Manny Pacquiao, the quick fisted fighter from the Philippines, took a step up the ladder to boxing immortality with his annihilation of Miguel Cotto last night.What began in the first round as a battle of speed and power on the part of both fighters ended in the 12th with victory for the pound-for-pound greatest fighter of today, Manny Pacquiao.
This had to be the hardest fought fight of Pacquiao's career. Manny showed that he could take the hard punches that Cotto dished out while delivering knockout caliber punches of his own. Although Cotto got in some good hard punches to Manny's head, snapping his head back at times, Pacquiao somehow kept a relentless attack of fast combination punches exhibiting power in both hands. Manny's knockdowns of Cotto in the 3rd and 4th rounds took Cotto out of his agressive gameplan and into be-careful-mode for the rest of the fight. That's my take on it anyway.
I've never seen a fighter with the speed, power and gut to do battle as Pacquiao. Someone mentioned to me last night that Pacquiao reminded them of Sugar Ray Leonard. I said 'yeah, but Pacquiao is better.' And he is. If you remember, Sugar Ray was quick, but he avoided more than he battled. Ray was all flash with some toughness but not as much as Pacquiao. If you recall, Ray never did give Marvelous Marvin Hagler a second shot at him. Hagler lost a close decision to Ray that many, me included, felt he won. I still believe Hagler would've ended Ray's career in a rematch between the two.
But this convincing win isn't about comparing Pacquiao to past fighters, its about recognizing that we have the privilege of seeing perhaps some of the greatest boxing of all time from a fighter gifted with speed, power and smarts, a rare combination.
The disturbing side of watching the Pacquiao vs Cotto fight last night was seeing Cotto's wife with their young son at ringside shockingly watching daddy get pummeled through 10 of those 12 rounds. At what point doesn't a mother say "Ya Basta!," that's enough. Mrs. Cotto was the big loser last night.
With the beauty of a Puerto Rican beauty pageant contestant and the brains of many a pageant entrant, Mrs. Cotto allowed her young papi to watch a bloodied beating of his father while she covered her own eyes in horror. Someone please tell me I'm wrong and that a child's viewing of a parent being bloodied and battered by another human being isn't a disturbing event that'll last throughout their lives. Sorry Mrs. Cotto, you lose as a protective and nurturing mom. Seek counseling immediately please.
I give Miguel Cotto all the praises deserving of a champion for his continuance in a fight where he was unexpectedly out skilled and over matched. In the last few rounds the referee had his eyes on Cotto like a shark on prey, waiting for the former champ to falter so he could stop the fight. But give Cotto credit, he continued to throw punches and effectively respond to Manny's attacks just enough to keep the fight going up to 55 seconds of the 12th round. Puerto Rico has nothing to be ashamed of in Miguel, only in Mrs. Cotto.
My favorite quote of the night, possibly of the boxing year: 'I Wanted To Taste His Power'
Okay, maybe he said 'Test' and not 'Taste', but the accented words of Manny describing why he took so many power punches from Cotto tasted courageous.
Pound4Pound
Manny Pacquiao
7-Time Boxing Champion
Pacquiao Ace-In-The-Hole Shawn Porter
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