Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto Collide on HBO Pay Per View

By Geno McGahee-November 12, 2009

It is finally here. The showdown between Filipino superstar, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, 49-3-2, 37 KO’s, and Puerto Rican superstar, Miguel Cotto, 34-1, 27 KO’s, takes place this Saturday on HBO Pay Per View. This is a legitimate super fight with two of the most respected warriors colliding in a 12 round championship affair. The title is really an afterthought. This is about pound for pound positioning and for future earnings with an eventual showdown with Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

The boxing world is picking Manny Pacquiao to win by an overwhelming margin and with good reason. If the saying: “You’re only as good as your last fight” holds true, then Manny is the winner with ease. He starched British icon, Ricky “Hitman” Hatton in two brutal rounds, leaving him in a mangled heap on the floor. Hatton was stopped only once before by Floyd Mayweather, but he wasn’t demolished. Pacquiao did just that. For Cotto, his last fight was against the tough and defensive Joshua Clottey and he struggled to win a close decision. It wasn’t a dominant performance.

Cotto, despite his record and abilities in the ring, is the opponent coming in. His one defeat against “Hands of Plaster” Antonio Margarito is still fresh on everyone’s mind and although it is safe to say that Margarito wasn’t playing fair, people tend to forget about that and just focus on a beaten and battered Cotto, quitting the fight. Pacquiao will bring the pressure and hits very hard, but Cotto still presents a most difficult challenge, perhaps the toughest challenge in the career of Pacquiao.

The buildup to this showdown by HBO and the boxing press as a whole has got the world buzzing and rightfully so. We are not going to get the slow dance that we saw with Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Mayweather, JR. We are going to get fireworks and they’ll probably be going off very early in the fight.

With back to back knockout wins in high profile fights against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, Pacquiao is expected to attack Cotto early, and he most likely will. Cotto is a slow starter and doesn’t deal with speed that well. Zab Judah was able to tag him early and often with strong punches, and out of all the opponents that Cotto has faced, Judah is closest is style and speed to the man he is facing this Saturday night.

Cotto was able to wear down Judah and stop him late in the fight but not before fouling the quicker opponent with arguably intentional low blows, something that Freddie Roach, trainer of Pacquiao, has noted and is concerned about. Cotto has also dealt with a quick and powerful fighter when he eked by Shane Mosley. The Mosley fight is a good blueprint to use against Pacquiao.

Against Mosley, Cotto used his strong jab, smashing it continually into the jaw of his opponent. Mosley was puffy and hurting when the final bell rang. Pacquiao has been jabbed with effect by guys like Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, but they don’t have the power that Cotto possesses. If Cotto can use this punch to effect, then Pacquiao will have a world of problems.

Another possible weapon for Cotto, should he be able to time Pacquiao, is the left hook as Manny bobs away. Manny has a tendency, especially late in fights to back straight up, leaving himself open for his opponent’s left hook. Cotto has a wonderful left hook that could end the night if he lands it. Remember that Manny has never been hit by a true power-punching welterweight. He will most likely be tested this Saturday night.

For Pacquiao, speed will beat power, or at least that is the hope here. If you watch his shadowbox or hit the mitts, you can see just how lightning quick he is. His opponents rarely do as they attempt to rise from the floor. Under the tutelage of Roach, he has developed into a complete fighter, using his once non-existent right hand to hook very well, making him a much more dangerous force in the ring. He is relentless and hits hard enough to knock out welterweights.

Manny Pacquiao is the favorite and rightfully so going into this fight. Miguel Cotto still hasn’t proven that he has recovered mentally from his beating against Margarito. He had an easy fight against the feather-fisted Michael Jennings and the followed up with the tough Clottey, but neither comeback opponent has presented the offensive machine that he will be facing on Saturday. The question here is the same that I had when Ricky Hatton faced Pacquiao: Can Cotto make it through the minefield?

Cotto has to be alert early on and ready to time Pacquiao early with hard counter shots and jabs. He cannot stay in front of him and exchange for long periods of time because Manny is quicker and more accurate. He will most likely end up the loser. Hatton’s idea to rush Manny turned out to be foolish as he ran blindly into the minefield. Cotto will tiptoe and try to keep his eyes fully on his opponent, but the problem here may be that the hands of Manny are quicker than his eyes. We are going to find out just how the Pacquiao power will affect the Puerto Rican superstar. He is not going to avoid all of the incoming shots.

If Cotto makes it beyond the fourth round without sustaining a lot of damage, then we are in for a very interesting evening. Cotto is a fighter that slowly builds momentum and gets stronger as the fight goes on. If Manny’s punches don’t have a significant affect on Cotto, then we are going to see an upset.

The pick here is Pacquiao. He has the momentum going in, has a very high confidence level, is very quick and accurate, and is facing an opponent that may have some doubts in the back of his head. Early on we should find out just what we are in for as Manny lands. If Cotto is buckling early, expect another victory for the Filipino superstar, if he’s not, then Cotto could very well win it. The smart money however is on a Pacquiao TKO, midway through the fight.

On the undercard, Daniel Santos, the WBA Super Welterweight Champion, 32-3-1, 23 KO’s, will defend his title against Yuri Foreman, 27-0, 8 KO’s. Santos has recently been on a tear, stopping the 3-Time World Champion Jose Antonio Rivera and taking the WBA title from Joachim Alcine via knockout. He is a skilled boxer/puncher and may be currently flying under the radar of most boxing fans, but brings a lot to the table and will be hard to defeat. He will be especially hard to defeat for Foreman.

Foreman has to be given credit for making it to this point. He is slow and doesn’t possess a big punch, but his sheer will has been enough for him to remain undefeated and earn a title shot. He is going to have to do a lot to overcome the skill and power of Santos, a very big favorite to retain his title on Saturday.

Julio Cesar Chavez, JR., 40-0-1, 30 KO’s, keeps busy against unknown Troy Rowland, 25-2, 7 KO’s. Chavez, JR., is expected to be pitted against Irish star, John Duddy in the near future, which would be a very big step up from his competition thus far. Rowland isn’t expected to present much of a problem for Chavez, JR., but he has only lost twice and the jury is still out on the “Son of the Legend.” If he can avoid the power punches from JCC JR., we may be in for an interesting bout.

Rounding out the card, we have the “Contender” Alfonso Gomez, 20-4-2, 10 KO’s, against Jesus Soto-Karass, 24-3-3, 16 KO’s. Gomez is a fan favorite with a lot of heart and a lot of personality. His career was at a high with a TKO over faded former champion Arturo Gatti, but he was given a taste of true reality when he stepped into the ring with Miguel Cotto and got the beating of his career. He tries to get back on track against Soto-Karass, a durable and highly rated boxer.

Source: http://ringsidereport.com/rsr/news.php?readmore=2363