Last night boxing experienced a Marvin Hagler-Sugar Ray Leonard moment–for five rounds. Forget what ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said earlier in the week, you know that the fight doesn’t matter because boxing is not what it once was. Forget about Puerto Rico versus the Philippines. Forget about any title that was won or lost. No, last night not only mattered, but it was the latest chapter in a historical career. The best fighter of this generation, Manny Pacquiao, once again transcended the sport, geographical origins, and championship belts.
To his credit, Miguel Cotto used everything in his arsenal to change the course of history. He’s much faster than he is given credit for and he was able to do what Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya could not–land punches. The punches had little effect on Manny’s game plan, which is amazing given that Cotto is known as one of the premiere punchers in the welterweight division. Pacquiao had some difficulty with Miguel’s speed early on, which everyone does, but he was able to start timing him with precision after the third round.
Once Miguel began to step backwards, beginning in the seventh, the fight was effectively over. At that moment, it became less about fighting Manny and more about surviving beyond the Freddie Roach prediction of a 9th or 10th round knockout. Cotto made it to the final round before Kenny Bayless stopped the action. The boxing scribes will no doubt discredit Cotto; however, it all comes down to a very good fighter stepping into the ring against an exceptional one.
While the scoring is not relevant, it is important to take a quick diversion and look at the 3rd round. HBO’s Jim Lampley stated repeatedly that the round could be a 9 to 9 round. How? Was there a penalty deduction? Lampley should know, and Harold Lederman should have corrected him, that there will NEVER be a 9 to 9 round without a penalty being assessed by the referee. As such, the round was either 10 to 8 or 10 to 9 for Pacquiao. There was no other way to score it. Okay, scoring diversion complete.
So what’s next? Frankly, that picture was a little more interesting before yesterday. Sugar Shane Mosley used to be brought up in discussions regarding Manny’s next move. Do we want to see that now? Juan Manuel Marquez will never get a trilogy fight. Andre Berto is not a financially viable option unless he does something amazing when he fights Mosley in January.
No, as we all know, there is only one mega fight left for Manny Pacquiao and it is against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. After last night, even that match-up may be unnecessary because the only man who can defeat Manny is Manny. Cotto represented the toughest test at welterweight and in this new division, Mannyweight, at 145lbs. Mayweather cannot shoulder roll and pot shot his way to a win over Pacquiao. He will have to fight, not box, which is a concept that is very unfamiliar to him.
The bottom line is that if Cotto couldn’t hurt Pacquiao then there is no realistic chance that anyone, within reason, can. While Pacquiao-Mayweather would likely be the highest grossing fight in boxing history, which is the only reason for Pacquiao to take it, there is nothing left for him to prove. Manny has always fought the best and defeated the best. He did it again last night and Mayweather represents a step backward. The problem for Manny is that there are no more forward steps remaining.
