Manny Pacquiao TKO Win Over Miguel Cotto / Image: Zuma Press

Cotto managed to win the first round or two, depending on how you looked at the fight. I would say he definitely won the first round. He looked confident and seemed to be living up to the billing that he was the bigger, stronger fighter. But that was as close as he got to success in this fight. It was a war for the first 4-5 rounds (and Pacman has the scars to prove that), but Cotto was knocked down in rounds three and four and never really got the brief mojo he experienced early back again. I do give him credit for continuing to fight and for not giving up as the wheels began to fall off. But throwing in the towel by the 9th round would’ve been the thing to do as he was no longer competitive with Pacman. In fact, things looked so bleak that Cotto’s wife and son had to leave the arena because they were so distraught. Cotto was a bloody mess from the pummeling he was taking.

Pacman continued his dominance in a sport where he is widely considered to be the pound-for-pound best. He just wore Cotto down and broke his will to survive. Pacman is relentless like that, attacking and punishing his opponent into submission with furious speed and energy. He sliced and diced Cotto’s face until there was nothing left for Cotto to do but try to cover himself and protect his badly swollen right eye. It was almost uncomfortable to watch as the fight progressed. And as Pacman has become more comfortable with his added weight, he almost appears faster than ever. It’s frightening.

This now brings us back to the conversation of a potential Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. brawl. It’s clearly the fight boxing fans want to see, but how it happens or if it happens remains to be seen. If the fight takes place—and I believe that it will—I think it has chance to be one of, if not the best, boxing match-up of all-time. There was a time when I would pick Floyd Mayweather over any other boxer in his weight class. But I’m forced to seriously rethink that after watching Manny Pacquiao dispose of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto in his last three fights.

Source: ESPN.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Manny Pacquiao TKO Win Over Miguel Cotto

There are unanswered questions for both fighters. Miguel has only lost once. That was a little over a year ago when Antonio Margarito beat him in what would eventually be looked at as a controversial outcome. Why? Well, Margarito would later beat “Sugar” Shane Mosley with illegal, hardened inserts in his hand-wraps. Makes you wonder if he wasn’t similarly outfitted when he beat Miguel. So, I’m wondering how good Miguel really is. Should he be currently undefeated? And even so, is he past his prime? He will be making a huge statement with a win over Manny Pacquiao.

As for Manny, I wonder if he’ll be able to take the punches from a bigger, arguably tougher fighter? Sure, he is quick and fierce. He’s like lightning in a bottle. But can he withstand the power of Miguel Cotto? Of course, if you look at the way Manny destroyed Oscar De La Hoya at 147 pounds, I don’t doubt he’ll be ready to knock Miguel out and prepare for what would be one of the most anticipated fights of all-time—Pacquiao vs. Mayweather—next year. Until then, I’m going to enjoy this one. It should be a great fight.

Source: HBO.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Countdown to Pacquiao-Cotto Begins Tonight

Imagine you are Antonio Margarito. Your impressive July beat down of Miguel Cotto was a rousing success both in pulling pay-per-view buys and in garnering media attention. Casual sports fans have started recognizing your name and maybe even your face.

The sky is the limit. Right? Well, not so much. There are so few people out there for you to fight for your deserved huge payday. Shane Mosley? Yawn, that guy never caught the public’s eye. Paul Williams? Nobody knows him and maybe he’s a little too dangerous. Zab Judah? I’d have a good time at least. Ricky Hatton? Um, maybe? Manny Pacquiao? Not for a while, but maybe. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.? He ain’t coming out of retirement for me. He’s scared of the Tijuana Tornado.

No, the guy I really want is Oscar De La Hoya and he says he’s done on December 6th. You then continue your daily morning routine, open your computer and check your boxing RSS feeds. Lo and behold there’s a new article from Dan Rafael about the Golden Boy.

Its headline is intriguing enough, “De La Hoya shies away from retirement talk.” You start to get really excited. Does he want to fight me? Please Oscar, please. I could retire after the money made from that fight. You scan down the page. Still no mention. But wait. Here it is:

“My dream is to fight at Estadio Azteca,” De La Hoya said at the news conference. “I want a big farewell fight to leave a lasting impression all over the world with a huge event…fighting there would be a dream come true, and that’s why I don’t rule out the possibility of having another fight next year.”

“Oh my heavens,” your inner Antonio must be thinking, “he must be talking about me! Who else would he fight at the Azteca? It ain’t gonna be Sergio Mora or Ricky Hatton I guarantee you that! I need to start training right now. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses to Manny; everyone in Mexico will want to see that fight. I’ll be avenging my hero Julio Cesar Chavez. I can’t wait.”

Neither can we Antonio, neither can we.

Post from: EveryJoe

De La Hoya Not Set on Retirement; Magarito Ecstatic

Boxing promised us a welterweight fight for the ages and for 11 rounds Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito provided. Margarito charged relentlessly with defiant straightforward abandon while Cotto skillfully bobbed, weaved, counterpunched and scored with inspired boxing. Power punch after power punch from both fighters, bomb after bomb.

But in the 11th it was the Mexican, the Tijuana Tornado Antonio Margarito, who proved to have the greater will as the Puerto Rican Cotto quit on his feet, too battered, unwilling and unable to summon strength in the championship rounds.

Cotto’s corner ostensibly threw in the towel but Miguel’s sinking eyes and drooped shoulders had already betrayed his self-defeat and resignation; he had to decided to give away his title rather than defend it with his last breath. It was a disappointing conclusion to what had been a thrilling study in contrasts and a ceaselessly exciting fight. As good as the fight was it deserved to be and should have been better.

Margarito started out slow, just as he had in his defeat one year ago to Paul Williams, looking outsmarted and outclassed in the first. But by the second Antonio had picked up the pace only to have his whirlwind flurries picked off and evaded by Cotto’s quick defenses and then countered by skilled straights and hooks.

Superficially in this chase Margarito looked to be dictating the action, but it was Cotto who was really in charge. He looked at ease, confident, and in control. All the while, however, Margarito was taking Cotto’s best punches and he must have realized that the Puerto Rican could not hurt him. He was the stronger man and his adversary couldn’t run forever. He was going to tire out.

The tide of control began turning in the middle rounds. The script, however, had not changed. Margarito was still charging, throwing countless flurries, uppercuts, and hooks to the body while Cotto was dodging and countering. Only now more of Margarito’s flurries and uppercuts were landing. Cotto’s left eye was cut and he was leaking blood from his nose and mouth. His counters had less force and less accuracy.

Margarito was the turned ocean, he was getting more powerful and more forceful, while Cotto’s time had passed. Cotto needed to hang on, he needed to stand steadfast against the rushing force, and he needed to bring forth the powers that make great fighters transcendent, that turn great fights into legends.

That switch never happened for Miguel Cotto and one has to wonder if his spirit is gone, like his countryman Felix Trinidad’s was after his similar shrinking against Bernard Hopkins. Tito was just 28 then and he has never returned to greatness; Cotto is just 27. We hope Miguel quickly shakes off his demons and returns to the ring soon. A prolonged departure from meaningful competition could lead him down the Trinidad path and that would be a tragedy to the sport of boxing. Cotto is still a great fighter, but tonight he just ran into a ruthless buzzsaw.

After the fight Margarito joined the litany of fighters wishing to become Oscar De La Hoya’s “final” opponent on December 6 joining every lightweight through middleweight who has won on Showtime or HBO since Oscar dropped Steve Forbes in early May. Margarito’s hook is that it’s one for Mexican supremacy, a bookend for Oscar’s illustrious career whose greatness began with his June 1996 TKO of Mexico’s all-time best Julio Cesar Chavez.

Post from: EveryJoe

Margarito Outwills Cotto in Classic Welterweight Fight

Maybe somewhere somehow you’ve read something about Saturday’s Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito welterweight title fight. About how it’s the going to be the greatest fight of all time, about how if there’s one fight you should watch this year this should be it, about how this is the fight to bring casual fans in, about how the action will be scintillating and non-stop, about how if you can’t get excited about this fight then you’ll never be excited about any fight ever. Ever, ever, ever.

Am I excited? Yes. Do I think it’s going to be a great fight? Of course. Non-stop brawl. But the excessive hype from fight fans and scribes feels disingenuous, desperate, and based in the misconceived notion that boxing needs resuscitated. I don’t react well to guilt trips and spending $50 on this fight has become a “must do” for anyone who truly loves and appreciates boxing.

I’m going to buy the fight but I’m under no illusions that the welterweight competitors are equivalent to Leonard-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, or even Whitaker-De La Hoya. Margarito lost just one year ago to Paul Williams for heavens sake.

What fight would have been an equal to those transcendent bouts?

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto. That’s really the fight everyone wanted to see at 147. It’s the elephant in the room, it’s the answer, it’s the “fight for the ages” that we all want so bad. It’s also the reason this event is being hyped up to levels not exactly commensurate to its historical value.

If Cotto can prove he’s a draw to the general public and a relevant sports figure then maybe, just maybe we’ll get a real fight for the ages. Maybe Floyd will un-retire like Leonard before him and save the day again.

Post from: EveryJoe

What the Cotto-Margarito Hype Is Really About

After his unexpected loss Williams immediately exercised his rematch clause setting up this Saturday’s Mohegan Sun Showtime Boxing fight, the undercard bout to the less intriguing Vernon Forrest vs. Sergio Mora scrap. Quintana comes into the fight 25-1-0 with his only blemish administered by Miguel Cotto. He is Ring Magazine’s #3 ranked welterweight. Williams is 33-1 and Ring’s #4.

Paul Williams remains the Las Vegas favorite for this fight, only his winning odds have been lowered to 5 to 2. It’s not just Vegas that still has faith in Williams. Everlast Boxing recently signed Williams to a long-term deal to exclusively wear their footwear, apparel, and professional fight gloves. A lot of people want to believe February was an aberration and that after his first loss Williams will get serious again and stop believing his own hype.

I’ll admit, it’s hard not to like and root for Williams. His freakish welterweight height combined with his punch frequency make him terrific viewing and give him an aura of scary unstoppability. His narrow cleanly cropped mohawk during the Quintana fight made him appear to be from another planet. In contrast Carlos was steady, workmanlike, and smart with little of Paul’s flair. Will he be able to solve Williams’ extraterrestial powers again?

Despite the Vegas odds, most boxing pundits seem to think so. In their respective fight previews both SC from Bad Left Hook and the Fight Writer Graham Houston think Quintana will prevail. They use the same “styles make fights” logic and believe that the smaller man has the ex-champ’s number. Tim from Ring Report also sides with Quintana believing that Williams’ drastic weight loss has taken a toll on his unnaturally gawky frame.

I’m going for Paul Williams because he’s far more interesting and because I want him to win. Simple as that. If you want detailed analysis and logical reasoning click on the above links because you’re not going to get it here. I’m siding with pop psychology. I think Williams pride was severely stung by the February loss when he took Quintana lightly. He’s going to roar back, prove his physical dominance, and avenge his loss. Maybe even after the win he’ll finally get his shot at Mosley, Mayweather, and Cotto.

Photo Source: Newscom.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Williams vs. Quintana II: Still Very Intriguing