By Dave Lahr: Manny Pacquiao won’t be facing a weight drained fighter if the bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. is made nor will Pacquiao be fighting an opponent that had the living daylights beaten out of him in a recent fight like Miguel Cotto did in his bout with tough Mexican brawler Antonio Margarito last year. Pacquiao might as well retire now and go into politics or something because when he faces Mayweather, Manny will be taking a really tough opponent.
Pacquiao defeated Cotto on November 14th, but he took an enormous amount of punishment from Cotto in the fight. It was a win alright, but Pacquiao was hit flush all night long to the head and his right ear was swollen up, looking like a wrestler’s ear. Pacquiao didn’t get of the Cotto fight without taking a lot of punishment. It could very well take a toll on him. I think Cotto might have given Pacquiao enough punishment to last a long time.
Pacquiao was hit really hard all night long with some monstrous shots from Cotto. Pacquiao didn’t duck anything that Cotto threw and was like a sitting duck for every shot that Cotto threw at him. Cotto had problems of his own, but that doesn’t cover up the fact that Pacquiao showed no head movement, basically little defense at all as he plodded into many shots that Cotto threw.
Late in the fight, Cotto looked like Muhammad Ali, punching Pacquiao on the move and making Pacquiao look slow slow at adapting to the movement. The way that Cotto boxed Pacquiao late in the fight, it very well could serve as a mini highlight of how Floyd Mayweather will box circles around Pacquiao in their fight. Didn’t Manny used to be able to defend himself? I remember seeing a couple of Pacquiao’s early fights in his career when he ducked shots and moved his head to avoid getting clobbered by fighters. Not anymore.
I just don’t see Pacquiao won’t beat Mayweather. I like Pacquiao and would like for him to do well against Mayweather, but I think he’s going to get the tar knocked out of him if he fights Mayweather.
Pacquiao looks like he’s gotten lazy on defense in recent fights and is now all about throwing power shots. Pacquiao just seems to be trying to run over people with his speed and power. It may be working right now, but Pacquiao is taking a lot of punishment, unlike before. If Pacquiao chooses to fight in that manner against Mayweather, he’s going to take a lot of punishment in the fight. I see Mayweather as the superior boxer of the two right now.
Mayweather is well schooled in every part of his game and taught by his father Floyd Mayweather Sr. and his father’s brother, both of which were excellent fighters in their prime. Pacquiao is a fighter who was born with a lot of physical tools, and has learned a lot since being trained by Freddie Roach. But from what I saw of his fight with Cotto, Pacquiao doesn’t stand a chance against Mayweather.
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