Does Cotto Have a Chance to Beat Pacquiao?
June 15th, 2009
By Manuel Perez: After watching how poorly Miguel Cotto has looked in his last three fights, does anyone honestly believe that he has a chance at beating Manny Pacquiao in their November 14th tentatively scheduled bout? I think Cotto is a swell character, a true hero for some boxing fans that like drama in their fights, but he’s lacking in too many departments for me to give him much of a chance at beating the likes of Pacquiao.
I wouldn’t like his chances against Andre Berto, Paul Williams, Shane Mosley, Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and especially Antonio Margarito. Honestly, it shouldn’t even be Cotto vs. Pacquiao next if you want my two cents.
The fighters that should be in the ring with Pacquiao are Williams, Berto or Mosley. Even Mayweather Jr. doesn’t rate a fight with Pacquiao. If a fighter has been out for two years and has slipped from the rankings, they should at least have to fight a few top ranked fighters to get position for a big money fight like this.
Mayweather has done jack since beating Ricky Hatton two years ago, and has done little before that as well in the two years prior to the Hatton fight. But at any rate let’s get back to Cotto. He looked absolutely horrible against Clottey last Saturday night, running all around the ring and looking afraid of Clottey.
There’s no way I could reward that pathetic performance by giving him a victory, and believe me, there was nothing heroic about Cotto fighting with a simple cut over his left eye. The brave stuff comes when a fighter stands his ground and fights it out and not runs around the ring like a chicken with his head cut off.
Cotto should have lost that fight. At best, Cotto might have done enough to get a draw but nothing more than that. There was nothing that Cotto showed in that fight that told me that he is anywhere close to being good enough to be Pacquiao.
And not saying that Pacquiao is a great fighter because he’s limited because of his inability to beat Juan Manuel Marquez, who should have two wins over Pacquiao. But Pacquiao is definitely good enough beat Cotto. Margarito had Cotto looking like a track star a year ago.
In that fight, Cotto ran until his feet wore out on him and then he got out the easy way by taking a couple of knees to escape his beating. He didn’t go out on his shield like Margarito did in his loss against Mosley. In a sense, he quit basically.
You know saying, once a quitter always a quitter. Well, I think when the going gets tough against Pacquiao, we’ll see Cotto taking the chance to take a knee or two and get out while he can to save his backside.
Tags: 42 Responses to “Does Cotto Have a Chance to Beat Pacquiao?”
Leave a Reply
please use above banner to link back to us!
Mr. Perez: u are the typical puertorrican hating mexican. Even if Pac beats Cotto, the latter does not deserve all the insults he got from u. I hope Cotto kncks Pac into Jalisco.
well, the last time I commented here on marquez-mayweather, I put my money on marquez. Of course we all know what happened. So I’m gonna shut up this time and write back when manny knocks cotto out.
After the way mayweather destroyed!! Marquez… It leaves so much in the Air. Manny is bein OVERATED? is all thats running online and everywhere. Some one said Hatton was over rated ? (He was the smaller man againts pacman people HELLO!!!!) Now he fights HIS REAL TEST a real welter Not an old oscar … People will be surprised and mayweather will have to figt cotto and not manny as he hopes…
mera mostro yo creo que de las gradas cualquiera da un hit if you know what i mean,agree with me,it will be a great figth and if you think that pacquiao will have a picnik on the ring,well you though wrong and let me tell you something,cotto is gona win by k.o.pacquiao is agenst his worst nightmare,and youll find out on 9\149. ATT.XPO_MDX….
I agree with everything that was said above. Every single thing. Cotto will be exposed as overrated as ricky hatton when he gets absolutely embarassed. Stop talking about margarito cheating, he cheated against williams, and williams dominated him. I plan on making a boatload if that joke of a fight gets made with pac. Btw he lost the clottey fight, i was there live it was obvious. 20,000 puerto ricans dead silent night before the parade. That fight was a joke, he only won the 1st and last round. maybe 2 in between.
Wayne Lord …You are so smart…you must be GODS gift to sports…where have you been for sports!!! Talk about people expressing the obvious. Perhaps you should be training Pacman! You are one of the guys that must think you know it all and has nothing to show in life. Did you know the sky is blue? Did you know hot water burns you? You sound like a JR high coach at the height of your career. Strategy blah blah blah…cotto is going to KO manny in the 8th round…i promise you it will be a body punch when they engage. Manny can run but he will try to power punch and the counter will be in his face. How is that for strategy when I make $$$ in Vegas.
Another Cotto hater who is this Manuel Perez anyways the way he sees boxing and boxing matches this guy will never get no where….
Both fighter are great both show vulnerabilities but both have the experience and punchers chance this will be a great fight…
Cotto wins by K.O. or even decision Manny will visit the canvas atleast once I want to here everyones excuses after Cotto wins
Damn Haters it dont matter where the fighter comes from when there good there good when they have heart they have heart and when they have skills they have skills
Both Manny and Cotto have all the above
da_truthbsaid
Catholic, do you really understand the art of boxing? The object is to hit your opponent as hard and as often as you can in order to KO him or win by points deicsion. If you want to see guys punch each other in a slugfest, go watch Iron Man or Tough Man Contests.
Pacman’s advantage is speed. Do you see a speedy pitcher throwing slow balls so a batter can hit them? Do you see a fast sprinter slowing down so a slower one can beat him? Then why would Pacman stand up and trade punches with a bomber like Cotto?
Speaking of Cotto, did he stand up and trade with Margarito? He tried jabbing, running and throwing the occasional left hook or right cross. He did not trade with Margarito cuz he knew his punches had no effect so he was looking for a pts win.
In case you did not know, some guys have great chins and also, you can still win by pts if the guy has a granite chin. A boxer and his team devie a game plan that takes advantages of his strength and the opponent’s weaknesses.
Why would Pacman play right into Cotto’s strengths? The same would be if Cotto tried to outspeed Pacman. It is called strategy. I repeat strategy! If Cotto had a bit more stamina he wins vs Margarito because clearly he was boxing the pants off him, until he got tired.
In any type of long distance racing, the guys with endurance try run at a fast pace to take the late speed away from sprinters. Likewise, fast guys try to keep the pace very slow so that they can use their speed in the end.
Again I repeat, it is called strategy. And why would one fighter use a strategy that benefits his opponent? In any sport you use your assets and neutralize those of your opponent.
Boy, I would hate to have you as the general or the person responsible for strategy on my team. Might as well forfeit the match or game! Duh??
The pacman is one of the best but he has a real problem if he decides to fight and not run around. Face to face Cotto will ROCK him.
i dont get why people are saying pac should fight at 147. why should he? he fought there once, which was a one time deal. it’s been said repeatedly that he didnt feel comfortable at that weight. so why should he? pac is the top dog and everyone wants him. so guess what? move down in weight or look for another fight.
Pacman vs. Cotto, Mosley, and Mayweather, or any of them facing each other are all great fights. None of this weight drained BS as Cotto and Mayweather can make it easily. Mosley, maybe not, but let’s face it. If ODLH’s only reason for losing to Pac was because he was weight drained, then he would have fought again at 154. That’s a fact.
nice comment Wayne Lord – well said.
This guy is ridiculous. You are saying mosley has the best chance and cotto doesnt? Styles make fights and honestly joshua clottley does not have a style that would make anyone look good. Cotto did hat he had to do and that was win. he could have acted very clottley like and complained and looked for point deductions or acted like he couldnt continue and won that way. but he didnt. he fought like a true champion and won and took the fihgt from clottley. not once did you see cotto try and grab clottley like i recall clottley did when he was thrown to the floor. Cotto beat mosley, clottley, malinaggi, judah, quintana, who beat williams if he remembers and has only one loss which is questionable because magarito is a expletive cheater!!! Pacman is in trouble and wouldnt be surprised if either fighter wins by ko because they actually fight and not close their arms the entire fight. Someone doesnt want to actually open up and fight why not run and make them come to you. Cotto imo has one of the best chances to beat pacman with his punching power and his ability to overcome adversity. He did fight judah and mosley who have speed that are comparable.
Cotto, don’t go down in weight!!! Don’t let them keep setting up good fighters by weaking them up!
ASKING FOR CATCHWEIGHTS ARE RIDICULOUS, IT ONLY GIVES MANNY THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING A WEIGHTDRAINED FLAT-BOXER INFRONT OF HIM TO TKO. 147 OR NOTHING FOR COTTO. IF MANNY IS NOT A WW, THEN HE SHOULD STAY @140LBS!!!!!
Is it possible that Pacquiao is overrated above 140? True, he annihilated both DLH and Hatton, but there is no doubt that DLH was a ghost of his former self…and Hatton is so profoundly limited that any elite fighter with half a brain and a punch could knock him out. Hatton rose to prominence by accident.
Further, Cotto has only looked “bad” in his recent fights against bigger opponents. Pac is much smaller than Cotto, and Cotto has much better movement than Hatton…and has all around better skills. While I think Cotto v. Pac will be a great fight, those who think that Cotto will destroy Cotto are a little bit nuts. Pac may win, but Cotto will no be destroyed.
most people talks about pacquiao like he is this a tornado force. his good don’t get me wrong but poeple forget that he got beat by marquez twice and eric morales that are smaller men. he beat hatton and people forgot that hatton don’t have a chin he got beat up by collazo he got hurt by juan lazcano and knock out by maywheater. when pacquiao faces cotto and get hit by him he is going to feel it and things are going to change. my prediction cotto before nine round stoppage.
I agree with everything except for Marquez beating Pac twice. I think you should move on Perez and stop crying about Marquez’s lose.
if pacman beats cotto surely with mayweather injured he must have to fight mosely!!!!! if pacman is soooo great why duck him????
DOES Manuel Perez HAVE A CHANCE AT BEENING A GOOD WRITE? You need to stop crying, Cotto won with one eye. HE won! Cotto was doing good before he got the cut. Cuz of the cut he could not see the right hand. Clottey did not land that many shots in the first 3 rounds.Why? CUZ Cotto seen the the punchs coming.
Now Perez stop hateing on Cotto, Cotto has been in the ring with the best. All you know how to do is write S@#t! Pacquiao is not the best, Cotto has been in the ring with better fighters. shane mosley is so call the best in the class, but he lose to Cotto. YOU said ”I wouldn’t like his chances against Andre Berto, Paul Williams, Shane Mosley, Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and especially Antonio Margarito.” Did you really say that? Cotto beat Mosley and you just said that. that dose not make sends. Berto did bad 2nd to last fight. Willians lose to Quintana, and Cotto ko Quintana. Mayweather picks guy he knows he can beat. Manny Pac will lose if he fights Cotto thats why he won’t move up to fight him. Cotto will win and I can bet on that. one more thing Manuel Perez you really need to get the facts right, CUZ YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BOXING!!!
you are absolutely wrong Mr. Perez. First of, andre berto is trash; pual williams lost to carlos quintna and shane mosley got his ass handed to him by miguel cotto. None of Those fighters deserves a shot at pacquiao before cotto. Cotto was systematically destroying margarito before his nose got smashed by loaded gloves. In the clottley fight , his was fighting with one eye and still pulled out the close decision who everybody agrees with except you.
Against pacquiao cotto will be the bigger fighter, the stronger fighter and the better defender.Pacquiao will feel the body punches who will eventually finish he fight. Pacquiao looked battered from fighter whos punching power arent close to cottos. (morales, marquez) Pacquiao is a great fighter but his fihts against de la hoya and hatton just created the ilusion that the guy is unbeatable. Remember, de la hoya was done and hatton was never any good. Cotto is not done yet, he will finish the fight in the 11th round via tko.
Cotto should still be undefeated margarito is a cheat gutted 2 say it buts its fact so pacman vs mosley and mayweather vs cotto with the winners facing off against each other that would interest me
Perez is talking out his rear orifice again. Perez has bought into the Manny hype like many out there. Cotto just fought a monster with a huge cut for most of the night.This means he’s shot? Perez is obviously totally biased against Cotto. Manny fought a drained De La Hoya and Mr. lead with your chin Hatton and all of a sudden he is god. Many of the Pac Man followers will have a rude awakening if and when he faces Cotto. Remember you heard it hear.
Mr.Manuel Perez Im Sorry To Say That You Are Totally Incorrect Cotto One More Time In This Fight Agains Clottey Proved The World That He Has The Bigest Heart ,Stamina ,Speed , Power And Boxing Skills Even In His Defeat Agains Margarito He Show The World That He is A True Warrior He Will Eat Paquiao For Breakfast And Win The Rematch Agains The Cheater Of Margarito The Only Guy That Is Going To Give Him Some Trouble And Can Posible Win a Decision Over Him is Floy Maywhether Jr If Cotto Is Not Able To Put Him Out Early. Manny Paquio Is An Excellent Champ How Ever He Is Trying To Battle Agains The Big Boys And Yust Like Felix Trinidad And Roberto Duran He Will Be Stop And Against Miguel Cotto It’S a Big Chance He Will Loose By Tko
I just cant see Cotto droppin any weight what so ever. From what i hear he has to work pretty dam hard to make 147 as it is.
And i hate all this catchweight crap. When Pacquiao beat Hatton at 140 it shouted out that hes a match for anybody at 140.
If he fights Cotto at 144 or 145 or what ever people are sayin and he beats him it will leave so many quesitons to be asked about Cotto being weight drained and all that.
The victory over Hatton was alot more definitive than the win over DLH. If hes to move on to the biggest names at 147 id prefer he does it at 147.
lol…Hey Perez stop beeing such a wet bag hater…just be honest dude you know you dont like Cotto cuss he is Puerto Rican admit it stop beeing such a chump and say so… on the other hand let me just say Cotto fought the fight he did due to that nasty cut which could have been stoped had he complained about not beeing able to see but guess what Mr Perez he didnt and sure enough it wasnt pretty and i would have gave it a tie i mean you act like Clottey completely dominated this fight or something… of courese if Cotto fights the way he did he would loose to Paquiao i mean anyone with a cut that bad and fights that way would loose against a boxer like paquiao but with that said if they do fight at let say catch weight of 145 it wouuld be a very interesting fight.Cotto i a much smarter boxer than the last 2 opponents paquiao has fought he knows how to adjust within a fight.
Pacman takes easy way out. Cotto looks shot. Mosley is the one I’d like to see pacman fight. Maybe if shane promises to use only his left hand .Then he might get a bout w/ pacman
pacquiao will beat cotto
after all if paulie malinaggi could take him as far as he did then pacquiao will destroy him
AH, I wouldn’t have said a catchweight with Cotto was cherry picking. As I said before, I think Cotto has a better chance of reaching the weight than Mosley and co.
ODLH beat himself, he should have been smarter at dropping weight, but opted for the suicidal by hitting 147 weeks in advance. The fact he was on a drip in the dressing room is proof.
Hatton has been hit by bigger, arguably harder punchers than Pac, he just got caught square and didn’t see it coming.
Diaz was nothing though and shouldn’t have been a title holder in the first place!!
So to say Pacquiao cherry picks is a touch disrespectful to him and his opponents.
Id agree with you if we were talking about a fighter jumping up several weight divisions, or a fight against a much lesser fighter, but when we are talking about a guy who’s fighting weight is technically 147, I don’t see a problem coming down 3 lbs for a big fight.
Obviously perez doesn’t like anyone thats not mexican. “There’s no way I could reward that pathetic performance by giving him a victory, and believe me, there was nothing heroic about Cotto fighting with a simple cut over his left eye. The brave stuff comes when a fighter stands his ground and fights it out and not runs around the ring like a chicken with his head cut off” Perez you havn’t a clue about boxing, what a stupid comment. Cotto fought a smart fight by dancing away from clotteys right in case he got hit on the cut again. It was smart boxing but you wouldn’t know anything about that, biased article again
‘And not saying that Pacquiao is a great fighter because he’s limited because of his inability to beat Juan Manuel Marquez, who should have two wins over Pacquiao.’ This sentence alone shows your ‘limited’ knowledge of boxing. Pacquiao is ranked P4P best at the moment, and Marquez is quite possibly one of the most underrated boxers active today.
Cotto v Pacquiao, would be a very interesting fight. I think the build up would be similar to Hatton v Pacquiao (Power v Speed). Saying that, Cotto is a lot calmer than Hatton when it comes to big fights, he doesnt feel the need to rush in. Pacquiao obviously has the speed to trouble Cotto, and from the basis of his last performance, the power also.
Finally, ive seen articles on here that Cotto may be ‘shot’, ‘past it’. I disagree completely, boxers train for weeks building upto fights, hopefully enabling them to peak for a few days around the time of fight night. Sometimes boxers have off days and dont turn up, however, sometimes boxers have accidental collisions and get cut. Everyone reacts differently to seeing blood, especially if this blood is running into your eye, it can be very off putting and put a boxer off there game plan. Cotto has had a couple of bad performances, but he is by no way a ‘shot’ fighter. He is obviously still a live enough opponent to attract the P4P best boxer into a potential fight.
People seem to forget that Clottey was tough as nails and has a superb defense which on top of a cut eye says a lot about Cotto to squeak out the decision. Say what you want but Clottey is a handful for any of the top welterweights out there, and would even give Pacquiao a hard fight. Cotto against Pacquiao will come down to what weight they make Miguel Cotto come in at as its a none fact if they fought at 147ibs Paquiao would be killed in there come fight night. Skills wise Cotto is a superior boxer than Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao is very good and has a fan friendly style of fighting but the last 3 fights he has had in punch resistant less Hatton, a weight drained Oscar De La Hoya and an overmatch David Diaz show a sign of cherry picking to me. A catch weight with Cotto looks to be another sign of this don’t you agree?
Cotto could stand up to Pacquiao better than most, he has good punch resistance and he would by no means be as foolish as Hatton and rush at him.
Could Cotto catch Pacquiao is a different issue. Pacs speed and ability to get in and out with a fast combination could cause Cotto all kinds of trouble.
If it was made, the offer on the table would be te same as what Mosley was offered, a catchweight of 143/144 (by the way, why is this fight being talked about when the Mosley vs Pacquiao fight was as good as done????). I don’t see getting down to the weight being an issue for Cotto, he doesn’t appear to have the same muscular build as Mosley so weight drain shouldn’t be much of an issue, and he would likely come close to his normal fight weight whilst Pacquiao would come in 6-8lbs lighter.
I agre with Brahma that this would be an interesting fight. Pacquiao has the speed, power and skill to beat Cotto. Cotto has the tools available (and proven) to cause Pacquiao problems, straight right and body shots, he is also very economical with his shots so has power to the end, where Pac can tire.
Has the makings of a good fight, I just wonder where the Pac vs Mosley talks have gone???
Cotto shouldnt bother with pacquiao if he has to go down in weight. If he wants to prove himself he should go up in weight and fight him.
I love the way Perez has to throw in the Marquez comment for the millionth time this year. Margarito was loaded Perez and you know it……..
don’t be so sure manuela.. errr.. michael fool. people don’t have to overrate pacquiao. just watch his fights.. his speed and power will speak for the ratings. ok fool?
The only man that wants to see Pacqauio vs Cotto is Bob Arum because of the huge payday he will recieve. Its a disgrace that fans are being cheated because promoters are more concerned with lining their own pockets than seeing the best fighters against each other.
Cotto has as much chance of beating Pacquiao as Pacquiao does of beating Cotto. It all depends on how well prepared they are. They are excellent boxers and they both have the skills to put people away. It’s a tough one, though. If they do fight, I doubt it will be at 147. I don’t think Pacquiao will fight at that weight again. He couldn’t reach it before and I doubt he’ll ever be able to do it. The most he’s ever weighed coming into a fight was about 150. If they fight at 147, Cotto will have an advantage of about 10 pounds. Therefore, if they fight at 144, it’ll all depend on how well Cotto can dance and chase Pacquiao. I know that Pacquiao will have the speed, and after knocking out Hatton, I believe they’ll have the same strength. His knockout punch looked very hard and very fast. I think that punch can equal any punch Cotto has in his arsenal. Also, it’ll depend on Cotto’s guard. If he can prevent Pacquiao from sneaking in those left hands or right hooks, Cotto should be fine. As for Pacquiao, he’ll have put Marquez and Ricky together to beat Cotto. What I mean is that Pacquiao will have to go back and reflect on Marquez’s straight right hand and think of what he did to neutralize Ricky’s left hook. Cotto’s got the straight right and that left hook. As far as jabbing goes, Pacquiao has to reflect on how he neutralized Oscar’s jab.
It should be an interesting matchup, only at 143-144. Any more or any less will give a big advantage to one of the boxers. I don’t feel it’s fair for Pacquiao to move up to 147 no matter how good he looked against Oscar. The fact of the matter is that it’s too hard to make the weight. Cotto has fought at 140 before but it’s not fair to have him move down that much since he’s been fighting as a welterweight.
For some reason, I still feel that the fight will favor Pacquiao. Other than Mosley, I’m not sure if anyone that Cotto’s faced is as fast as Pacquiao. Even then, Mosley wasn’t quick as Pacquiao normally is during their fight. If Pacquiao beats Cotto to the punch, Cotto’s power won’t mean much.
cotto is not done yet if he comes back the to the old cotto he will tko pacquiao thats that pacquiao is overrated if they fight at 147lbs and cotto comes in at 147lbs and pacquiao comes in 144-145lbs cotto will dismantle pacquiao pacquiao will lose his next fight in nov 17th 2009 cotto will beat pacquiao in fight of the year ok fool
finally.. a fine article from mr perez. hmnn… i smell something different. but i agree, miguel cotto will have very little chance of beating pacquiao. the only fighters i see that have good chances against him are mosley and marquez. williams is out of the question.. he’s too big.
another thing ,if cotto’s eye would have been good,am sure he would have tko clottey by round 8 or 9
one thing mr perez,i totally disagree with evrything you just said,i’ll be writin back when cotto wins over pacquiao