By Duke Pahulu: Allow me to get one thing out of the way. I know why Floyd Mayweather Jr. picked Miguel Cotto. Money and money only. Cotto is still the third biggest PPV star even though he clearly is on the downside of his career. But boxing-wise, Cotto has done nothing of note since the Manny Pacquiao fight.
Cotto beat a second-rate 154 titlist in Yuri Foreman who had no pop whatsoever. Then he stopped both Ricardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito who both are just names nowadays. There is no indication that Cotto is up to task for Mayweather. So let’s call a spade and spade.
This is just a money grab for Mayweather. He’s using Cotto the same way Cotto used Mayorga and Margarito. Still, I don’t mind spending money watching this fight. I appreciate watching Mayweather employ at what he does best. And that’s not running his mouth! Which brings me to the other super fight next month. Pacquiao vs. Bradley is a sure bet to be a more exciting fight than Mayweather-Cotto. And the reason is Timothy Bradley. The guy fights on the inside and pushes the fight. And he’s young and strong enough to do it on a high level.
I know a bunch of you think he’s not worthy because he “ducked” Amir Khan. And then Khan eventually lost to Lamont Peterson. A fighter who only has one loss in his ledger. Timothy Bradley gave him that first loss and he did it by out-boxing Peterson the way Khan failed to do last December. I give Pacquiao big props for taking on Bradley because personally, he’s a favorite of mine and deserves a super fight.
Big wins over Junior Witter, Kendall Holt, Nate Campbell, Lamont Peterson, and Devon Alexander established Bradley as the class of 140. Bradley is a young, strong, undefeated seasoned fighter who will give Pacquiao all he can handle. He doesn’t have big pop like Cotto, Margarito or Shane Mosley but we should know that power only cannot beat Pacquiao. Those three fighters were clearly on the downside of their careers.
You probably thought after those three were trounced by Pacquiao that if they were younger, they would have beaten or at least give Manny a better fight. So that day has come. The day where Bob Arum pressed pause on the matchmaking process that has made Manny the superstar that he is and allow Pacquiao to fight a legit threat who is young enough to push and see what Pacquiao is all about nowadays. He won’t coward like Mosley and Joshua Clottey. He won’t be a punching bag like Margarito. And he won’t let him off the hook like Juan Manuel Marquez last November. We’ll get to see if Manny Pacquiao can get through an undefeated fighter. And if Pacquiao succeeds, maybe he’ll take the one undefeated fighter we all want Pacquiao to face.
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