Cotto-Pacquiao: Can anybody separate these two?

By Sohaib Malik: One day from fight night and the jury’s still out on the victor of ‘Firepower’ – when Manny Pacquiao meets Miguel Cotto. The Ring Magazine asked 10 top boxing trainers for their opinions and almost unsurprisingly, Cotto and Pacquiao were both tipped 5 a piece. What’s more interesting is that only 3 tipped the fight to go the full 12 rounds.

This has to be one of the most intriguing match ups of the year and that’s obviously because there are so many questions that have been asked from the moment this fight was announced.

As per usual (or is two articles to early to have a ‘usual’ style?)I’ll offer up both sides of the debate and I’ll leave it to the rest of us to let everybody know what they think. Furthermore, let me know if I’ve strayed away from impartiality. The point of this article is not to impose my opinion but to provide a basis for debate.

The first question asked was whether or not Pacquiao be able to handle the punch of a real welterweight in his prime? Some spectators have said that a few moments to his destruction at the hands of Pacquiao, Hatton appeared to buzz the Filipino. Furthermore, Pacquiao has been knocked out twice before, admittedly a long time ago but importantly, at a lower weight.

On the other hand, following the Margarito fight, can Cotto be considered damaged goods? Although Cotto started well, Margarito’s pressure in the late rounds caused a bloodied Cotto to not make it to the final bell. A lot of spectators believe that this has affected the Pride of Puerto Rico (physically but also mentally) and cite how he struggled against Clottey. What should be considered is that Clottey is a man who lost to Margarito but only on points, suggesting he’s quite durable to have stayed on his feet against the Mexican. Another is, Margarito may have been using handwraps against Cotto – what would be great is if he just told us whether or not that is true, he’s already busted for the Mosley fight!

Continuing with Cotto, will he be able to handle the speed of Pacquiao?

Cotto has faced off with speed in the past – the likes of Judah and Mosley, even appearing to be buzzed at times, which makes some wonder if he can handle somebody as spectacularly quick as the Pac Man. Bear in mind, Cotto is a patient counter-puncher, which can be used to nullify speed and when on the aggressive, Miguel could use his strength to muscle into the inside of Pacquiao and let fly with powerful body shots.

Lastly, have Pacquaio’s string of victories been over-hyped? Although Pacquiao has beaten physically bigger men in Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, the former was incredibly weight drained and the latter arguably essentially made for his own downfall (by fighting like a primitive.) Now doubt Pacquiao is pound for pound ability but it could be a question of whether Pacquiao was that good or were his opponents simply that bad on the night?

Please leave comments below, not only I but I’m positive plenty of others would be interested in people’s opinions, before the two pugilists give us an answer tomorrow night.

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