It’s all the same…. Only the names will change.
Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was bigger than a Bon Jovi hit for now 7 time world title holder Manny Pacquiao.
The song remains the same for welterweight superstar Miguel Cotto.
It was Reminiscent of Cotto’s July 2008 fight against Antonio Margarito in the very same ring. Once again Cotto’s face had underwent some serious pugilistic re-construction after a fairly one sided 11 round operating session from Dr. Manny Pacquiao. No Plaster included.
The first three rounds lived up to the hype. It was constant give-and-take punching from both sides. While Cotto clearly won the first round the world got a chance to notice that along with blazing speed, Pacquiao can also take a punch from a solid welterweight. Cotto landed a few of his trademark left hooks but they didn’t seem to rock Pacquaio what so ever.
In round 3 Pacquiao caught Cotto with right that sent him slipping to the canvas. The knockdown didn’t appear to hurt Cotto but in round 4 opportunity knocked in the form of a powerful left that sent Cotto down again. As Cotto beat the count the signs of damage were present as his knees showed a bit of rubber.
By the 9th round Cotto’s face had swelled considerably and he was bleeding from the mouth and nose. There were talks of stopping the fight in the corner but Cotto wanted to continue. At this point the best he could hope for is to complete the fight.
Once again, in the 11th round, it appeared the fight might be stopped in the corner, however Cotto refused to allow trainer Joe Santiago to call it quits.
In round 12 Cotto danced for his life while the ever ready Pacquiao continued to swat him around. Referee Kenny Bayless finally popped in at 55 seconds to shut the lights off.
The show was over and Manny Pacquiao entered the record books. While the world once again shifted it’s attention to Pacquiao vs Mayweather, Manny was talking rock-and-roll. Later in the night Pac-Man was gearing up to perform an 8-song concert at the Mandalay Bay.
Being from Boston I think it’s safe to say. That’s Manny just being Manny!
