Cotto vs. Pacquiao – Three Reasons the Fight Won’t Disappoint
August 21st, 2009
By Will Cruz: Much has been said about the upcoming clash between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. Many predictions, many analysis, and many heated debates among fans of both. All boxing fans are looking forward to this instant classic and all can agree that it will be an electrifying night of boxing action. If you were still planning to get tickets to Vegas for this one, sorry my friend, it’s probably too late.
Aside from what most fans already know about the kind of fighters Cotto and Pacquiao are, there are three main reasons why I can say with assurance that this fight will live up to all of its expectations.
1. Passion- We know both fighters have more heart than most, but they also have a passion for what they do, unlike many other boxers who are self proclaimed greats. They truly love the sport, and respect it so much, that they are willing to put their lives on the line to face off against each other. Many people know that this will be Pacquiao’s biggest challenge of his career, but the same can be said of Cotto. He has never faced someone with the perfect combination of speed and power that Manny has. A lethal combination, that has produced excellent results. That along with Manny’s punching angles, will surely give Cotto trouble. The passion that both guys have for winning, will be shown on November 14.
2. Pride- It’s no secret that both Manny and Miguel are very proud fighters. I admire both because they are as real as they come. They fight for their pride first, but also for the pride of an entire country. I can only imagine what the buzz will be like on the streets of Philippines and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has always been a special place for boxing. Boxing has given the Puerto Rican fans many, many great champions. If you sit down with any Puerto Rican and begin a conversation about boxing, it’s a conversation that can go on for a long time. These guys don’t like to lose, they don’t want t let themselves down, and surely don’t want to let down the thousands of fans that hold them to such high standards.
3. Legacy- Both these guys have put themselves in a position to determine what their legacy will be after they hang up the gloves. Both have had great careers thus far, but this will be a defining moment for both. The winner of this fight will not only set himself up for a potential fight with the “Pretty Boy”, but will solidify himself as the best P4P fighter in the sport. No excuses. Both guys have lost before, and both have had to deal with doubt after loses that could have derailed their careers. However, both of these champions have fought back to what potentially can be their best performance.
When both fighters face off for the referee instructions, fans of both fighters will be as passionate as these two guys. When the bell rings, all of these questions will begin to be answered. Who has more passion? How has more pride? And who will establish their legacy as one of the greatest?
Questions that I don’t mind answered all on that night. No more waiting around for big mouths to claim how great they are, and not more waiting for promoters to make the best fights happen in spite of their own agendas. This is it, a fight that I believe fans will be talking about for a long time. And if it comes down to a war where these questions are still unanswered, then I think we will see part two of what will become an instant rivalry. Stay tuned, these three months couldn’t go by any faster.
Tags: 37 Responses to “Cotto vs. Pacquiao – Three Reasons the Fight Won’t Disappoint”
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speed vs power. but pacquiao has both. cotto is more powerful because he is naturally the bigger man, but manny can see his punches because he is slower than manny. what hurts fighters is that if they are being hit with punches that they don’t see coming. pacquiao can throw punches in blinding speed in every angle and with his foot speed, he can easily dart out when cotto tries to throw a counterpunch. both are great fighters, the corner of both fighters will play a crucial role in this fight for this is a really strategic fight. but then again i see that advantage going to team pacquiao.
Pacquiao vs cotto…… first of all I am not going to pick a winner, too dificult, its speed vs power. Cotto is in his prime unlike hatton was when he got knocked out in 2. The thing that hatton was missing was his ferociousness, he used to bully opponents in his prime, something cotto can do very well, I think that if cotto can cover up and press manny into a corner then he can get off some power punches with having to turn and try and find manny then he stands a good chance for 5 ot 6 rounds. On the other hand pacquaios strategy will be to stay well clear and pick punch cotto all night, he knows if he gets into a battle he will get hit sooner or later, and he won’t want that, I think this will be an amazing fight and may the best man win…goodluck guys.
Zach,
Mayweather is a long way away from cleaning out the welterweight division. He has still yet to face any top welterweight contender. Even if he would beat Cotto, which I don’t think he will, the list goes on and on. He missed his opportunity to do this by dodging the likes of Clottey, Mosely, Margarito, and the list can go on and on. He might as well retire now while he still has his precious undefeated record.
“self proclaimed greats” obviously a knock on Floyd Jr. Floyd is the best fighter in the world. He will clean up the welterweight division and retire for good. One fight at a time.
this fight is like a formula 1 vs a bus, a speedboat vs a ferryboat, f15 vs b52, m16 vs winchester, tiger vs hippo. etc….
pac’s rapidfire speed kills! tko
That’s a good point Mr.Gman.Let’s gather good points and leave the rest.
Cotto is no hatton or delahoya…all the pacman lovers will obviously be in for a tremendous let down cotto by tko ko in 8!
Hi Will!,
“Pacquiao can capitalize the power of cotto in this weight category..we’ve seen it in his fight against Dela Hoya(Although some said he was drained)”
…As I’m pointing out on your other articles this is gonna be Pacmans victorious night in November.It is because of their styles.Pacquiao can easily fight an opensive fighter as we have seen in his fight against Hatton. Pacman took it only 2rounds that it take 11rounds for Mayweather to finish(not to mention Mayweather was staggered by Hat in the earlier rounds).And Cotto was stop by a fighter that has a normal speed. Imagine that.
…Prediction sometimes fail us. Only God knows, let’s see if Cotto can adjust his gameplan especially for this fight. Lets pray theres no headbutts in this fight. U know wat I mean, Godbless us all!
“All The Pacman Haters Will Eat Up Their Words Ones Again”
“Guys Do You Know Why Pacman Always Win ?..”
“Because He Has The God’s Strength In His Left Hand”
“If You See The Exray on Manny’s Left Hand You will notice that his bone in his left arm is not divided !!”
this is going to be a great fight that anybody should miss… i go for cotto bet round 1 to 5, more than than its going to be manny.
I happen to be one of the lucky ones with a ticket for this fight and I hope to see a great fight and I’m sure I will but my feeling unlike many other so called experts (mayweather sr, teddy atlas) is Cotto wins by TKO. Cotto cuts of the ring extreamly well and knows how to contain them there and pacquiao has never done well fighting backwards. So if he can’t move foward and he can’t move side to side and he donesnt fight well backwards so I see pacman haveing big troubles.
Hey Will,
Just one favor, since you are one of the remaining writers here in this website that is reasonable and sensible. My favor is that can you please offer some professional advice to Manuel Perez and Liam Santiago, especially the former. Because their articles are really destroying this websites credibility. Hence, also affecting other writers’ credibility like yours. For example, in Perez’s recent article about Donaire, he said that the 4.5 ib difference in their weigh in is nonsense and did not give any advantage to Concepcion. and yet he is complaining about the catchweight issue which is only 2 lb lower than the welterweight limit between Pacquiao and Cotto. What the hell is wrong with this guy????!!! He’s a complete moron!!! Please, we readers beg you to stop their nonsense and fast food articles. There is a big difference between a critic and a hater.
win or lose i want a second fight it well be good for boxing because every other boxer suck right know with moneyweather coming for more money it not good all he want to make money and want to fight people that he can beetdown not good for boxing? i am not goin to see that fight youtube is good enof for me lol
Is it November 14th already? Nov. 14th can’t get here soon enough!
yeah right this fight is great, how about the other fight happening in september, what’s the status of the sold tickets? Are they starting to give them as free vouchers in groceries. What a pitty on the big mouth money man after the injury, what kind of excuse are they planning now for the fight to get a buzz.
I agree with Bisaya, none of the skilled fighters Manny had faced before had the power of Cotto. We’ll see how Manny and Freddie approach this one. The fight has to last longer than 8 rounds for Manny to have a chance. If they go trading early on, Manny will bite the dust. After 8 rounds, Cotto’s stamina is suspect especially after 24 minutes of dealing with Pacquiao’s volume of punches.
While it is true that Cotto has not faced anybody as fast as Pacquiao, he has faced more skilled, heavier and more powerful fighters than Manny. On the other hand, Manny has not faced anybody as heavy, powerful and skilled as Miguel. I will cheer for Pacquiao, but my money is on Cotto. Manny will fold in less than 8 rounds.
margarito never got cotto down with queasionable wraps and is alreadya heavy puncher. i cant see pacquiao knocking him down the only way i can see cotto getting sstopped is if pacquaios fast punches lead to him taking to much punishment. but i fancy cotto to win.
Im sure Frediie ROach and Team Pacquiao have a game plan to defeat Cotto, just like what they did to Hatton. Manny always listens and trains extra hard for each fight. Manny wil be ready for whatever Cotto brings to the table and im sure he will outbox Cotto. Love the article 100% real!
My view of Pacquiao-Cotto, though pessimistic, is based on my belief that Pacquiao and Cotto will be a tough and damaging fight for both men. If Pacquiao should lose, his claim as the best pound-for-pound evaporates and therefore leaves a battle for pound-for-pound supremacy against Mayweather in shambles. The fight could go on but will lose its luster. If Cotto should lose, he likely loses his chance to fight Mayweather period. Then of course a scenario where one man dominates, such as Pacquiao’s most recent performance over Ricky Hatton, is also possible, yet unlikely. Though it appears the tone of this piece favors Mayweather, I simply recognize that Mayweather-Pacquiao and Mayweather-Cotto are two of the biggest fight that can be made in the sport. Why Pacquiao-Cotto should serve as a prelude is unprecedented; it truly may be the matchup that kills two birds with one stone.
my prediction ?
manny will move it up a notch, and will come in as a lefty useing a right hand style.it will be no match for cotto in a exchange as manny now has found power in his right hand to use as his back hand and keeping his left punch which is now going to be closer to be even faster. and the option to switch back ,confusing cotto,
watch out cotto, your going to be taken apart.
LOL thats funny what you said about talking about boxing with Puertoricans … i go through that at least 2 times a week. Great article man! I completely agree, these 2 are proven warriors who will leave a mark in boxing.. not self proclaimed or overrated fighters who shot up just because of their popularity .. not gonna mention who i have in mind when i say that… … … (starts with an H)
Thank you sir. you have a very good article balance and not one sided,not like Miss Manuela article only left side nothing for right side.Very bias article every time you read Mr. perez writing.I’ll say it again well done.This is a very good match in boxing fight for the year 2009.The best of the best in 2009.
All Cotto needs is to catch manny with one good hit and it is over for the pacman. Manny has never been hit as hard as he is going to be hit. 9th round manny will be hitting and moving and will get cut off and will go down from a body KO.
thats all folks…..and the winner is Cotto.
The Pac Man will win this one with his superior speed and movement.
Am going for manny i think he will tire out cotto and ko him late.
Good read. Nice to see a unbaised article be posted in here. Nice…
The fight won’t disappoint if Manny can handle Cotto’s power. Cotto can handle Manny’s power early on but his stamina is questionable so Cotto can get knocked out towards the later rounds. My analysis is, if it goes the distance, Manny wins. If not, Manny loses.
Were lucky to watch Manny and Cotto go at each other. Thank you! Sir Arum for putting this fight together.
About Mayweather and Marquez – Even with loaded undercards, I feel sorry for GBP. Their PPV sale will be the lowest ever.
Timing is wrong – same day with UFC.
Title is wrong – Both are Numero Dos and surely “NOT” uno.
Loaded Undercards – Will make no difference. Well Maybe if you put Angelina Joile and Megan Fox as one of the undercards for 15 rounds.
Ahhh heck.!
Great article, Man!
I feel cottos stamina might be problem in this fight as much as i like cotto i think manny will be to fast for him
Note to Arum: Pacquiao/ Cotto already’s a great matchup and I will buy it no matter what. But can you please load up the undercard with some meaningful fights? Feature some of the lower weight talent and take some risks by making the fights competative. Use your magic to get some exciting cards that will give no doubt that Top Rank Promotions knows how to put on a COMPLETE Show!
I just hope it doesnt end to fast like the hatton fight!
It’s a the best time to be a Fight fan. Boxing is truly going global with Boxing’s Asian and Latin’s P4P Champs going at it. I know, I know, Pacquiao’s already the P4P Champ…I’m going to cherish these next few months because November will come too fast!
I agree this is going to be a great fight. especially since Manny’s last fight was so short, we are all begging for more. Pac-mans going all the way leaving everyone in the dust in my opinion. He just gets better and better from every fight.
Cotto never go back he always go to give hes best fight now the question is manny paquiao can take cotto left and right hand what about soulpole style
When you look at Cotto’s face here and find that Margarito’s gives were loaded in his next fight you have to question his win over Cotto.. He was seriously busted up and that could scar him, hope not though!