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PACQUIAO SCORES BRUTAL 12TH ROUND STOPPAGE OF COTTO By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 15 Nov 2009  Manny Pacquiao enshrined his name in the storied history of boxing by scoring a brutal 12th round TKO over Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto to win an unprecedented world title in a seventh weight division and proved beyond a shadow of doubt that he is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today. At the time of the stoppage all three judges had Pacquiao a runaway winner with Adelaide Byrd having the acknowledged “Hero of Asia” ahead 109-99 while Duane Ford scored it 108-99 and Dave Moretti 108-100. A sell-out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena were treated to a classic that lived up to its “Fire Power” title with Pacquiao, a genuine Philippine and Asian sports hero giving the huge crowd of f lag-waving Filipinos in the stands something to lift their spirits following the tragic Friday the 13th card at the Mandalay Bay House of Blues where classy, world-rated bantamweight Z “The Gorres” was fighting for his life after brain surgery at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas. Gorres had collapsed in his corner while preparing to leave the ring and was rushed to hospital where specialist neurosurgeons opened his skull to drain out the fluid caused by a blood clot and swelling. The tragedy of it all was that it happened after Gorres, in a career defining fight, scored a smashing 10th round unanimous decision over Colombia’s Luis Melendez and where fancied welterweight Mark Jason Melligen as well as Federico Catubay were also beaten. Promising young bantamweight Eden Sonsona, a prot?g? of Pacquiao’s late manager and mentor Rod Nazario who had requested Pacquiao to put him on the undercard as a favor, repaid Pacquiao’s commitment and trust by scoring a sensational second round TKO over Eilon Kedem to set the stage for the Filipino boxing icon’s masterful performance. Boxing Scene’s respected Mark Vester said Sonsona “looked like a sensation to me.” He said Sonsona “is the real deal. Very impressive. Look for him in the future.” Sonsona ripped into Kedem with a three-punch combination and dropped him in the opening round and after his opponent received a mandatory eight-count Sonsona rushed out of the neutral corner and hammered him with another flurry of punches capped by a hard left before the bell saved Kedem. But it was only a temporary respite as the Filipino waded into Kedem on the ropes and smashed several punches to the head and body before referee Joe Cortez called a halt with a mere 17 seconds gone in the second round. Earlier, flyweight Richie Mepranum who hails from the province of Sarangani where Pacquiao plans to run for the lone congressional seat in May 2010, won a close split decision over Ernie Marquez with a second round knockdown scored by the Filipino southpaw making the difference in a six round bout where two judges had Mepranum the winner 57-56 and 58-55 while the third judge scored it for Marquez 57-56. Pacquiao more than made up for the anguish suffered by Filipino fight fans over the tragedy that befell Gorres as he dropped Cotto in rounds three and four with cracking combinations and rocked him again in the middle rounds before the champion decided to switch to survival mode and kept back pedaling the rest of the way before Pacquiao hammered him with a flurry of vicious shots in the final round forcing referee Kenny Bayless to c all a halt to what turned into an obvious mismatch. The famed Araneta Coliseum, home of the “Thrilla in Manila” in which Muhammad Ali scored a 14th round stoppage over Joe Frazier, erupted in a frenzy after Bayless stepped in and ended the Puerto Rican’s misery. The fight started off quietly but soon picked up as both fighters exchanged punches towards the end of the first round. Pacquiao and Cotto exchanged some big shots in round two before Pacquiao, showing his amazing speed nailed Cotto with a three-punch combination. Cotto clipped Pacquiao with hard left as the Filipino continued to move forward in round three but Pacquiao dropped him with a combination capped by a cracking right as the crowd rose to its feet and both men began to continue to exchange punches with Cotto connecting with a couple of counter-punches and an uppercut that snapped Pacquiao’s head, back. Cotto appeared to have hit Pacquiao with a low blow early in round four and was merely cautioned by Bayless as the punch didn’t do any damage. Pacquiao began to use his own version of the rope-a-dope made famous by Ali in his battle with George Foreman. He kept his gloves up tight in a peek-a-boo style and invited Cotto to hit him while he was on the ropes. The champion readily accepted and ripped him with body shots. Pacquiao remained unimpressed and didn’t even blink. In a remarkably swift move Pacquiao whirled himself out of trouble and cracked Cotto with a perfectly timed left to the jaw that sent Cotto crashing to the canvas for the second time in the fight. After Cotto connected with a solid jab and followed it up with another good left in round five, Pacquiao quickly moved into attack mode and began to catch Cotto with a series of thundering blows switching from the head to the body . He began to dominate the champion and staggered him with a left although the Puerto Rican retaliated with a combination of his own in round six. Cotto’s corner appeared to be getting desperate and didn’t know how to handle Pacquiao who frustrated Cotto even further by remaining unfazed by some of his best shots. Picking up the tempo and controlling the rhythm Pacquiao turned Cotto’s face into a bloody mess, cutting him under the left eyebrow and busting his nose and mouth even as trainer Joe Santiago told Cotto at the end of the ninth round that he was giving him just one more round to get back into the fight. Pacquiao continued to catch Cotto with some heavy leather but was obviously peeved by the refusal to stand and fight. The six-division world champion put his hands down in the middle of the ring and looked at the champion as though appealing to him to engage. As Pacquiao continued to chase Cotto, looking to finish him off, the Puerto Rican continued to run until Pacquiao caught up with him and pulverized the champion until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight at 55 seconds of the final round. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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