Manny Pacquiao is at another crossroads in his career, this one taking him around the bend to the final stage of his career as a boxer. He has taken a gamble on fighting Miguel Cotto, who has been coming off a couple of fights that did not show the true calibre of a world champion. This writer spoke with a group of boxing experts and asked them if the world has been underestimating the Puerto Rican.
Dennis Principe, who has been in constant contact with almost all of the principals in this fight for his radio show on DZSR, had this opening remark.
“This is going to be a very tough fight for Manny. Cotto is young, he is aggressive, he is tough, and he can punch. It’s a matter of how he will be skillful enough to catch Manny. I think it is one big question mark.”
Promoter Bob Arum, who handles both boxers, has a clear take on how he thinks the fight will go.
“The question is can Miguel handle Manny’s speed early on; and can Manny handle Miguel’s power early on. They’re gonna both be aggressive at the beginning. If it doesn’t work for either of them, Miguel might resort to being a counterpuncher and make Manny go on the attack. They just have to watch for Miguel’s left hand and the damage it can bring.
If Manny can do that, he should be able to win a decision or a stoppage. If he’s unable to deal with his power and those body shots, then Cotto is going to win a decision or late stoppage.”
Boxing analyst Atty. Ed Tolentino believes there is a lot more at stake for Pacquiao in this fight than people believe.
“This is going to be the toughest fight for Manny Pacquiao. All things being equal, Miguel Cotto is not a one-dimensional fighter like Ricky Hatton. This is not a Cotto who has limited movements like a statue.
He can switch from southpaw to a natural stance and vice versa. He’s a natural welterweight who packs more power in his fists.”
ABS-CBN sports correspondent and news anchor TJ Manotoc believes the weight is a huge factor.
“It’s gonna be a lot more difficult because this is only the second time Pacman will fight in this weight class. Then again, consider that his age, his style, it’s not going to be easy for Pacquiao to fight a guy as wide, as big as him and someone who comes from that weight.
Everybody saw what he did to Dela Hoya and people thought it was because he went down in weight. With Cotto it’s a different story.
It’s going to be much harder.”
One question perennially surrounding Pacquiao concerns distractions, and there were a boatload, as usual, from having to move around because of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, and even a slapping incident between his trainer Alex Ariza and adviser Michael Koncz.
“If you notice, other fighters would say, stop, we don’t need that,” Principe adds. “For Manny, seeing them argue, he’s having fun. It makes him more motivated. He wants to prove to anyone that he can handle it.”
“Manny’s been much more comfortable at 140 pounds, which we saw against Hatton; he was so at ease,” Manotoc continues. “I was fortunate enough to cover that fight. I was in the last half of training, and he was in the best mood of all…which normally is his crappy mood one week before the fight, when they are trying to bring down his weight. Normally, he’s cranky, he doesn’t eat much. It was difficult for him. When he was hitting 140, he was happy, jolly. But there may be some who think that he’s a little heavier than comfortable at 145.”
Tolentino thinks Cotto’s relative silence is a sign that he may be having problems not just with the weight, but with a new system.
“Last April he parted ways with his long time mentor, and the parting was violent,” Tolentino explains. “He now has his nutritionist Joe Santiago, so everything is shrouded in secrecy. There are reports coming in that one reason is that Cotto does not want to disclose the weight problems he is encountering. As early as two months ago, he weighed 160, and he needed to crash diet to 145.”
But former world lightweight champion David Diaz, who lost his title to Pacquiao, admits that the Pacman’s speed is almost unheard of.
“When I fought against Manny, I underestimated his speed. He can move in and out really quick, so I overlooked that, I figured he won’t be something I have never seen before. Well, he was something I’d never seen before. And his speed and the way he comes in and out was something that was so hard to deal with.”
Our panelists are one in saying that Pacquiao has to keep the fight in the middle of the ring, and stick and move against Cotto. But the proviso is not to fully engage the impatient WBO welterweight champion. Pacquiao knows that, on the horizon are fights with Juan Manuel Marquez, perhaps Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and an exclamation point with Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
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This week, the premiere episode of USB: Ultimate Sports Barkada features an analysis of the Pacquiao-Cotto brawl, Paeng Nepomuceno’s attempt for an unprecedented fifth World Cup without his father Angel by his side, a personal interview with Smart-Gilas captain Chris Tiu, and a look back at the Smart-Subic International Marathon.
