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During Pacquiao’s training camp for his fight with Miguel Cotto he was distracted with movie shoots, song recordings and politicians. But it was all back to business once he stepped into the ring against Miguel Angel Cotto.
With his scintillating performance Manny Pacquiao is now arguably the best boxer in the history of the sport. He punished Miguel Cotto and forced referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight in the 12th round of their WBO championship match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday. He is the first man to defeat Cotto without any suspicious circumstances and also the first boxer to win seven world titles in seven weight divisions.
Pacquiao silenced any doubts about his title as pound-for-pound king. After Mayweather shut-out Marquez last September, many boxing experts were quick to hand Mayweather back his pound-for-pound throne. Not so fast, as Pacquiao showed the boxing world why he is stands alone as the current king of boxing.
Earlier this year, Pacquiao brutally knocked out British Ricky Hatton in the same ring. Pacquiao took Hatton’s IBO title and claimed his sixth title, tying Oscar De La Hoya for the record of six world titles in six different weight divisions. Pacquiao needed only six months to surpass De La Hoya and forever etch his name into boxing history. This is an amazing achievement considering Pacquiao was a puny 112 pounds when he won his first world title.
Pacquiao wore his trademark grin as he made his way to the ring while Cotto looked very focused and serious under his hoodie when he entered the ring. Cotto was very sharp in the first round, throwing crisp jabs and countering punches effectively. His power punches were connecting and Pacquiao’s head snapped back every time he connected. Pacquiao threw his right hook effectively in the early rounds but uncharacteristically spent most of the first two rounds leaning on the ropes.
The fight was pretty much even in the first two rounds until Pacquiao dropped Cotto twice, once in the third and the other one in the fourth round. Cotto didn’t even see where Pacquiao’s left hand came from when he was dropped the second time. He was on all fours after a solid left hand to the chin. Luckily, there was only ten seconds left in the fourth when he touched the canvas because Cotto got up still wobbly from Pacquiao’s left. After the two knock downs, it was Pacquiao’s fight all the way.
He continuously stalked Cotto throughout the remaining rounds. It was really surprising considering before the match Cotto was thought of being the stronger and tougher. Cotto was noticeably tired and fatigued after the fourth because he threw fewer punches and his power shots lost their sting. He was able to still counter Pacquiao’s frenzied attack but it was very clear that he was on the losing end of their exchanges. Pacquiao wasn’t exactly unscathed. He received his share of counter rights, left hooks and crisp jabs as his swollen face displayed but overall he took Cotto’s power well. Pacquiao was never staggered or wobbled despite solid shots from Cotto.
Before the fight, it was made a big deal that once Cotto hit Pacquiao, he would hurt the Filipino sensation but unfortunately for Cotto it was the other way around. Pacquiao’s blistering hand speed and power in both hands was too much for Cotto to overcome. Cotto’s face began to show welts in the fifth round and by the ninth round the Puerto Rican was bleeding from the nose and mouth. He had cuts above both his eyes in the tenth.
Cotto tried to run away and box Pacquiao from a distance in the second half of the fight but to no effect. The “PacMan” kept walking him down. Cotto must’ve seen shades of his fight against Margarito where he was stalked around the ring.Pacquiao, at times, showed that he was frustrated with all the running Cotto was doing. You could tell he wanted to end the match with a knock out. Cotto received such a beating that by the end of the ninth round, his wife and kid left the arena. Cotto’s father and head trainer, Joe Santiago, wanted to stop the fight in the 11th round but the proud Puerto Rican boxer refused to quit.
As Pacquiao unleashed a flurry of punches and Cotto was unable to dodge or parry the onslaught, Bayless smartly stepped in to stop the one-sided beating 55 seconds into the 12th round. After the fight there was nothing but praise from Pacquiao and Cotto. Cotto called the new WBO welterweight champ “one of the best fighters and the best boxers” he has ever fought. Pacquiao returned the compliment by describing his fight with Cotto as “a hard fight”. The successful build-up to the fight will guarantee at least 1 million PPV buys just as the Mayweather-Marquez fight did last September. All signs point to a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown next spring. Negotiating the fight will be a back and forth affair but the fight will get made. There’s just too much money involved for the not to happen. But for now, Manny Pacquiao can concentrate with his movie shoots, song recordings and meeting with politicians because I guess that’s what kings do to kill time before conquering another challenger.
