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NAME
Miguel Cotto || Manny Pacquiao
NICKNAME
Angelito || Pac-Man
AGE
29 || 30
HOMETOWN
Caguas, Puerto Rico || General Santos City, Philippines
STATISTICS
34 (27) - 1 (1) - 0 || 49 (37) - 3 (2) - 2
SIZE
5'7", 147 || 5'6" 1/2, 135-147
STANCE
Orthodox || Southpaw
ABILITY/TECHNIQUE
Miguel Cotto: With the right guy in front of him, Miguel Cotto can bring you both types of fighter. Boxer-punhcer, or slugger. However he's at his best, and one of the best in the business, when he mixes them both in, but leans toward the boxer-puncher side of things. He's able to wear you down and gradually get the stoppage anyway, so it makes more sense. Over the course of his career, he's evolved as he got more notoriety. Now, with a new trainer, he seems to be sticking with the basics, luckily his basics are quite impressive. Not the fastest hands, but he has deceptive speed and is able to neutralize his opponents speed with his knack for impressive timing. His footwork is top of the line and he is able to move around the ring on his backfoot ALMOST as well as he is able to cut off the ring when the time is right. Solid finisher who doesn't overreact. Solid stamina, but has shown that he can be drawn out. Can be hit, but has shown solid defense. Underrated, but still not great, chin.
Manny Pacquiao: Manny is a tricky fighter to figure out. He's an aggressive southpaw fighter who rarely takes a backstep. From early on in his career, you could see the hand speed was there, being a fighter born with it and he's been able to time his shots better while being under the guidance of trainer Freddy Roach. When the pair first got together, Manny was somewhat of a one-trick pony. Fortunately for the two, the trick worked wonders for the most part. However, as they've grown as a team, he's added other tricks to the arsenal. His footwork and balance have gotten significantly better, however the straight one-two down the middle is still his bread and butter. Impressive combination puncher and has added a better body attack. Great stamina with rapid upper-body movement. Accuracy has vastly improved aswell. Solid chin.
WEAKNESSES:
Miguel Cotto: His biggest problem has come to be his stamina. Though not horrible, it was definitely a factor in his fight with Antonio Margarito and partly with Joshua Clottey. However, he does have some rather late stoppages and is able to fight like a warrior in the final round of a close fight, like in the aforementioned fight with Clottey. Another weakness that could definitely rear it's ugly head in a fight that could get tough, is the fact that at still a relatively young age, he's taken a few beatings, having only had to settle for a loss in one of them. Clottey got to him, Mosley wasn't easy, Ricardo Torres almost had him and Margarito (cheating or not) may have done some serious damage to his chances of longevity. His chin could be a factor with the right type of pop, however, it's improved as he moved up in weight. He can be hit, but he is decent at slipping most of the shots.
Manny Pacquiao: He can be hit, that's the first thing to come to mind. That could spell trouble, since he'll be fighting his bigger opponent who is almost GUARANTEED to tag him a few times. As Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales have shown, he can be wobbled. Though he does show the ability to recover rather quickly, it's something to worry about. When you take away the straight one-two, he relies on punches that he's not AS comfortable with. He's prone to cuts and as seen in the second Marquez fight during the ninth round, they can bother him. Early in his career, he was stopped from a body blow. Though he has vastly improved his overall skill-set, when he is hurt, he will often times revert back to his old self, and that could be a big problem with a guy who's been hit harder than Manny can punch.
OPPOSITION/CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Miguel Cotto: Miguel Cotto is virtually the only ranked Welterweight who has essentially faced any and all comers, with the exception of Mayweather, who has only voiced interest if Cotto wins this Saturday. Along those on that list are; Shane Mosley (win), Antonio Margarito (loss), Carlos Quintana (win), Joshua Clottey (win), and Zab Judah (win). Outside of the 147 ranks, he's also beaten Paulie Malignaggi and Ricardo Torres. For that group, he's gone 6(3) - 1(1). He's currently ranked at number 7, pound for pound. Though he's held versions of the titles at both 140 and 147, he's never officially been the TRUE champion at any weight class. Beating Manny would not get him any closer to the TRUE title, technically. This will be the second defense of his WBO championship.
Manny Pacquiao: Pacquiao has faced a who's who of 126-130 pounds. Gaining him wins over Erik Morales (twice), Juan Manuel Marquez (one win, one draw), and Marco Antonio Barrera (twice). Else where in his career, he's faced Agapito Sanchez, David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya and most recently, Ricky Hatton. Against the group mentioned, he's 8(6) - 1(0) - 2. These fights have helped propel him to the top of most credible pound for pound lists. He's currently the TRUE world champion at 140, not technically ranked at Welterweight. He's won TRUE world titles at 126, 130 and 140 pounds. Beating Cotto would garner him a 'peice of the title' at 147. He's 4(3) - 0(0) - 1. Beating Cotto would get him his seventh different trinket in a seventh division. A record, of sorts.
THE QUESTIONS: With both being accustomed to a crowd virtually completely in their favors, will the mixed response get the best of either? Will Manny Pacquiao finally try for too big of a bite? Has the wear and tear of too many wars caught up to either? Will either fighter be thinking too far ahead? Has the hectic atmosphere with Manny Pacquiao's training camp finally be too much to block out? Will Miguel Cotto's trainer have enough experience when the going gets tough? Can Manny Pacquiao take the full on punch of a REAL Welterweight in his prime? How will Manny's speed be handled by Miguel?
THE OUTCOME: This fight will be one that you'll remember for a while, if I had to guess. Both come to fight and love doing just that. In the opening rounds though, you'll see a slower pace than you might expect from either. Cotto might take two of the first three, but there wont be any indication that the fight is heading to an easy victory for Cotto. Manny will come on strong in the 4th and 5th at the urging of his corner. Cotto might taste the canvas in the middle rounds but he'll hit Manny with enough power to stop him from ending things at that point. The round after Cotto goes down, expect Manny to be decked aswell. He will be a little more hurt, but he'll be able to recover. As fights end begins to near, both fighters will realize that the fight could be up for grabs. Both fighters will want to go for it. Only one fighter has shown consistently that he is capable of doing that. Manny will begin to take the rounds a little more widely and will end up having things go his way.
Winner, Manny Pacquiao, 12UD.
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