When I was a kid, I used to read a lot of Marvel comic books. One of my favorite series was the "What if" series where characters were put in scenarios and situations that could have totally altered the Marvel Universe.
I stumbled on my stack of comic books today while I was doing some cleaning for the fall and my "What If" comic books got me thinking about the "what ifs" in the world of boxing.
In boxing, the slightest mistake, change or move by a fighter, judge or a referee can totally alter the landscape of the entire sport.
Consider these:
What if Mike Tyson had Lennox Lewis' brain?
What if Ali and Frazier exchanged personalities, would Smoking Joe be considered "The Greatest of All-Time"?
What if Floyd Mayweather Jr. was a Filipino? Will the Filipino fans embrace him the way they did Pacquiao?
What if the judge in Pacquiao-Marquez 1 did not commit an error, would they have done a rematch? Will Marquez be the star he is today?
What if Pernell Whitaker fought Floyd Mayweather Jr.?
Or what if Pacquiao was a white American? Would he be bigger than Ali today or just another great fighter without his Filipino fan base?
What if... what if... what if... I guess we'll never know but what I'm going to examine right now is something that hasn't happened yet and a little bit closer to reality. What if Miguel Cotto comes in above the 145 catch-weight, around 147 and knocks Pacquiao out on November 14?
I know a lot of Pacquiao fans have not even entertained the thought and surely such an outcome would lead to tenebrous times in Pacland. Allow me to break down the possibilities and possible consequences if such an incident does happen.
It's happened twice in the past couple of months already- fighters coming in overweight to gain an advantage. The other significant incident being Rafael Concepcion weighing almost 5 pounds overweight against Nonito Donaire Jr. last August. And with the success of the past two fighters who did it, on top of Cotto's reluctance to go down in weight in the first place, who's to say he wouldn't employ a similar ploy? The extra weight has proven to be beneficial for the bigger man come fight night and can very well mean victory for Cotto against Pacquiao.
A Pacquiao knock out loss to Cotto might very well signal the retirement of Pacquiao. Losing to a bigger and much stronger fighter like Cotto may tarnish his legacy a little bit but it wouldn't take away much from the body of work Pacquiao has already accomplished. Pacquiao had said some things about retiring after his Hatton fight noting that his family wanted him to stop and that he had accomplished enough in the ring.
With that said, you think the few extra dollars that Pacquiao already has lots of is worth the risk of fighting Cotto at a weight that puts Pacquiao at a disadvantage. In the end, Pacquiao may lose out more money in the process with a loss because of the impact it could have on his career.
So in the event of, should Pacquiao continue on and fight Cotto? Or are you going to be okay with the thought of taking the money and running? Such is the pride and bravado of a fighter to take on all challenges and never back down and Cotto can definitely use that to his advantage.
If you saw how big Floyd was against Marquez was last Saturday, you'd agree two pounds does make a big difference because it leads up to more pounds once they rehydrate.
What say you about this possible dilemma Pacland? And this is an open question to Manny and his team as well. What if? Will you continue to fight Cotto? Or play it smart and take the money then run. It seems to me, with the magnitude of a fight like this, with the promotion, budget and production, it's hard to back off on a fight at the last minute. Do we have a contingency plan coach Roach? Like stick Cotto in an oven until he makes 145?
Call me paranoid all you want, but you have to think ahead. As much as Marquez took all the advantages he can even resorting to drinking his own urine just to get an "edge", he failed miserably to protect himself and his investment by allowing his opponent to come in heavier than expected. How much heavier and bigger was Floyd? He wouldn't even let people weigh him on fight night.
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Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m9d23-What-if-Scenarios-in-boxing-What-if-Cotto-knocks-Pacquiao-out
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