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Philippines, 07 May 2024 |
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COTTO?S WIN PROVIDES PACQUIAO POSSIBLE CRACK AT 8TH WORLD TITLE By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 06 Jun 2010  While Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and pound-for-pound king and ?Fighter of the Decade? are not taking Floyd Mayweather Jr?s statement that he plans to take one or two years off from boxing thereby killing a possible mega-buck showdown between the two this November and hush-hush negotiations are still going on, Miguel Cotto?s victory in the WBA super welterweight title fight over Yuri Foreman provides another option for Pacquiao in case Mayweather continues to duck the Filipino. Pacquiao?s adviser Michael Koncz told us on the way back to their hotel after watching the fight with Pacquiao and his lovely wife Jinkee that they ?had a minor discussion? about a possible rematch with Cotto. A rematch for the super welterweight title at 154 pounds would give Pacquiao a chance to cement his place in the record books by winning an eighth world title in eight separate weight divisions, should Pacquiao win a rematch having won the WBO welterweight title with a 12th round TKO over Cotto last November. Koncz said the idea is ?to see what happens? adding that ?if the Mayweather fight is not made then we?ll go to plan B? which could mean a fight against Antonio Margarito, Cotto or even Juan Manuel Marquez who has been crying out for a third and last shot at Pacquiao with whom Marquez salvaged a draw in their first meeting after being dropped three times in the first round and lost the rematch by a split decision after being dropped once more in the fourth round. Pressed by his new trainer Emmanuel Steward to work behind the jab Cotto put on the pressure from the opening bell but Foreman countered effectively and often caught the Puerto Rican with flurries to possibly steal some of the early rounds. Foreman appeared to find his rhythm in round four and connected with three solid blows that stunned Cotto since Foreman based on his record of 8 knockouts in 28 wins didn?t appear to be a big puncher. An exchange of solid blows saw Foreman end the round with blood dripping from his nose. There was more give-and-take action in the fifth after Steward frankly told Cotto he thought he had lost the fourth round. Solid left hooks by both fighters marked the final minute of the round. After Cotto appeared to have his best round in the sixth catching Foreman with some solid blows to the body and head, disaster struck as Foreman slipped and fell because of the canvas which referee Arthur Mercante Jr said later had concerned him because of the slippery nature caused by water and a series of undercard fights. Foreman said later he had injured his right knee when he fell of his bicycle as a 15 year old kid and wore a knee brace to support it and when he slipped and fell in Cotto?s corner for a second time it almost completely took away his ability to move and stay out of harm?s way which was one of the keys to his success in the first five rounds. Twice given time by the referee, Foreman gallantly agreed to continue but sensing the opportunity Cotto jumped on the immobile Foreman and nailed him time and time again with some big shots which the future Rabbi couldn?t avoid. Foreman?s corner threw in the towel in round eight but Mercante Jr threw it right back and said later he didn?t know who threw the towel even as he pointed out that the rules do not allow a fight to be stopped by the corner throwing the towel into the ring. The corner is supposed to wave the towel and ask the ring doctor or the referee to call a halt. After some delay in which the referee cleared the ring of people who had jumped in thinking the fight was over when Foreman went down and couldn?t get up because of his injured knee, the fight resumed and both fighters gamely battled on. In the 9th round the inevitable happened. Cotto cracked a left hook to the body, Foreman dropped on one knee and referee Mercante Jr jumped in to stop the fight at :42 seconds of the round. With the win Cotto who embraced his mother who entered the ring, improves to 35-2 with 28 knockouts while Foreman who suffered his first setback but had nothing to be ashamed of fell to 28-1 with 8 knockouts. Pacquiao who watched the fight intently said he thought it was ?a very good fight? even as Koncz indicated that Pacquiao ?thought it was a draw and a very close fight until Foreman got injured.? In a post fight interview with Steve Farhood of HBO, Mercante said ?There was no need to stop the fight? referring to the towel being thrown into the ring, adding that ?they were in the middle of a great exchange, a great fight. People came to see a great fight and I felt like I did the right thing.? The state-of-the art $1.4 billion Yankee Stadium in the heart of the Bronx was a sight to behold and recalled the glory days of boxing when the so-called cathedral of baseball saw fight fans thrill to the ring exploits of heavyweight champions Joe Louis, Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey and undefeated Rocky Marciano as well as Sugar Ray Robinson considered by many as the greatest of all-time. The old Yankee Stadium was the site almost 34 years ago of the third fight in the Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton trilogy which Ali won. With the Cotto-Foreman fight doing as well as it did following the almost 51,000 fans that watched Pacquiao whip Ghana?s Joshua Clottey at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas, promoter Bob Arum senses that the big stadiums will once again contribute to the continued resurgence of boxing. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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