CHICAGO — On paper, Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao looks like a highly-competitive showdown between two of the world’s elite boxers.
Both are multiple world champions who have defeated the best fighters of their generations. Both have reached god-like status in their respective homelands of Puerto Rico and the Philippines as a result of their exciting, aggressive styles. And both are widely lauded for the toughness they’ve displayed.
But to deny that one is at the peak of his powers and the other is on a slow, steady decline would be to deny reality as the welterweight duo prepares for the biggest fight of 2009 (7 p.m., today, Pay-per-view).
Not the same
A junior welterweight powerhouse who displayed smooth boxing skills as a 140-pound prospect, Cotto was an unmistakable talent when he turned pro in 2001. He eventually jumped to 147 pounds to win the WBA welterweight title with a destruction of Carlos Quintana in 2006.
He graduated to the top of the class in 2007, beating Zab Judah and Shane Mosley. Cotto had officially arrived.
His star was still burning bright when he defended against Antonio Margarito in July 2008. But, after a fierce, give-and-take battle, Cotto was knocked out in the 11th round — his face a grotesque, bloody mess.
It doesn’t really matter that, six months later, Margarito was later found to be a cheat — having plaster discovered on his handwraps before a January 2009 fight with Mosley. And it doesn’t even matter if Margarito used Advertisement
that plaster against Cotto, which is widely believed to be a fact.
Because, plaster or not, Cotto (34-1, 27 knockouts) has yet to recover from that devastating loss.
He showed heart in a gutsy June victory over tough-as-nails Joshua Clottey. But he also showed vulnerability. The Puerto Rican’s face was again a bloody mess. He seemed slower and less sure of himself. And his punch didn’t seem to have the same pop.
Cotto deserves credit for ultimately winning a 12-round decision against a top-three welterweight.
But, with all due respect to Clottey, the Ghanian is a one-dimensional, predictable slugger.
“Pac-Man” is an altogether different proposition.
Anyone who saw Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) flatten poor Ricky Hatton last May with a beauty of a left hand knows what the Filipino superstar is capable of these days. The man has punched himself into the history books with his recent, incredible three-division blitz that started with a destruction of 135-pounder David Diaz in June 2008, continued with a domination of future Hall-of-Famer Oscar De La Hoya last December, and concluded with his blastout of Hatton.
Pacquiao has won world titles in four weight classes, and his list of victims is like a who’s who of boxing royalty: Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, De La Hoya, Hatton.
Beating Cotto would give him his fifth world title.
Go with Pac-Man
In a word, speed. Pacquiao is simply too fast for Cotto, who would have had problems with Pac-Man even on his best day. Further, with Cotto’s propensity for cuts lately, don’t be surprised if blood starts spurting as early as the first round. True, Cotto is the bigger, stronger fighter who certainly possesses a puncher’s chance. But he’d have to land something big early. With Pacquiao’s quickness, that’s not likely.
Cotto will give another gutsy performance. And he’ll be standing at the end, but he’ll be a bloody, beaten mess when the fight is stopped. Pacquiao by 9th-round TKO.
Matthew Aguilar may be reached at [email protected].
