The story of Manny Pacquiao – Miguel Cotto did not end when the bout was waved off 55 seconds into the final round. The aftermath has created a buzz that has spread well beyond the sport of boxing and has captured the imagination of even casual sports fans. The buzz is not about Pacquaio’s domination over the second half of the bout, or the opening four rounds that saw Pacquiao and Cotto stand toe to toe; the buzz is overwhelmingly about what’s next.
What’s next seems to be a collision course between Pacquiao and Floyd “Money” Mayweather that will not only settle the dispute of who is Boxing’s best pound for pound fighter; but also a fight that promises to be a the sport’s richest, and most anticipated in years.
On a weekend that saw “Curb Your Enthusiasm” take us back to the 90s and the set of “Seinfeld”, the anticipation of Pacquiao – Mayweather has us longing for a return to the 80s and the era of Sugar Ray Leonard – Tommy Hearns. However, before we look ahead to 2010, please allow me to take a final look back at the Pacquiao – Cotto: Winners and Losers. Losers: 5. HBO 24/7 – Again the HBO Boxing infomercial generated plenty of momentum to get the juices flowing for the boxing community. And while no one could question the impact the show has had on the economic success of the fights that are featured, one may state that its entertainment value is growing a bit stale. Some fights simply do not generate enough interesting story lines to fill up four half-hour episodes.
At this point it is going to be tough to find a fighter on an episode of “24/7” that has not already performed on the network. Moving forward the producers need to worry less about the scripted slo-mo shots outside of the ring, and focus more on the exclusive shots captured from previous performances inside of the ring.
Kind of like the second episode of “Fight Club 360”. 4. Ring Magazine’s Welterweight Rankings – Shane Mosley was bumped from the top spot that he earned by knocking out the previous #1, Antonio Margarito. That performance may have been too good for him to land a fight against Pacquiao, Mayweather, or Cotto; but it was not good enough to keep the top spot.
This week they inserted Pacquiao as their number one welterweight on the strength of his victory over Cotto. It was a tremendous victory that earned Pacquiao the right to be favored against anyone else in the division willing to meet him at a catch-weight. Freddie Roach already said he would ask Mosley to come down to at least 143, and I’m sure the Mayweather negotiations will begin at 145.
I have no problem with Manny Pacquiao being ranked #1 pound for pound, but he should not be #1 at welterweight until he drops the catch-weights or beats Mosley.
3. Antonio Margarito – There have been reports that the grounded tornado was seen in Las Vegas over the weekend. He is less than two months away from seeking a possible reinstatement to boxing, and he seems to be at a lighter weight than he was two months prior to his fight against Mosley. However, the HBO PPV telecast displayed a picture of Margarito in the ring following his victory over Cotto that revealed that his hand wraps were discolored. Again, this proves nothing, but it is yet another Exhibit to be held against Margarito when he seeks reinstatement by the California Commission, and acceptance from the Court of Public Opinion.
2. Joe Santiago – The lack of experience of Cotto’s trainer was seen as a big disadvantage heading into the fight. Pacquiao’s boxing “master”, Freddie Roach, was quick to point this out, and clearly got into Santiago’s head.
In fairness to Santiago, there may not have been anything that he, Dick Lebeau, or Dean Smith could have done to diffuse the Filipino’s offensive Firepower, but he also failed to do anything to silence his critics. When Cotto felt the fight slipping away, he returned to his corner, but there were no answers. Rather than being a calming influence, Santiago seemed to be falling apart quicker than his charge.
1 Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. – Junior had no business being on this fight card, and his lethargic performance may actually hurt the niche he found for himself, headlining Top Rank’s Latin Fury cards in Mexico. At first people were told to be patient because he was learning on the job. Without any amateur experience, it only made sense that he was brought along slowly. However, the plug on this act needs to be pulled. His presence on this historic card came at the expense of too many honest fighters that view their vocation as a privilege, not a birthright.
