I know it’s old news at this point, but I always like to watch a big fight a couple more times following the event to get a less emotional picture of what happened. Here are a few thoughts after seeing Pacquiao/Cotto another two times.
* The three judges scorecards were 109-99, 108-99, 108-100. The way I figure it that means all three gave the first round to Cotto, and two gave him one more, probably the fifth. If my math is correct it also means that two of the three judges only gave Pacquiao one 10-8 round, not giving him full credit for the round three knockdown. For the record, I had it 109-97. I gave Pacquiao scores of 10-8 in the two knockdown rounds, and the ninth, because his domination was so complete. That has to be just about the widest score I’ve ever given for a relatively competitive fight.
* Cotto just looked so sharp in that first round, with such a quick jab. Pacquiao managed to land some good shots, but Cotto definitely did the better work. It’s hard to tell if Manny was just feeling him out, or if Cotto managed to intimidate him, but Pacquiao was very cautious.
* The ease and flowing nature of Pacquiao’s movement makes the impacts he receives look more dramatic than they would for most fighters. Pacquiao’s head snaps back after each jab, creating the impression that he took a huge blow, but I often wonder if the impact is as great as it appears. Pacquiao is so loose and liquid in the ring, so relaxed, that he moves with the punches. He isn’t really braced to take them because of his movement. I’m not sure if this makes the actual damage greater or weakens it, but it certainly makes each blow more noticeable. While Cotto was fixed and set when Pacquiao landed his punches, which managed to bust him up and hurt him, they didn’t really move Cotto. This has always been my difficulty in scoring the Pacquiao/Marquez fights. Marquez’ impacts created more movement, but I felt Pacquiao’s did more damage.
* The second round was terrific, but Pacquiao did much better than I initially remembered. By my count he hurt Cotto two times in the round, and his in-and-out volleys were terrific and scorching. Cotto landed a couple of good punches, but there were so many examples of Pacquiao turning Cotto and leaving him in vulnerable positions that it should have been clear he was favored going forward.
* The third round knockdown was a perfect example of Pacquiao resetting his angle and leaping in to attack an out of position Cotto. I think Pacquiao was literally off the ground when he landed that short right hand. I don’t know what to call that punch; it was half a jumping jab, and half a hook.
*The huge left uppercut knockdown in round four was a thing of beauty. It was quite an interesting and strange sequence. Pacquiao had his best moments of the fight up to that point in a barrage of punches, really hammering Cotto. But Cotto managed to survive and land a good left counter, at which point Pacquiao went up against the ropes. I’m not sure if he was hurt, needed a moment to reload after his previous assault, or just wanted to show he could take the punches, but it was an exciting moment. When Pacquiao finally decided to spin off the ropes he did it with ease, a beautiful transition from defense to offense. He missed a few uppercuts immediately before landing the big left that changed the fight.
* While Cotto had a decent round five, I still felt Pacquiao won with the more meaningful and hurtful punches, including a couple at the bell. The sixth round was really when the fight came to its functional end. Pacquiao landed a huge right hook about halfway through (the one they showed in super-slow motion to see the incredible facial contortions) that took any of the energy that Cotto had. He started backing up to the ropes and his body control seemed to falter and never really came back. Pacquiao also landed two really terrific right hands near the end of the round to nearly cause a knockdown.
* I love the move where Pacquiao moves to the side, then jumps in with a quick left, and follows it up with two more quick lefts when his opponent tries to cover up. He did this against De La Hoya and Hatton to great effect as well.
* The battle of footspeed will be perhaps even more interesting than handspeed when Pacquiao/Mayweather comes off. Will Floyd be able to retreat out of range before Pacquiao catapults himself forward? I have no idea.
* The two most memorable moments for me in the later rounds were when Pacquiao stopped chasing Cotto and stood at center ring. He almost seemed to be saying to Cotto, “We both know it’s over, let’s end it here.”
* It was a terrific fight.
