977-1997 and won 36 of 40 fights.

4 Roberto Duran Had 22 world title fights, he is adored by the old school, held genuine titles at four different weights and once knocked out a horse! A pro from 1968-2001, he won 103 of 109 fights.

5 Manny Pacquiao Held a version of the world title at six weights from flyweight to welterweight and had 13 world title fights. A pro since 1995, he has won 50 of 55 fights.

Ferocious Filipino: Pacquiao's titles

*WBC World Flyweight Champion Beat Chatchai Sasakul, 4 Dec 1998.

*IBF World Super-Bantamweight Champion Beat Lehlohonolo Ledwaba by TKO, 23 June 2001.

*WBC World Super-Featherweight Champion Beat Juan Manuel Marquez by decision, 15 March 2008.

*WBC World Lightweight Champion Beat David Diaz by TKO, 28 June 2008.

*IBO World Light-Welterweight Champion Beat Ricky Hatton by KO, 2 May 2009.

*WBO World Welterweight Champion Defeated Miguel Angel Cotto by TKO on Saturday.

The new WBO world welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao's quickest knockout victory occurred on the 24 April 1997 in Makati City, Philippines, where the Filipino boxer demolished Wook-Ki Lee just 64 seconds into the first round.

Source: independent.co.uk

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Manny Pacquiao lands a right at Miguel Cotto

(Source: http://media2.newsobserver.com/smedia/2009/11/15/00/259-APTOPIX_Pacquiao_Cotto_Boxing.sff.embedded.prod_affiliate.156.jpg)

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Pacquiao-Mayweather Would Be a Modern-Day Ali-Frazier

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

LAS VEGAS -- The superlatives ran rampant during the aftermath of Manny Pacquiao's brilliantly violent beatdown of Miguel Cotto on Saturday night in an MGM Grand Garden Arena packed to its rafters with more than 16,200 fans.

Having witnessed the Filipino superstar's array of speed, athleticism and durability used to batter senseless the Puerto Rican warrior before their fight was stopped 55 seconds into the 12th round, promoter Bob Arum declared Pacquiao "the best fighter that I've ever seen -- and that includes Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Leonard, and Marvin Hagler."

Ross Greenburg, head honcho of sports programming at HBO, told reporters it is time for Pacquiao to face unbeaten, pound-for-pound rival, Floyd Mayweather, in a "Super Bowl" type of matchup whose modern-day significance would rival Ali-Joe Frazier.

In fact, the crowd, in unison, chanted, "We want Floyd," during the fight's immediate conclusion.

"Floyd believes that he's the best in the world. And having witnessed Manny's performance tonight, and having seen what Manny has done against both [Oscar] De La Hoya and [Ricky] Hatton, it's clear that Manny has an argument," said Greenburg, who already has set up a meeting for Monday between Arum and Richard Shaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, representing Mayweather.

"Shaefer said that he would begin negotiating with Bob on Monday. And we have to settle it in the ring. What's most important is to seize the opportunity right now," said Greenburg. "This fight is huge, and I don't know if the sky is the limit. This is on the Super Bowl level, and it should be treated that way. We have to do it the right way and take it to another level."

Pacquiao floored Cotto twice and lost maybe one round in the fight on the way to earning the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title. In the process, "The Pac-Man" became the first fighter to earn a seventh belt in as many different weight classes.

Pacquiao addressed the post-fight media wearing a full white gauze wrapping around his head. His badly swollen right ear had to be drained of liquids as a result of punishment received during the fight, and he was bruised beneath both eyes.

"I think this was one of the toughest fights in my boxing career. I took a lot of punches from Cotto -- my eyes, my ears," said Pacquiao, who began his career as a 106-pound, 16-year-old with a four-round decision over Edmund Enting Ignacio in January 1995 and earned his first world title with an April 1999, fourth-round knockout of Gabriel Mira at 112 lbs.

"I don't want to compare my achievements to Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard. I'm just doing my job to give the people a good fight," said Pacquiao. "My goal is to give good enjoyment to those people who are watching us."

The victory was the 50th for Pacquiao against three losses and two draws, and the 11th straight since losing a unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March of 2005.

During that stretch, the 30-year-old Pacquiao has eight knockouts, including four consecutively. That spree include those against David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, respectively, in nine, eight and two rounds.

And Pacquaio's run includes having twice avenged the loss to Morales, whom he stopped in 10, and, three rounds, in January and November 2006.

It also includes 12-round triumphs over Mexican legends Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as an eighth-round knockout of Jorge Solis, who entered their matchup unbeaten at 33-0-2, with 24 knockouts.

Against Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), Pacquiao yet again displayed balance and a wizardry that allowed him to punch from awkward angles, even as some critics questioned his ability to carry his two-fisted power against a champion who represented the largest and strongest man he had ever faced in the ring.

Pacquiao, who fought Cotto at a catchweight of 145 pounds, weighed in at 144 -- his highest since the 142 against De La Hoya, as well as 138 against Hatton.

Still, Pacquiao was able to floor Cotto during each of the third and fourth rounds, respectively, with a right hand to the temple and a brutal left uppercut.

"Manny proved that he can punch with any 147-pounder in the world," said Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach. "Manny has great power and speed. I think that he proved everything tonight."

Earlier, Pacquiao had dominated Cotto in the ninth round where, at one point, there was an unanswered 10-punch combination as well as a three-punch series that nearly floored Cotto again.

Referee Kenny Bayless appeared ready to step in at that point, and Roach, for one, believes that he or Cotto's cornerman, Joe Santiago, should have.

"In round nine, Miguel was ready to give up. He was in retreat mode and wasn't trying to win the fight anymore," said Roach. "I mean, when you're not trying to win the fight anymore, and you're out there bleeding to death, and you see his face is bloody like that -- come on."

Pacquiao left Cotto's face a mass of welts, bruises and cuts, including a deep, laceration around his left eye from which blood flowed like a river.

Cotto apparently nearly remained on his stool following the 11th round, but changed his mind and tried to finish the fight before Bayless mercilessly put his arms around the beaten man and waved an end to it.

During the furious back-and-forth early rounds, however, Pacquiao said that he "wanted to measure" Cotto's strength as a challenge to the pre-fight notion that he -- as the smaller man -- couldn't withstand what Cotto had to offer.

"The first three rounds, I was measuring his power. That's why I didn't move. It hurts, and he's strong. But I pretended that I wasn't getting hurt by his punches, and I made it," said Pacquiao.

"Before the fight, there was talk that he was going to be bigger, and that he was going to be the stronger man in the ring. So I was like, 'Okay, we will see,'" said Pacquiao. "And I was trying to fight toe-to-toe, because I wanted to prove that I was stronger."

Roach said that Pacquiao "was hurt once" during the fight, "in the third round."

"Third round, coming off of the ropes in my corner, he got nailed with a left hook. Miguel was coming out low from a crouch and he threw a half-uppercut, half-hook, and he caught Manny and you saw him shake just a bit," said Roach.

"I told Manny, 'Next round, stay the hell off of the ropes.' I yelled at him and said, 'Why are you fighting his fight? You're giving the guy an opportunity to bang the body and use that left hook,'" said Roach. "'That's someplace that you don't want to be.' And Manny says, 'I can handle it,' and he did."

After taking what Cotto had to offer, Pacquiao said "I felt like after the third or fourth round, I had him."

A crossover star in America, Pacquiao has been featured in ESPN's Body Issue, graced the cover of Time Magazine, and been the subject of a five-page feature story in the New York Times.

Pacquiao was a knockout on a recent edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live, and was the only athlete among 18 recipients of this year's Gusi Peace Prize, bestowed upon him for his humanitarian efforts in disaster relief during two recent typhoons in the Philippines.

Pacquiao is in the midst of filming a movie, WaPak Man, about a super hero whose powers rival that of Super Man and Spider Man.

And his stock is only rising, even as he remains humble against the praise.

"When I think about what I've achieved right now, it's unbelievable. But I don't want to compare my achievement to any fighter. We just did our best in boxing," said Pacquiao. "I always thank God for the physical ability that he gives to me. As long as you believe in God, nothing is impossible."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

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Manny Pacquiao celebrates his magnificent victory over Miguel Cotto

(Source: http://www.chippewa.com/content/articles/2009/11/15/ap/sports/box_pacquiao_cotto.jpg)

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No More Arguments: Pacquiao Deserves Crown After Throttling Cotto

By Nancy Gay, FanHouse

LAS VEGAS -- There is no more debate. No one can question the boxing dominance of Manny Pacquaio, not after yet another devastating defeat of another of the sport's greats. Pacquaio's relentless speed, even at his heaviest weight ever, was absolutely too much for WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.

Pacquaio won his unprecedented seventh world title in seven different weight classes Saturday night with a one-sided, 12th-round TKO over Cotto with 55 seconds remaining at a sold-out (16,200) MGM Grand Garden Arena, where a ticket couldn't be had for weeks.

No wonder. Fight fans eagerly anticipated this matchup, wondering if Pacquaio's incredible speed, which has seen him rise magnificently to titles from 112 pounds and now to welterweight, would be too much for Cotto to handle. Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), one of Puerto Rico's most revered sports legends, came into this bout with only one blemish on his record: the controversial blood-soaked beating he sustained 15 months ago at the hands of Antonio Margarito.

But Cotto now becomes the latest top boxer to succumb to the speed of Pacquaio (50-3-2, 38 KOs), who took down David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton to set up this challenge against a pure welterweight who figured to outweigh him by 15 pounds at the opening bell.

Whether this leads to the obvious next chapter -- a welterweight matchup against Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- is probably up to Mayweather. He'll duck as long as possible. But Pacquiao is eager to see that fight happen, and he knows that it won't be easy to put together.

"My job is to fight in the ring and that's for Bob Arum to negotiate that fight," Pacquaio said. "For now, I don't know. I'm going to take a vacation and spend time with my family."

He deserves it, after nearly ending this fight in the opening round.

"In the first round, I'm looking for a knockout shot," Pacquaio said, "and that's why I didn't throw a lot of punches. Last minute, I hit him with a right hook. I heard he was bigger than me, stronger than me, so I wanted to fight toe to toe."

That they did. In the early round, Cotto's strength and power took some toll on Pacquaio. But that would soon diminish.

"We knew how tough he is. We knew he would counter," said Pacquiao, who took more punches early in this fight than he typically does, and emerged with a red welt under his right eye. "Yeah, we tried our best in the last round to knock him out. I thought in the 11th round they were going to stop the round. I was surprised he continued to fight through 12 rounds."

The beating became so one-sided, Cotto's wife and son left ringside in the eighth, unable to watch anymore. Cotto came away with cuts across his eyes, his nose bloodied, and nursing a tender left shoulder which left him wincing to the touch.

When it was over, Cotto's mother tenderly kissed her son's hands and fingers after his cornermen removed the wraps.

"I didn't see where the punches were coming from, and I didn't protect myself from his punches," said Cotto, who said he will continue to fight (and not retire) even though his father and many in his corner begged him not to continue after the 11th round.

"I'm very proud of what I did in the ring," said Cotto, who turned 29 on Oct. 29. "I've fought everybody."

Freddie Roach once again had Pacquiao honed to perfection for this challenge. He was disappointed to see his fighter pushed against the ropes too many times but couldn't find much fault with the outcome.

"Manny's hand speed was too much," Roach said. "Manny's in-and-out motion was too much. Cotto was better than we thought, he had better hand speed than he had against (Joshua) Clottey. But once we saw him backing up, I knew the fight was over."

Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago, who had been criticized for being too inexperienced for a bout of this magnitude, was surprised by what he saw. "He hit a lot harder than we expected," Santiago said of Pacquaio. "He was a lot stronger than we expected."

Cotto's strength and weight advantage showed in the opening round. Cotto was clearly the aggressor, attacking Pacquaio's jab with power punches. Both fighters stayed in the center of the ring, and Cotto seemed eager to set the tone.

But Pacquaio came out more aggressively in the second, slipping uppercuts and combinations to counter Cotto's stand-and-deliver style.

Early in the third, a right hook by Pacquaio sent Cotto reeling for the fight's first knockdown, but the Puerto Rican answered with a straight right that rattled the challenger. Cotto scored again with a left jab that went straight to Pacquiao's chin.

In the fourth, Pacquaio's superior speed dominated the round, as did Pac-Man's left jab and combinations that overwhelmed Cotto's power punches. The champion managed to maneuver Pacquiao into the ropes, where Roach didn't want his guy to be caught.

But Pacquaio responded with a flurry of punches, including a devastating left uppercut with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth round that tagged Cotto square to his chin and rocked his head back for a second knockdown.

The two fought to a near-draw in the fifth round, but Cotto emerged with his face marked red and looking spent in his corner afterward. The final 10 seconds saw Pacquaio attack Cotto with a flurry of punches that may have sent the Puerto Rican to the canvas had he not been against the ropes.

By the sixth and seventh rounds, it was clear Cotto had lost much of the power behind his punches that earlier had done so much damage. His face, marked by tiny cuts, was red and swollen. Cotto stayed squarely in Pacquaio's face, but the Filipino went after him relentlessly.

Almost nothing missed -- Pacquaio scored with hooks, uppercuts, straight left hands. By the ninth round, Cotto was in retreat, trying to hold onto what power he had left and backing up more. It was the critical round: Cotto's face finally opened and began to bleed. Referee Kenny Bayless paused to examine the wounds near Cotto's nose and on his left eyelid, but let the two continue.

After the 10th, with their fighter bleeding profusely from his nose and left eyelid, Cotto's corner asked him if he wanted to continue. He told them yes.

By then, it was just a matter of when it would end for Cotto, and how. The champ stood in bravely, but by the end of a one-sided 11th round, Cotto was asking his corner if the fight was over yet. He was mangled and a mess.

The left uppercut, Pacquaio's staple punch, finally took down Cotto less than a minute before the final bell.

The final Punchstat numbers showed Pacquiao dominating in total punches thrown, 780 to 597, punches connected (335-172) and power punches connected: a devastating 275 to 93.

Cotto walked to his team bus with his wife and children, but was taken to Las Vegas' University Medical Center trauma unit to undergo a full body scan.

Pacquaio, looking refreshed in the post-fight news conference, said he would perform eight songs at an outdoor concert. One man in the hospital, the other making music. That's the state of boxing now, until Pacquaio gets his shot at Mayweather.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Manny Pacquiao lands a left at Miguel Cotto

(Source: http://gulfnews.com/polopoly_fs/manny-pacquaio-and-miguel-cotto-1.527740!image/171606305.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_475/171606305.jpg)

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Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao is new dream fight on the cards

By Lawrence Donegan, guardian.co.uk

Manny Pacquiao had barely won his latest world title, at a seventh different weight, in Las Vegas in the early hours of this morning when the boxing world turned its attention to the next challenge facing the Filipino many were prepared to call the "greatest ever" after his stunning victory over a brave but outclassed welterweight champion, Miguel Cotto.

"We want Floyd,'' chanted the crowd in the 16,000-seater arena at the MGM Grand casino. "I want Mayweather," said Freddie Roach, the trainer credited with transforming Pacquiao from a good boxer into a great one. "Mayweather's people know who to call. They've got my number," said Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, who has been around the boxing business since the halcyon days of the 1980s but was still prepared to make a bold claim on behalf of his client: "I would go on record as saying that Manny is the greatest ever, better than Ali, Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard."

The only voice missing from the choir was that of Floyd Mayweather himself. Bedevilled by financial problems, the unbeaten American welterweight recently returned to the ring and, despite his reputation for having an over-cautious approach to choosing his opponents, it is hard to see how he could sidestep a contest that could conceivably surpass the hype.

As always the money men will have the final say. "Benjamin Franklin [the former US president whose face adorns the $100 bill] is the most important personality," said Ross Greenberg, the head of sport for the US television network HBO, which broadcast Saturday's contest into American homes. "Franklin's face brings people to the table. Each guy needs to look at the big picture and the big picture is a boatload of cash and a fight too important for the sport."

Negotiations for a fight between the Filipino and the undefeated American will begin tomorrow. They will be hard-nosed and probably acrimonious but Greenberg is right; the appetite for a meeting between the two best boxers in the world is too great and so are the rewards. It will happen in Vegas, sometime in the new year.

The only remaining uncertainty is the identity of the eventual winner. Despite Pacquiao's two previous victories, over Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton, there were some who doubted his talents, or at least his chances of defeating Mayweather, who is the naturally bigger man.

However, the Filipino's performance yesterday in stopping Cotto in the 12th round erased all such doubts. Many prominent figures, including the likes of Hatton, had picked the Puerto Rican as the potential winner, believing he was too big and strong for Pacquiao, who fought his first fight in the 106lb weight division – over three stone below the limit – for yesterday's contest.

Yet within four rounds Cotto had been on the floor twice. His face was bloodied and his repertoire of moves exhausted by efforts to avoid his opponent's punches. By the time the referee, Kenny Bayless, halted the fight midway through the final round Pacquiao was so far ahead he was almost in the next state. The only blemish on a well-nigh perfect performance was the first round, which all three judges awarded to Cotto.

"Manny fought Cotto's fight too much in the beginning. He stayed on the ropes too long. But as the fight went on, Manny's speed was too much for him," Roach said.

Cotto was taken to hospital for precautionary reasons while the champion headed off to a casino where he was to perform a set of eight songs with the house band. "I'm just ordinary," Pacquiao said when asked to assess his talents. As a singer he may be. As a fighter – on the evidence of this performance – he could not be more wrong.

Source: guardian.co.uk

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Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto exchange blows

(Source: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/76cfcc0040511d88a862af2329969dff/pucnhesafp.jpg?MOD=AJPERES)

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£100million May lure Manny

By STEPHEN LILLIS, The Sun

MANNY PACQUIAO is already lining up a £100million clash with Floyd Mayweather Jnr.

The Filipino smashed WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto on Saturday to claim his SEVENTH title at different weights.

Pacquiao, 30, stopped the courageous Puerto Rican in the 12th round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas.

Now the richest fight of all time between Pacman and Mayweather - two all-time greats - looks certain to be staged next year.

Promoter Bob Arum said: "Manny's the best fighter I have ever seen - that includes Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard."

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach added: "Mayweather is a fight the world wants to see but we will fight whatever gives the best deal for Manny."

Cotto was floored by a right in round three and a left hook in the fourth. He had no answer to Pacquiao's blazing speed.

As the ref stopped the slaughter 55 seconds into the final session, Cotto's face looked like it had been clubbed with a sledgehammer.

Pacman suffered a damaged ear but went on to play a concert with his band in front of 12,000 fans after his amazing performance.

He said: "I took a lot of punches and it was one my most demanding fights."

David Haye was handed his WBA belt by Oscar De La Hoya before he watched Pacquiao win in Vegas.

The Brit, 29, could not take the belt home after beating Nikolay Valuev nine days ago because the one owned by the Russian fitted his 48in waist.

Haye said: "It is crazy. Oscar was an inspiration. I was glued to the TV for all of his fights when I was coming through and now he's awarding me the WBA belt."

Source: thesun.co.uk

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Manny Pacquiao throws a body punch at Miguel Cotto

(Source: http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/1114/box_a_manny12_412.jpg)

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