By Chris Robinson
According to numerous reports, a third encounter between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, and reigning lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, is coming this November in Las Vegas. Given the available list of opponents at the moment for Pacquiao, Marquez was the natural choice given the brooding history between the two men and the competitiveness of their first two fights.
But the fact is that the two fighters' career trajectories have varied extremely dating back to their March 2008 rematch, a fight won by Pacquiao via split-decision. Pacquiao has since risen in weight and torn through a formidable list of opponents while Marquez, despite still being a champion, has shown signs of aging while presently residing two full weight classes below Manny.
Entering 2012 there will be many eyes on Pacquiao and several fighters looking to sink their teeth into a lucrative bout with the Filipino sensation. One of them is WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, who himself was bloodied and battered in falling to Pacquiao via 12th round TKO in November of 2009.
Cotto's career was thought to be in dire straits after his punishing loss to Pacquiao but the proud Puerto Rican took some time off, regrouped, and seemed like a new man under the tutelage of his new trainer Emanuel Steward. His recent performances have seen him dissect Yuri Foreman and Ricardo Mayorga for TKO victories that typified just how much the 30-year old still has left at this point.
I caught up with Steward recently to discuss the next logical step for Cotto and what he thinks about a rematch with Pacquiao down the road. The General Santos City fighter is coming off of a dull twelve-round decision over former champion Shane Mosley a few weekends back at the MGM Grand yet Steward admits he didn't even bother to watch the contest, noting that he never thought it was going to be a fight to begin with.
As far as his thoughts on Pacquiao, Steward admits that his respect has never wavered yet he does look at him with more of a competitive eye these days.
"I'm a big Manny Pacquiao fan," Steward opened up. "Even without being involved with Miguel, I've known that Manny is just like anyone. He's a very, very good fighter. But I do look at him a little differently because I might have to compete against him. I've always looked at fighters that way."
Cotto was far from a shrinking violet during his loss to Pacquiao, showing great vigor and pop with his punches in the opening rounds before being dropped in stanzas three and four and eventually fading over the second half of the fight. Steward feels that his charge made certain mistakes that night that are completely preventable in the future.
"The last fight when he fought Miguel Cotto, Miguel did very well in the first couple of rounds and then he took the fight away and started bending down too low. Manny, who is actually physically shorter than him, became the tall fighter and was comfortable. With or without me I don't think he would ever have made that mistake again," Steward said.
Ever since bursting onto the scene with his June 2001 thrashing of Lehlo Ledwaba to capture the IBF junior featherweight championship of the world, Pacquiao has shown star potential in America but only started reaching the mainstream masses with his run of success against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Cotto, and others in recent years.
While those feats may be impressive, Steward feels that Pacquiao truly made his mark years earlier against a Mexican trio dear to the hearts of fight fans around the world.
"Unlike most people, I don't see his greatness being from recent fights," Emanuel continued. "For the most part I remember him at 122 and 130 [pounds]. Morales, Barrera, and Marquez; those are the ones that defined him to me as an all-time great fighter."
Getting back to the topic at hand, Steward reaffirms just how badly his fighter wants to avenge his loss to Pacquiao as well as his previous setback to Antonio Margarito in July of 2008.
"He'll always be a tough fight but Miguel boxing will make it a much, much more competitive fight and maybe a totally different fight," Steward coined. "Miguel Cotto definitely wants a second fight with Manny Pacquiao. That's actually been one of his dreams along with Margarito. Those are his two thorns."