Insight and Intellect: Esteemed Boxing Writer Thomas Hauser weighs in on Cotto-Pacquiao

In no matter what profession you are involved in, you can’t help but notice your peers. The people who apply the same craft as you do can be looked at with admiration, contempt, and even a bit of jealousy at times, but at the end of the day it’s always wise to keep tabs on the people involved in the same field as your own. As a journalist myself I notice a wide range of talents in the field of boxing journalism, but nobody has stood out to me over the years as much as Thomas Hauser.

Originally hailing from New York, Hauser began writing in 1977 and since then he has authored over 36 books covering a wide array of subject manner. His most renowned literary piece on boxing, Muhammad Ali: His Life And Times, was nominated for a Pulitzer prize and serves as the definitive biography of one of the nation’s most colorful and famous characters over recent years.

Combining a somewhat analytical yet compelling writing style along with much intellect and behind the scenes insight into the sport, Hauser is regarded by many as today’s premier boxing journalist. His latest piece, HBO and Boxing: At a Crossroads, takes a deep and dark look into the ongoing problems that still exist today with the network today and their commitment to the sport.

After reading the article I felt somehow compelled to reach out to Hauser, who has always been very helpful in the past towards giving his thoughts on any questions I had for him. Hauser and I spoke this past Saturday and seeing as their was nothing in boxing generating as much buzz as the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto clash, I jumped right in and got his initial thoughts on the encounter.

“It’s a very good, competitive fight between two elite fighters,” Hauser says of the November 14th contest. “It’s everything boxing should be. Each guy could win this fight and it’s a chess match for each man. If we had more fights like this than boxing would be a much healthier sport. It’s not a manufactured event. It’s a legitimate great fight.”

When asked specifically about Manny Pacquiao and what has stood out to him so far in his career, Hauser pointed to not only the Filipino’s gifts inside the squared circle but also his character and willingness to face all challenges.

“The thing that impresses me most about Manny other than his skill is that he has always been willing to fight the tough fights,” Hauser points out. “He’s fought Barrera, Marquez, Morales, and then he went up in weight and fought Oscar when a lot of people, including myself, thought Oscar was going to be too big for anyone. He hasn’t ducked anybody.”

When asked further about the recent showcase performances Pacquiao had against De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, Hauser didn’t hide his thoughts.

“It wasn’t so much that he won the fights it was the way he won them.”

When the attention turned to Cotto and what the Caguas native has given to the sport, Hauser points out that Miguel himself has also been one to lay everything on the line. While the early years of Cotto’s career were all about guiding him in the right direction, the past few years have seen him take on some of the division’s elite fighters.

“Miguel is willing to go in tough,” Hauser states. “I think Cotto has fought the tough fights. Cotto has fought Mosley, he has fought Margarito, and he has fought Zab Judah, which was a pretty hard fight. He doesn’t back down from a challenge.”

Many would agree that Cotto’s willingness to face all comers has been worth admiring, but in July of last year it got him into a world of trouble when he faced off with Margarito at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In that bout Cotto appeared to be in control through the first six rounds before fading late and taking a sustained beating at the hands of the charging fighter from Tijuana. The result was an 11th round TKO loss for Cotto and some feel that the Puerto Rican has yet to shake the after effects.

“First off, he took a bad physical beating,” Hauser says of the lone loss on Cotto’s record. “Anytime a fighter takes a beating like that it takes something out of him. It also affects the fighter mentally because he typically loses confidence after such a loss.”

It should be noted that Margarito was caught with Plaster of Paris in his gloves before his fight against Shane Mosley this past February. A one year suspension as well as the label of a ‘cheater’ were both applied towards Margarito and the Cotto faithful are quick to point to the turn of events as reason that Cotto shouldn’t have the loss on his record if Margarito did in fact load his gloves against Miguel. Weighing the intangiables, Hauser offers up his own two cents.

“Now it’s possible that Miguel can tell himself that the reason he was beaten up so badly was because Antonio’s gloves were loaded,” Hauser responds. “He can try and act as if the loss didn’t count, but I think on some level the beating stayed with him emotionally as well. Most definitely I feel that fight took something out of him and I don’t know that he has been the same since that fight.”

There was a time when Cotto seemed to be being groomed by HBO as the next can’t miss superstar. With the backing of the network, the support of his rabid countrymen, as well as having championship skills and heart, Cotto was on his way to becoming one of the key figures in the sport. The Margarito loss has seemed to set everything back and Hauser agrees that for this contest it seems as though HBO is pushing for Pacquiao to emerge victorious.

“My sense is that HBO and a lot of people would like to see Manny Pacquiao win the fight and have that lead to Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather Jr,” Hauser predicts. “Most people feel that Mayweather-Pacquiao is the biggest event that boxing can put together for 2010.”

Although many people would love the thought of a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown, Hauser isn’t one of them. Despite having admiration for Pacquiao’s recent accomplishments, Hauser admits that he would rather see Floyd take on someone naturally closer to his weight class.

“I would rather see Mayweather take on somebody his own size,” Hauser says bluntly. “Floyd is an enormously talented fighter, he really is. But Floyd hasn’t fought Mosley, he didn’t fight Margarito when the opportunity was there, he hasn’t fought Paul Williams, and he hasn’t fought Cotto. Those were all guys who could have entered the ring with during some point in his career. He’s chosen not to do that and has instead fought a badly faded Oscar De La Hoya, he fought a much too small Ricky Hatton, and he’s fought Marquez. In addition to being a very good fighter Floyd is a very good matchmaker. To me, pound for pound means that you take on the best available challenges and Floyd hasn’t done that.”

With several angles to discuss when sizing up a Pacquiao-Cotto showdown, Hauser gives his final thoughts as to why the contest is so compelling. Pacquiao may be going in as the favorite, and perhaps rightfully so because of the streak he is on, but Cotto is no shrinking violet and is seemingly much more of a threat than people are giving him credit for.

“People are excited and looking forward to the fight. The general view is that the odds are a little too long on Cotto. While Pacquiao does have the edge in speed Cotto is the bigger, stronger man. The general consensus is that it’s a much closer fight that the odds show. The odds aren’t set by insider knowledge, the odds are set by how the public perceives the fight.”

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-22973-Miami-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m10d7-Insight-and-Intellect-Esteemed-Boxing-Writer-Thomas-Hauser-weighs-in-on-CottoPacquiao