Pacquiao live at Mandalay Bay post-fight concert (video)

By Paula Duffy, Examiner.com

In this four minute video clip of the Manny Pacquiao concert he is seen running the gamut from upbeat old rock n' roll to the ballad he sang on Jimmy Kimmel.

With a set that began with Ritchie Valens' classic, "La Bamba" he then cruised through a Spanish language pop tune and finished with a duet of "Sometimes When We Touch".

His back-up singer's harmonic voice gave the song the touch it was missing when he crooned alone at the mic during a pre-fight appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel late night show.

His face was bandaged after taking quite a few blows from the warrior named Miguel Cotto, but he showed no signs of wear and tear as he jumped around on stage in great spirits.

This one is for all of you who voted with your comments in my previous article about wanting post-fight coverage by "24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto".

Enjoy the snippet of video and realize that it is a rare athlete who took punishment as he did that would be kicking up his heels on a concert stage.

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‘A damn good resume’

By Marshall N. B., Boxing News World

With his win against Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao chiseled his name alongside all-time boxing greats

Manny Pacquiao’s recent one-sided victory over tough Miguel Cotto cemented his stature and without a doubt placed him alongside boxing greats Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, and Sugar Ray Robinson.

The question now is: Where does Manny stand with these boxing greats?

I asked highly regarded boxing historian and author Adam Pollack where would he place Manny on the all-time pound-for-pound rankings. Here’s what he had to say.

Not sure where I'd place Pacquiao on the all-time pound for pound rankings, but he certainly deserves a place amongst the best all time. Victories over world champions all the way from 112 up to 147 is highly significant, especially since he's not only defeated a high caliber of opponent, but also because he's done it in good fashion:


1998 KO8 Chatchai Sasakul (who was 33-1 and had avenged his lone loss), for the WBC flyweight 112-pound title. Sasakul didn't lose again until 2005, and he had started boxing as a pro in 1991.


Manny goes all the way up to 122 in late 1999 and defeats guys like 41-5 Raynante Jamili, 23-0 Seung-Kon Chae, 19-0 Nedal Hussein, 41-3 Wethya Sakmuangklang, all by KO. Impressively stops 33-1-1 Lehlohonolo Ledwaba for the IBF super bantamweight title, defends with KOs over 44-3 Jorge Julio and 37-2 Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym, and others.


Moves up again. 2003 KO11 over 57-3 Marco Antonio Barerra, THE best 126-pound featherweight in the world and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world at that time. Prior to that fight, Barerra had recent victories over Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales, Johnny Tapia, and Kevin Kelley.


Defends with a 2004 D12 against 42-2 Juan Manuel Marquez, a heck of a featherweight in his own right, dropping Marquez three times in the 1st round. Marquez had victories over Manuel Medina, Robbie Peden, and Derrick Gainer.


In 2005, he moved up in weight yet again, to 130, and lost a decision to 47-2 world champion Erik Morales, but came back to twice KO Morales with impressive performances. Morales' career included victories over Daniel Zaragoza, Junior Jones, Wayne McCullough, Barerra, Kevin Kelley, Guty Espadas, Jr., Paulie Ayala, Jesus Chavez, and Carlos Hernandez.


Manny again defeats Barrera, and narrowly defeats Marquez in a rematch (dropping him agian in the process). Marquez was coming off victories over Barerra and Rocky Juarez. In Marquez's next two fights, he KOs both Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz.


In 2008, Pac moves up in weight to 135 and KOs 34-1-1 David Diaz. That's his first and only fight at lightweight.


Yet, in his very next fight in 2008, he moves all the way up to 145 to take on 39-5 Oscar de la Hoya, who in 07 had lost a split decision to Mayweather. Pac not only defeats him, but hands him a beating and stops him in 8 rounds.


Next stop, 2009 fight at 140 against 45-1 Ricky Hatton, whose best weight was 140, who was undefeated at 140. Hatton had victories over Pendleton, Vince Phillips, Ben Tackie, Kostya Tszyu, Maussa, Collazo, Urango, and Jose Luis Castillo. After losing to Mayweather at 147 via 10th round stoppage, Hatton had victories over Lazcano and Malignaggi. Pac blows through Hatton in 2 rounds.


Next fight in 09 against 34-1 Miguel Cotto at 145. Cotto's resume included many top fighters and former champions, including Cesar Bazan, Carlos Maussa, Randall Bailey, DeMarcus Corley, Ricardo Torres, Paulie Malignaggi, Carlos Quintana (who subsequently split two bouts with Paul Wililiams), Zab Judah, Shane Mosley (who subsequently beat Mayorga and KO’d Margarito). Although Cotto lost to Margarito, questions remained regarding whether Margarito had some help via illegal handwraps. Cotto had won two comeback fights, over 34-1 Jennings and 35-2 Josh Clottey, a strong and durable fighter who held victories over Corrales and Judah, and had lost a close decision to Margarito. Pac drops Cotto twice and dominates him.


I'd say that was a damn good resume.

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Adam Pollack is a prolific boxing historian and author. He is also a practicing criminal defense attorney in Iowa City, IA. He is a staff writer for Cyberboxingzone.com, chair of USA Boxing's Rules and Regulations Committtee, chair of USA Boxing's Judicial Committee and a member of its Women's Task Force. He is also a boxing coach for the ICOR (Iowa City/Coralville) Boxing Club and attorney living in Iowa City, Iowa.

To date, Adam has published four books, John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion, In the Ring With James J. Corbett, In The Ring With Bob Fitzsimmons, and his latest publication, In the Ring With James J. Jeffries.

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Sky Sports Video: Mayweather Jr Blasts Pacquiao

Boxing News World



Source: Sky Sports

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Mayweather talks up Pacquiao fight

CNN

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has said he is ready to make the big-money fight with newly crowned WBO welterweight world champion Manny Pacquiao happen.

After victory in Las Vegas over Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto on Saturday, Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said the "whole world" now wanted to see a fight with Mayweather.

Reacting to the proposition the undefeated 32-year-old, who formerly held the WBC title at welterweight, told British broadcaster Sky Sports: "If he wants to fight Floyd Mayweather all he has to do is step up to the plate."

The twice-voted Ring magazine fighter of the year added that he felt Pacquiao's approach was one-dimensional but the Filipino would be a favorite with the crowd.

"The thing is with Pacquaio I don't see any versatility as a fighter; he's a good puncher but just one-dimensional. Is Pacquiao the greatest?

If he wants to fight ... all he has to do is step up to the plate

"The world's going to go 'wow' if Floyd Mayweather gets beaten. That's what everyone is looking to see.

"If I beat Manny Pacquaio do you know what they are going to say? 'You are supposed to beat him, you are Floyd Mayweather, you are the bigger man'. If I knock him out they'll say 'you're supposed to knock him out he's been knocked out before'.

"I'm in a no-win situation and when I beat him no one is going to be surprised because he's been beaten before; whatever I do to Pacquaio has been done before - he's been beaten on three occasions. And if I knock him out I don't want the world shouting because he's been knocked out twice before."

If the fight goes ahead it is expected to challenge the mark set by Oscar De La Hoya's bout with Floyd Mayweather for the most profitable in history.

Money generated from pay-per-view subscriptions earned the two fighters an estimated combined total of $77 million in 2007.

Mayweather, whose nickname is "Money," said: "If I go out and make $60-75 million in one night; come on - I'm not losing."

Source: edition.cnn.com

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The next megafight? Mayweather vs Pacquiao

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Pacquiao’s granite chin makes Mayweather fight a tough call

By Patrick Johnston, REUTERS Blog

Manny Pacquiao produced another sublime performance in his destruction of Miguel Cotto on Saturday but it was not his fast hands and flashy combinations that grabbed me about his victory, instead it was the Filipino’s granite chin.

We all knew about the attacking ability that Pacquiao had but his ability to walk through the punches of Cotto, a natural welterweight who thought he would have too much power for the man who began at flyweight, was impressive.

Cotto couldn’t keep the 30-year-old southpaw away.

The Puerto Rican looked like a holiday maker desperately, and unsuccessfully, swatting at a fly. The combinations didn’t stop coming from Pacquiao and in truth the fight should have been stopped before the 12th such was the one-sided nature of this lopsided contest.

The poor state of Cotto’s face at the end of the fight said it all.

Pacquiao’s seventh title at an unprecedented seventh weight now leaves him as the sports pound-for-pound king. The Filipino’s promoter Bob Arum, who worked with Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler, described him as the best fighter he had ever seen, however there is one more fight out there for him.

A bout with American Floyd Mayweather Jr is the fight the world wants to see before the Pac Man hangs up his gloves and takes up his career in politics, singing or whatever avenue he chooses. But how will that fight turn out?

I always believed Mayweather’s defensive skills would see him overcome Pacquiao if the two ever fought but after watching the Pac Man on Saturday I am not convinced.

Cotto is a fighter renowned for slowing down opponents and fighting them at his pace but Pacquiao was relentless for 12 rounds, didn’t let him dictate and just kept pressuring him.

Mayweather is of course a better fighter than Cotto but can he stop the Filipino? I’m not so sure.

Source: blogs.reuters.com

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Manny Pacquiao lands a left on 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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Talk turns to Manny Pacquiao fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

By Jeff Haney, Las Vegas Sun

Manny Pacquiao, right, is sent to a neutral corner by referee Kenny Bayless after Miguel Cotto goes down in the fourth round.

Grandiose pronouncements were uttered about when and where negotiations would begin for a proposed fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Boxing insiders were speculating about the contentiousness and hostility those talks would breed.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, avoided the conjecture.

He was already getting down to the nitty-gritty.

“The whole world wants to see the Mayweather fight,” Roach said after Pacquiao stopped Miguel Cotto in a dominating performance Saturday night at the MGM Grand. “Let’s fight Mayweather.”

The framework has been created for the potential 2010 showdown. In one corner, there’s Pacquiao, the speedy and explosive southpaw with his own particular brand of genius for launching punches from ungodly angles. In the other, there’s Mayweather, the tactical virtuoso and modern-day Sugar Ray Robinson, Willie Pep or Pernell Whitaker — depending on who’s making the comparison.

Roach sees it in simpler terms. If Pacquiao-Cotto was speed against power, then Pacquiao-Mayweather is exciting against boring, scintillating against sleep-inducing.

“You’ve got an exciting fighter in my guy against a boring guy in Mayweather,” Roach said. “That’s what we’ll have to do to beat him. Engage him.”

Mayweather Jr. wasn’t around Saturday night, so it was up to Floyd Mayweather Sr., who assisted in his son’s preparations for his most recent fight, against Juan Manuel Marquez, to address the Pacquiao bout.

Big Floyd did not disappoint: Cotto was not “the Cotto of old” Saturday, he said. His son would beat Pacquiao in a breeze, and the fight is hardly worth taking. In fact, a more competitive matchup would pit Floyd Sr. himself, age 57, against Pacquiao.

Informed of his comments, Roach responded with an obscenity.

Ah, Freddie Roach mixing it up with the Mayweather Bunch. This will be the gift that keeps on giving. Abundantly.



•••

Here’s a telling illustration of the complete control Pacquiao exerted over Cotto: With the give-and-take between the two men in the first three rounds, the fight had the makings of a classic. But it turns out Pacquiao, temporarily going rogue against the game plan he and Roach had developed, had made a conscious decision to test the limits of Cotto’s power.

“I wanted to get hit,” Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) said. “When I started controlling the fight, I got aggressive and made more pressure.”

By the middle rounds, Pacquiao was battering Cotto (34-2) with shots he did not see coming.

A dazed Cotto spent much of the seventh and eighth rounds reeling backward in the ring.

Referee Kenny Bayless halted the fight 55 seconds into Round 12. Roach said if he had been running Cotto’s corner, he would have thrown in the towel in the ninth round, during which Cotto was spitting blood.

After earning a title in his seventh weight class, Pacquiao said the welterweight division is as high as he expects to go.

“This is the last weight division I am going to fight,” he said. “I am pretty sure the Filipino fans are very happy for the victory I have given them.”

•••

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, the promoter of the fight, has spoken of a renaissance in boxing’s popularity in recent years and the role Pacquiao has played in it.

Roach, who has trained Pacquiao for eight years, said he doesn’t have the luxury of stepping back and looking at the big picture.

“I’m too caught up in the day-to-day,” Roach said. “I just do what I like to do. I like my job. That’s why I train mixed martial arts guys with no fear. I like training them, too. If you want to be a better fighter, no matter what sport it is, I’ll do it. I think there’s room for all sports and a good fight is a good fight.”

Arum, for his part, warned against reading too much into any theory about a “rebirth” of boxing.

“Don’t be defensive,” he said. “Boxing never left. People realize now what a great sport it is and what enthusiasm there is and always has been for the sport.”

Source: lasvegassun.com

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Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is hot topic

By STEVE CARP , Las Vegas Review-Journal

While having his bloody right ear drained in the postfight locker room Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao could probably still hear the chants of the sellout crowd that wants him to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. next spring.

The question is whether Mayweather was listening, too.

Or will it take the sound of coins -- millions of them -- for Mayweather to hear the demand that he fight Pacquiao in a battle of boxing's greatest pound-for-pound champions this decade.

Pacquiao made boxing history at the MGM Grand, earning a 12th-round technical knockout over Miguel Cotto before a packed house of 16,160 to become the first man to win seven world championships in seven weight classes.

After taking Cotto's WBO welterweight title and sending him to University Medical Center, Pacquiao addressed his own future. He said if Mayweather wants to fight him, fine. If not, he'll find someone who's willing to fight.

"I'll have Bob Arum negotiate my next fight," Pacquiao said of the Top Rank chairman. "I'll fight whoever wants to fight me."

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said: "It's a fight the world wants to see. I think a fight with Mayweather would be good for boxing. That's probably the biggest pay-per-view event. But we'll make the best fight that's out there."

Arum said he would love to make a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. But not if Mayweather's demands are unrealistic.

"It depends on what we can get Mayweather for," Arum said. "But we're not going to do negotiations through the newspapers."

That's not stopping the papers and Internet sites from fueling the rumor mill. One report has a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight headed to the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium. There has been speculation the fight could be held at the new Yankee Stadium. Even in Las Vegas, where the MGM Grand would figure to have first crack given its relationship with Pacquiao, there's talk of trying to stage the fight at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Stadium director Daren Libonati said he has talked to Arum about using Sam Boyd and putting perhaps as many as 50,000 in his venue for Pacquiao-Mayweather.

"If you've got the magic of the city, why settle for 15,000 when you can bring 40,000 or 45,000?" Libonati said. "It would be an incredible experience for Las Vegas to host this fight."

Another rumor has Mayweather demanding a 65-35 split of the purse, which has no basis for fact; Mayweather's co-managers, Al Haymon and Leonard Ellerbe, haven't even talked to anyone, especially Arum.

Team Pacquiao had a little fun running with the bogus report.

"If Mayweather wants a 65-35 split, he's not going to get that," Roach said.

Arum shot back, "We'll offer him that split," to which Roach responded, "Yeah, we'll offer him 35 (percent)."

It was easy to joke Saturday in the aftermath of such a one-sided victory. Pacquiao, true to his humble roots, paid tribute to Cotto's courage and called him his most difficult opponent to date. Pacquiao knocked him down twice.

"Cotto was very tough," Pacquiao said. "He's strong. He had heart."

Cotto was treated for cuts and bruises at UMC. He was on his way home to Puerto Rico on Sunday, facing an uncertain future. Pacquiao's future is clearer, despite not knowing his next opponent. Roach said Pacquiao is not without options aside from Mayweather.

"I love a challenge and Manny loves a challenge. I hope (a Mayweather fight) happens," Roach said. "But if it doesn't, there are other fights out there. He could fight (Juan Manuel) Marquez again. He could fight (Edwin) Valero. He could fight the (Shane) Mosley-(Andre) Berto winner. Those are all potential good fights."

Arum said he thinks he could sell a third Pacquiao-Marquez fight in the spring, perhaps in March.

"I think that's a very good fight," Arum said. "Marquez has a style that gives Manny problems, and their first two fights were sensational."

The first two Pacquiao-Marquez fights were at 125 and 129 pounds respectively, The first, in 2004, ended in a draw. The second, in 2008, saw Pacquiao win a 12-round split decision. Arum said a third fight would probably be at 140 pounds. Pacquiao said he has no intentions of fighting beyond welterweight, so he could easily fight at 140. That's how much he weighed when he knocked out Ricky Hatton in May.

"Marquez probably deserves a rematch," Roach said. "I would like that fight just to shut Marquez up."

But Mayweather is the preferred target at this point for Team Pacquiao.

"Floyd's very good at what he does," Roach said. "He's a cagey guy. But he's fragile, and we have the speed to deal with his speed. He's had two rotator cuff surgeries on his left shoulder. His hands are brittle. I think he would have a hard time dealing with Manny."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.

Source: lvrj.com

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Manny Pacquiao throws a right at Miguel Cotto's face

(Source: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/11/15/article-0-0738EA0E000005DC-729_468x312.jpg)

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Good and Bad News for Boxing: Only One Pacquiao

By Howard Chua-Eoan, New York Times

When the sixth round ended, Manny Pacquiao did a half-pirouette toward his corner, raised his eyebrows like a happy emoticon and beamed a smile that couldn't be hidden by all the blood in his mouthpiece. Everyone who saw it knew that he knew, at that very moment, that he was going to win the fight. Not that his partisans had any doubt. The MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas roared like never before. "Let's Go Manny!" reverberated again and again as they demanded that their champion finish off his opponent and win glory for the Philippines.

Manny Pacquiao battles it out Miguel Cotto during their WBO welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada November 14, 2009. Steve Marcus / Reuters

The 12-round welterweight battle between Pacquiao and Miguel Angel Cotto of Puerto Rico had been one of the most anticipated in recent boxing history, a sport that has been in short supply of anticipation lately. And it did not disappoint, what with the momentum the zero-to-hero legend of Pacquiao. Indeed, Cotto, the reigning welterweight champion, was pegged as the 5-1 underdog two days before the fight; but he came in with the power everyone expected him to deliver. Most unofficial scorers gave him the first round.
But he was still up against Pacquiao, the phenom from the Philippines, who had risen through several weight classes in boxing to win six different titles in as many divisions. At the end of the night, Pacquiao had his seventh. After the referee stopped the fight in the 55th second of the 12th and final round, Pacquiao became the new welterweight champion of boxing by TKO. He had knocked down Cotto in the third and fourth rounds, even as the Puerto Rican had traded tough blows to the head and body with him throughout the early going. By the end of the sixth, however, after Pacquiao's punches came at him from unexpected places, Cotto saw his power diminish, his defenses came down and his face became the recipient of so many blows that his handsome face was unrecognizably swollen by the time the fight was over. Cotto spent the last couple of rounds dancing away from Pacquiao who at times simply dropped his arms in frustration that no fight was going on.

Nevertheless, the ferocity of most of the fight lived up to its promise, with Cotto valiantly persevering into the final round even though his corner had advised throwing in the towel at the end of the 11th. It was a celebration for Vegas, which saw large community of immigrant Filipinos buoyed by hundreds who had flown in from the Philippines to cheer their champ. The city had already been abuzz with Pacquiao's presence the week before. But Pacman, as he is called by his fans, was a cross-over hit too. In the world capital of gambling, almost everyone, from cab drivers to bartenders to street people, was talking about the big fight — and why Pacquiao was going to take it. "I know I'm Puerto Rican," said one woman on the plane over from New York, "But I love the Pacman." The rowdy rivalry between the two island peoples (appropriately abbreviated P.R. vs. R.P., Puerto Rico versus the Republic of the Philippines) did its fair share to rev up excitement in a town that is used to ethnic marketing (note the billboards for visiting superstars from South Korea, north Africa and Israel, alongside those of Bette Midler and Carrot Top). On fight night, national flags were worn as athletic costumes, though the big money men were still accompanied by towering escorts in body-tight metallic lamé and slave-ankle stilettos. Some traditions never change.

The fight has boxing fans hungry for more — which is good news for the sport's promoters. The trouble, however, is that they only have one Manny Pacquiao to go around. The roster of exciting talent is very thin. The two matches before the main event in Vegas had interesting names in them (Julio Cesar Chávez Jr., son of the famous Mexican fighter, was in one; Yuri Foreman, a Belarussian-born Israeli boxer now living in Brooklyn, was in another) but they were anemic — and not just in comparison to the electric battle between Cotto and Pacquiao. For now, the Filipino fighter says he is going to spend time with his family. He is also probably going to try his hand at politics again. So boxing, besieged by the continuing rise of Mixed Martial Arts, may need more saviors quickly.

Source: time.com

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Battered by Pacquiao, Cotto was carried back to dressing room

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

LAS VEGAS—Gallant warrior and consummate gentleman Miguel Cotto won’t be spouting any classless excuses for losing to an all time ring great named Manny Pacquiao.

Don’t look to hear expect the not so fine whine of “he never hurt me” Oscar de la Hoya.

Don’t the nonsensical patter of Ricky “I was leading in round two by a country mile” Hatton.

No, the proud Puerto Rican has shown undeniable grace in a crushing defeat by acknowledging the superior talent of and his complete domination by Da Pacman.

One boxing figure who was hard by Cotto’s dressing room in the bowels of the MGM Grand Garden Arena told me late on Sunday that he witnessed the poignant sight of Cotto’s return from the ring after referee Kenny Bayless did what Cotto’s corner should have done earlier.

Bayless wrapped a protective arm around the Battered Boricua and called the beatdown off at the 55 second mark of the 12th and final round.

“Miguel could not walk under his own power when they got backstage,” the witness told me.

“It was a sad sight, seeing Cotto totally beaten and being held up by members of his team. He was so banged up that he needed guys on both sides to almost carry him back to the locker room.”

Cotto was then rapidly taken to a local hospital for a complete medical checkup.

That was wise considering that Pacman had hammered him all over the ring for 33 minutes plus 55 seconds including knockdowns in rounds three and four.

Cotto has always won with class and he loses the same way.

A toast to a true sportsman and a fighter whose heart is beyond question.

Don’t cry for him, Boricuas.

Miguel Cotto came to win and he never quit.

He done you and your island's stories boxing tradition proud.

It just happened to turn out that he was a good fighter, an Alfredo Escalera, fighting a truly great one such as Alexis Arguello.

Source: examiner.com

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Manny Pacquiao battles it out with Miguel Cotto

(Source: http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0911/a_pacquiao_1114.jpg)

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Pacquiao delivers hits outside the ring as well

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

LAS VEGAS — Less than two hours after rearranging the face of Miguel Cotto in a 12-round masterpiece that became his record seventh world title in his seventh different weight class Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao was serenading the media.
Literally.

Pacquiao, wearing a fedora to help cover the bandage wrapped around his right ear — the only visible sign of wear and tear above his neck — talked about how this was one of the toughest fights of his career. In the next breath, breaking into a wide smile, he said he needed to hurry to get to his next gig a few blocks away at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino to sing eight songs with his band.

The Filipino superstar obliged when someone asked him to sing a few bars, and he brought down the house with his acappella version of Dan Hill's Sometimes when we Touch.

Pacquiao had sung a hit song a few hours earlier, too, when he destroyed Cotto with a relentless barrage of power punches that went on nearly the full 12 rounds inside the sold-out and raucous MGM Grand Arena.

The fight was mercifully stopped by referee Kenny Bayless 55 seconds into the 12th round, as Cotto's face was beaten to a bloody pulp, and whose eyes were nearly swollen shut.

The fight was still up for grabs after the first four or five rounds as the fighters exchanged punches. Then Pacquiao's blinding speed and power took over, and he showed why he's the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He threw 780 punches and connected on 336, according to compuBox, nearly twice as many punches landed as Cotto's 172.

"Manny's just unbelievable," Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach said. "The first couple rounds he had me worried, he wasn't following the gameplan," said Roach. "Toward the end of the second round he started getting into the program, and made it look easy after that."

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) said he was measuring Cotto's power over the first three rounds, because all he heard before the fight was that Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) was bigger and stronger. "I just wanted to let him know during the fight who's going to be stronger," he said.

Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago, in Cotto's corner for only the second fight, sure found out in a hurry.

"He hit harder than we expected and he was a lot stronger than we expected," Santiago said.

Santiago tried to stop the fight after the 11th round, but Cotto would have none of it. He went out for the 12th, his face a bloody mess. His wife and son left ringside after the ninth round, then accompanied him, along with several other family and team members, to the hospital later for an examination.

My health comes first," he said after the fight. "But I feel great, a little swollen, but that's all.

"Manny Pacquiao is one of the best boxers I ever fought."

Pacquiao and Roach addressed the fact that during the fight, Pacquiao often found himself on the ropes, a seemingly inviting target for Cotto's powerful body punching and damaging left hooks.

Said Roach: "I yelled at him every time, 'why are you fighting his fight? We're giving this guy an opportunity to bang the body and use his left hook.' And Manny said, 'I can handle it.' I said, 'well, show me.' And he did."

Said Pacquiao: "Sometimes I stayed on the ropes trying to control the fight. Sometimes it really hurt, but trying to control the fight, it's a mind (game). Pretending that you weren't hurt. But, it really hurt."

After the fight, Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promoted many of Muhammad Ali's fights, called Pacquiao the greatest fighter ever, better even than Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler.

Pacquiao was embarrassed by the comparison. "I'm just doing my job to give a good fight in every fight I've had in my boxing career," he said. "And that's my goal, to give enjoyment to all those people who are always watching us."

Talking about his history-making seventh title in seven different weight divisions, Pacquiao said, "Even to myself, it's unbelievable. I can't believe it. But I say nothing is impossible if you believe in God. Keep praying and nothing is impossible."

So what's next for Pacquiao? The crowd let him know that the only logical choice was undefeated Floyd Mayweather, chanting "We want Floyd! We want Floyd!"

Since they have no intention of going up another notch in weight, "unless it's the right opponent," Roach said, Mayweather would seem like the only target left to conquer.

"I want to see him fight Mayweather," Roach admitted.

For now, Pacquiao will spend a few days resting in the U.S., then head back to the Philippines, where he is running for Congress. The election is next April.

"The next time he fights, he might be Congressman Manny Pacquiao," Roach said. "But I think he could be a better (ambassador) for his country as a boxer than a politician."

Source: usatoday.com

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Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto trade blows

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

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