If Cotto Ice'd Clottey the way he did Quintana or Maliaggie or Judah, would this fight be happening?
The answer is YES, Pacquiao at ringside saw the tremendous fan base of Cotto in New York, and was touched by the standing ovation given to him when he was introduced. This was actually the moving point of Pac`s decision to fight Cotto, making it a Mega event worldwide. He even shunned the idea of fighting Cotto at 143, and agreed to fight at 145.
Probably. Pac wants a WW belt, and Cotto is Arum's guy also. Got him to extend his contract as condition for the fight. I'm sure Arum woulda wanted it regardless of how Cotto looked.