Yet again, the world gets a very clear message: Pacquiao express makes all the scheduled stops, without any incidents of derailment or postponement. The Pacquiao express took off January 2nd 1995 in the Philippines against Edmund Enting Igancio. Now, almost 15 years and a handful of big fights later, Manny is closing in on the destination of retirement. He has beaten the very best in the sport, such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Jorge Solis, David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto. Before Manny considers stepping on the brakes, there is one last stop that he needs to make: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Saturday night, a heavier and supposedly stronger fighter in Miguel Cotto got dominated by the smaller man in Pacquaio. Manny was able to take this fight, and show the world that he doesn’t leave anything behind when he goes up in weight. His speed and power were outstanding. Cotto did good compared too many other fighters. He stood and traded, jabbed and moved. He gave Manny some trouble towards the beginning of the fight, but could not sustain that for very long. Pacquiao kept coming forward with accurate combinations, and was able to figure out Miguel by the early to mid rounds. After that, Cotto could not land anything solid due to Pacquiao’s speed. Every time Cotto set out with something in mind, Manny was already there to counter it and ruin all plans.
What is fantastic was Roach’s amazingly precise prediction. A few days before the fight, Freddie said that they will not be able to knock Cotto out, but what they will do instead is make them stop the fight. In the 12th round the fight was stopped by the referee, because Cotto could no longer defend and was getting hit way too much. This is not the first time that Roach hit the bull’s eye with his prediction, and it astounds me how masterful this trainer is. Pacquaio also made a small prediction as he was coming out to the ring before the fight. He chose Thunderstruck by AC DC as his song for ring entrance, and that’s exactly what happened to Cotto, he got Thunderstruck.
There is nothing else that Manny needs to show anyone. All know that he is awfully fast, accurate, compliant to what Roach suggests, and very strong. For years many people have been saying that he might not be ready to face someone as extraordinary as Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd himself said on many occasions that Manny needed to earn the right to fight him. What now? What will Floyd say to a fight that has to be realized? Will he try to avoid it by making absurd financial requests? Will he denounce Cotto as a regular fighter?
The better question is this: Who can Floyd fight next? Well, there is Sugar Shane who has a very dangerous fight with Andre Berto coming up. At this point in time, if Shane is able to dominate Berto, he will be the cream of the crop. He will be the best fight to sign for. Who will get him first: Mayweather or Pacquiao?
A fight with Mayweather and Pacquiao is obviously a make it or break it event. The winner of that fight will have no one to question their superiority in boxing. They will become the ultimate champion of our time. The loser, well the loser will likely retire.Latest boxing news www.diamondboxing.com
