BOXING RANTS: DUNDEE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH PACQUIAO'S RISE

As Pacquiao-Cotto nears I can't help but be engulfed by the ridiculously massive volume of internet media coverage heaped on the fight. American mainstream media hasn't picked up on the fight the way it would a Tyson bout, but if you're a boxing fan you couldn't spend a moment going about your daily boxing fix without encountering something about the fight.

Not that anybody expects boxing to suddenly have mainstream coverage the way it enjoyed back in the days of Tyson, Leonard and Ali. Nope, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

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Can anybody explain why boxing message board regulars habitually tear down every fighter's résumé? A fighter can't win with these guys. No victory is recognized as legitimate and when a fighter loses he's suddenly past prime or worse, a hype job.

I guess it's just the nature of the beast, boxing being one of the most politically incorrect of sports in these supposedly enlightened times. Boxing fans just love to see two guys beat the living daylight out of each other, and when they don't like a certain fighter there is no way in hell anybody can force them to suddenly go ga-ga over him.

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Have you ever wondered how come hall-of-fame trainer Angelo Dundee has always picked the side opposite Manny Pacquiao's the last three fights running? He was hired by Oscar dela Hoya as camp adviser preparing against Pacquiao. Then he said before Pacquiao took out Hatton, "If ever there is a fighter that could beat Manny Pacquiao it is Ricky Hatton.”

Now we're hearing Dundee apparently picks Cotto over the Filipino firestorm. Dan Rafael of ESPN wrote that Bob Arum brought Dundee to Cotto's camp and Dundee once again picked against Pacquiao, "If I had to pick anybody in the world to fight Pacquiao, it would be Cotto because Cotto has the best chance of anybody to beat him because of his physical power and that strong left hook."

Is Angelo Dundee getting uncomfortable with the rising storm being generated by the Pac-Man? Well, Manny Pacquiao is still a long way from rivaling Muhammad Ali's legacy in mainstream America, but with the way he has been climbing weight classes and just tearing up the opposition comparisons with Henry Armstrong suddenly do not sound as ridiculous as they first did.

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You gotta feel bad for American boxing at the moment. There is no American heavyweight in sight who looks capable of taking the belts from the Brothers Klitschko. The Super Six supermiddleweight tournament is looking like an All-European duel this early between Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham. Paul Williams can't get a big fight...because Kelly Pavlik pulled out.

Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley are on their last legs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. would rather earn big money than build his legacy.

Well, who can blame him, actually?

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This early, people are anticipating a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown in 2010. As if Cotto losing to the Pac-Man is a foregone conclusion. Make no mistake about it, Miguel Cotto poses the biggest threat the Filipino has ever faced. Pacquiao may have faced better fighters, but no one as good AND as big as the Boricua Bomber.

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-28698.html