By Ibrar Arshaid: Miguel Cotto, the once upcoming force in the welterweight division is preparing for the toughest fight of his career against the exceptionally skilled and strong Filipino Manny Pacquiao. The biggest question in boxing today is who will come out victorious between these two great fighters. When comparing the two fighters it is sensible not to just identify the weaknesses of just the one fighter, but one must critically compare the weaknesses and strengths of both fighters to gain a sense of direction in which way the fight will go.

Now I’m not going to say that I know the outcome or anyone knows the outcome because that would just be rubbish. But what I am going to say is that I can PREDICT the outcome based on both fighter qualities.

I’m not going to go in to the qualities of Pacman because it is evident to say that his skill in the ring has not been measured to the limit, apart from the time he got out boxed by Erik Morales in their first encounter. Now the reason that he wasn’t fully tested is because rather than it being a test of his skill in the ring it was more of a mistake made by Manny in the fight of simply trading too many times with the Mexican legend. He came back in the second and third fight and stuck to the game plan and showed why the first loss to Morales was a mistake not taking away any respect from Morales.

Miguel Cotto carried a cloak of invincibility for many years and was seen as the force to be reckoned with. The man who would dethrone Floyd Mayweather. The new Messiah of Puerto Rico. The future would prove no truth in any of these claims. Miguel Cotto a skilled fighter? Hell yes he is and was. but he was good only against class B fighters. The first time he stepped into the ring against a class A fighter in the ferocious Antonio Margarito he was brutally stopped. I know I’m going to get criticism by many people for bringing up his loss to margarita because of the ‘plaster’ excuse. Let me explain something to those fans who think in a one dimension.

Miguel Cotto was made out to be the terminator in the welterweight division and he wasn’t because he was terminated by Margarito. So all those people who jumped on the Cotto hype wagon were proven wrong. This is what happens when people buy into hype. Amir khan was hyped in the U.K to be the next best thing and he was knocked out in 54 second, once again telling people don’t buy into the hype. So now there a big hype in how Margarito used some sort of illegal substance that changed his knuckles into steel (the hype). If you really read about the issue it becomes apparent that it wasn’t a substance that’s in question but rather the way Margarito’s hands were taped.

If it was as simple as margacheato, then the boxing commission would not take over a year to decide on the boxers fate. I can promise you that he will retain his license and will be cleared. Cotto got pummeled by Margarito into taking a knee. He will and has not been the same fighter. Get punched in the face so many times till you’re a bloody swollen mess then you will realize how this changes you. He was dragged to hell and back in that fight and it’s something he won come back from.

Against Pacman, Erik Morales’ wars caught up with him. It happens to all fighters. let’s not act like Cotto has never been in trouble in his career before his punch resistance has been good but could be better he has always been troubled by fighters who hit hard and land cleanly. And just for the skeptics out there…Mosley is a whole new fighter with Nazim Richards (Bernard Hopkins trainer) so his win over Mosley is explained by Margarito’s destruction by Mosley.

Pacman will be quicker than Cotto he will hit harder than Cotto and Pacquiao has the form of 3 knockout stoppages coming into the ring. The main factor one has to consider is the corner men, Pacquiao has on his side probably the best trainer and tactician in the world in Freddie Roach, who has produced many world champions. Miguel Cotto is trained and surrounded by family member. We seen the problems he had with his trainer during the Cotto-Margarito 24/7 series, but he has continued with the same team which is undeniably far less superior to Freddie Roach.

Freddie took apart Ricky Hatton in two rounds and almost dethroned Floyd Mayweather in the DeLaHoya-Mayweather super fight. Such are this man’s credentials and his knowledge of the game speaks for itself. One other thing is that Bob Arum’s best fighter is Manny Pacquiao, why has he made a fight with two of his best fighters? the reason I suspect is that even he knows that Cotto is there for the taking, NO PROMOTOR would jeopardize prospects of his best fighter and on paper this is a risky fight for Pacquiao.

But truth is Arum suspects the end of Cotto which would boost his best fighter Manny Pacquiao into a mega super fight against Floyd Mayweather and due to the impact of Pacman’s win over Cotto, Arum could demand a higher purse for the Mayweather-Pacman Fight which he would rightly Achieve if Pacman gets through Cotto. So what happens to Cotto next well once again played clever by Arum, Cotto gets Mosley and the highly anticipated rematch versus Margarito. That leaves Arum with win win situation.