Barring any last minute minor miracle, like say a Floyd Mayweather Jr. intervention or Shane Mosley accepting a 10-90 split to land a Pacquiao fight, it seems that the Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto match is all but a formality for November.
A Pacquiao-Cotto fight will be an awesome match-up. I can’t even begin to describe how excited I am as a fight fan to see this bout go down. It’s amazing too though that just a year ago, Top Rank boss Bob Arum himself, who is the number one advocate for this fight and promotes both fighters, was saying “when I start thinking of Pacquiao against these big welterweights like Cotto, it just sounds ridiculous.” That was last year though, before Pacquiao went up to 147 and destroyed Oscar De la Hoya and whooped Ricky Hatton who was undefeated at 140 like both men were some bums off the street.
And now some people are saying Pacquiao cherry-picked Cotto. Really? I guess it goes back to Pacquiao turning boxing sense upside down. Tell me, how is it cherry-picking for a smaller guy to fight one of the best bigger guys in the sport. If that’s the case then anyone not named Wladimir Klitschko would be cherry-picking for Pacquiao. All I’m saying is that Pacquiao is a hell of a fighter but please take my invitation to come back down to Earth and realize that all these big named guys are great in their own rights. Miguel Cotto can definitely put the worse beating Pacquiao has ever received all his life. All these higher profile fighters are capable of winning. It all boils down to preparation and what they do inside the ring. And if you ask me who I think the best among the possible opponents Pacquiao has out there (and I’ve said this long before) that is no other than Miguel Cotto.
A lot of people are basing it on Cotto’s most recent performance against Joshua Clottey. Cotto was on the defensive for most of the later rounds of the fight and didn’t quite have that awe inspiring performance that would get fight fans buzzing. You got to understand that Cotto was cut by an inadvertent headbutt in the third round and he was compromised since. He did knock Clottey down in the first though. Even Pacquiao had a hard time dealing with a cut from a headbutt which contributed to his last defeat against Erik Morales. And just last year in March when Pacquiao was cut as well during his rubber match against Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao was a different fighter after sustaining that blow. If you did not appreciate the courage and heart Cotto displayed by finishing the fight and doing enough to still come home with the win, then you probably have never fought or been around fighting your entire life.
Cotto has the skills, craft and power to give Pacquiao fits. Shane Mosley is a hell of a fighter as well, but what will people say if Pacquiao beats him again? He’ll just take a page from Oscar De la Hoya’s half-baked compliments cook book and say Pacquiao beat him because he was dehydrated or he was old and can’t pull the trigger no more. Let Pacquiao fight the younger and skilled Puerto Rican from Caguas, who after all defeated Mosley last year. With the fight being an in-house promotion, Pacquiao will also be able cash in without having to worry about the Golden crew getting a cut from his loot. The only way I see this fight not happening is if Cotto doesn’t want it, in that case then Pacquiao can pursue a fight with Mosley or Mayweather if the opportunity does present itself but that’s a totally different story.
People who say that Pacquiao cherry-picked Cotto is either overestimating Pacquiao’s ability or underestimating Cotto. The truth is somewhere in the middle. This is definitely a winnable fight for Pacquiao, but even Royce Gracie in his prime had fits against bigger opponents like Kimo. I’m not trying to compare boxing to MMA but the logic behind it is that sooner or later a bigger guy will overcome Pacquiao’s advantages by simply being too big and strong and will find a way to impose himself on the smaller guy. Will that guy be Cotto? Perhaps, perhaps not. Cotto is highly capable though.
Cherry-picking is if Pacquiao went and fought Israel Vasquez, Vic Darchinyan or Rafael Marquez. If Pacquiao cherry-picked Cotto then Mayweather pretty much is commiting rape and highway robbery on the same day when he fights Juan Manuel Marquez. Cherry-picking is if you have Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers play against Kobe Kabuto and the Laguna Lakers. I can go forever with this… but you get my point. Cotto is no walk in the park for Pacquiao, and if you really think he cherry-picked him then this cherry can pop- his punches that is.
