Posted on: November 14, 2009 3:38 am
Saturday night we will be watching history in the making during the Cotto-Pacquiao fight. If Pacquiao wins, he will become the first 7-divion champion in the hystory of boxing; there's a reason nobody had done this before; it's insanely difficult to be a champion in such an ample weight range. Threre lies the hype for this fight; can a guy that began his professional boxing career at 122 pounds beat a natural 147 pounder that began his professional carrer barely making the 140 pounds junior welterweight limit?
Thats why, out of pure sense, without the overly complicated analysis we are all compelled to make, I'm picking Cotto to win this fight and spoil Manny's crack at history (although his name is already engraved in the boxing books for centuries).
It doesnt help either that I'm not digging the speed vs power discussions. Simply because Manny "speed", in the context many uninformed analyst are using the word, is nothing extraordinary compared to Zab Judah and Shane Mosley "speed". Even Cotto has shown us all some decent "speed". Manny's true physical prowess comes from his quickness. So, whats the difference soma may ask.
Obviously, Cotto's performances against Margarito and Clottey have taken a toll on some fight fans. Thats not my case, specially with regards to the Clottey fight, because Clottey is a heck of a fighter in this weight class. I would love for he other welterweight title holders to give the Ghana native a chance. Clottey can beat all of them... all of them.
Manny depends in such quickness for his trademark nack: 1) control the pace of the fight (e.g. punches output) and 2) to keep himself in a safety zone away from his opponent reach but close enough that will allow him to lunge in and land a powerful combination.
Conversely, I DO believe that Cotto has the tools required to minimize the impact of these Manny attributes. 1) Cotto is a relentless stalker in the ring and 2) his jab doesnt carry a reminder of what you can get if ends up withing striking distance, Cotto's jab hurts BIG time.
I'll be posting round-by-round updates plus my scoring card live on my twitter. www[dot]twitter[dot]com/Robert_Richard. Feel free to drop by and tweet you comments too.
I cant finish this post without my remarks on the Pacquiao by KO picks. Cotto was beaten by a possibly cheating Margarito and went through a hard fights with Clottey and Mosely. These guys can punch. Who is it that neither of these could KO Cotto but that Pacquiao is going to do what none of Cotto's previous opponents have ever done? Can Pacquiao win? He has two legs, two fists, etc;there is no reason to disregard him... the same goes for Cotto.
www.twitter.com/Robert_Richard
