Pacquiao/Cotto: A test of fair play

In recent days, there have been growing speculations among certain fight fans that if the fight were to come down to the judges at hands, Miguel Cotto could very well end up on the short end of the stick.

There are several reasons why this belief exist, but the two which hold the most weight can be attributed to a few facts that seem to find a way to test greater logic.

The not-so-obvious reason is the fact that Cotto recently received a decision over Joshua Clottey which many fight fans found to be highly controversial, and based on that outcome, there seems to be a concern that scoring officials will be far less likely to give the nod to the Puerto Rican under similar circumstances, avoiding the possibility of any appearance of favortism.

The second, and clearly more obvious concern is the fact that the true fight EVERYONE wants to see is the one that would pair Mayweather against Pacquiao, and with a Mayweather victory over Marquez, the concern is that the pressure quickly mounts to ensure that Pacquiao seals the deal as well.

The reality of the matter is that those who believe there's some type of 'fix' in the making, (despite raising valid points), probably need to remember a few things.

For one, the stage that these two men will find themselves on the evening of November 14th will be far too grand for the sport to make such a mistake with the world watching. Secondly, when you pair Paccquiao's power and Cotto's strength, as hard as it is to consider either man being KO'd, the reality is that there's a zero chance that this fight won't end within the distance.

Raising concern is one thing, but what isn't too popular about the questions being raised is that it provides excuses where there should be none.

Be they true or false, both men will enter the ring accutely aware of what they have to do to win. As "Iron" Mike Tyson once said, "a fighters mindset going into any fight should be to take the decision out of a judges hands". KO'ing the opponent in this fight won't be a walk in the park, but hey, welcome to the big leagues fella's....Nobody ever said it would be easy!

May the best man win!

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-845-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m9d9-PacquiaoCotto-A-test-of-fair-play