By Liam Brindle: So the date is set 14th November 2009, the man with the ‘Golden Gloves’ Manny Pacquiao steps into the ring to face off against the ‘Peek a Boo’ man Miguel Cotto. I’m sure this is a fight that will divide opinion across the boxing world, with people saying about Pac: he ducked Mosley, he forces his opponents to drain in weight and he hasn’t been truly tested at such a high weight to date.
With the other side dubbing Cotto: battle shy, unable to take solid shots, one dimensional and believing he lost his previous fight.
My opinion of this fight is that it is beautifully poised and will be a lot closer than most people think.
I believe that the 145 issue will not affect Cotto at all he will get to his normal weight then not have any breakfast on the morning of the weigh in.
I will start with Pacquiao, first of all I don’t for a second think that this man would ‘duck’ any fighter let alone ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley… why would he be afraid of him and instead take a fight with a man who beat him 2 years ago? People are saying that he fears Mosleys speed, In my opinion based on foot speed, speed of thought, hand speed and head movement Manny is the fastest man in the sport so he has nothing to fear in that department. Should he fear Mosleys power? NO, De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and now Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao does not fear power. In my opinion, ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley is looking for one final pay day. Why should Pac-Man give a man who takes steroids that opportunity? How many Titles has Mosley really won without steroids? Who knows?
As for the weight issue, Pacquiao started fighting at 107lbs and is fighting Cotto at 145lbs. That’s 38lbs increase which is incredible really. Cotto started fighting at 135lbs, which is just 10lbs lower and much closer to his natural weight. And while Pac-Man is the P4P king, why shouldn’t he be able to fight on his terms?
Has Pac been tested at this weight? Well the only fight he has had at this weight was ODLH who lets face it Pac-Man absolutely destroyed, so the answer is no he hasn’t been tested at this weight but on 14th November 2009 he will be!
Now onto Cotto. Is he battle shy? Well in his last fight he went 12 rounds with the heavy handed and very under-rated Joshua Clottey, with a huge cut above his eye and blood was pouring into it for 9 rounds, is he battle shy? He went 12 rounds and won via UD. The man is a warrior and isn’t battle shy in the slightest. He was beaten up badly by a man who in his next fight was caught attempting to use illegal had wraps which would be like getting hit with plaster hands!
If you watch the Margarito v Cotto fight again it seems like Margarito’s shots are having a massive affect on Cotto, plus if you knew you had plaster in your gloves it would give you a massive psychological edge.
Is Cotto one Dimensional? No not at all. If you watch Cotto fight he takes the first 2 to 3 rounds feeling out his opponent and adjusts his style accordingly… even against arguably one of his weaker opponents he didn’t rush, he felt him out for the first 3 rounds and then worked out what he had to do to get him out of there.
In my Opinion Cotto has the best ‘Peek A Boo’ style in the world at the moment, the way he keeps his hands high and is able to land big hook combos to both the body and head is awesome to watch.
This fight has everything to be a potential classic… I am just glad that I am totally impartial for this fight…I am not bothered who wins I just hope it lives up to expectations.
I cant see why it wouldn’t between these two fighters they have beaten:
Joshua Clottey, Alfonso Gomez, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Paul Malignaggi, Lovemore N’dou, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, David Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar Larios and the list goes on and on.
If that doesn’t wet your appetite as a boxing fan then you need to get a new sport!
Prediction? My heart says Cotto…my head?…Paquiao.
The list above of the fighters that these two have beaten combined…there is one big name on there that they both want… we all know who that is…
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR
I think he will punish JMM and then he will punish the winner of this fight.
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