With the Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight now just about 10 days away, the boxing world is eagerly anticipating how the fight will shake out. As detailed last week, there are many different opinions and expectations about how the fight will play out. However it’s also important to consider the aftermath of the fight. Who achieves more with a win in the match? In other words, which fighter will boost his standing more with a win?
What Pacquiao Has to Gain
If Pacquiao wins the fight, he gets a chance to win a title in yet another weight class. He has won major world championships in four weight classes already, and with minor crowns it’s up to six. Therefore the Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight is a chance for Manny to win a title in a seventh weight class, an extremely rare feat. So rare, he’d be the first man ever to pull it off.
The fight is also a chance for Pacquiao to cement his status as the kingpin and pound for pound champion. With Floyd Mayweather’s return to the sport, there have been some questions about who deserves that lofty perch. A win over Cotto would trump Mayweather’s triumph over Marquez, and make him stand alone at the top of the heap.
Finally, by beating Cotto, Pacquiao would have complete control over his future. He could take on any opponent of his choosing and while he could not completely dictate terms over Mayweather, he could certainly hold his own in negotiations. Plus, by establishing himself as a real welterweight fighter, another potential future opponent could be Shane Mosley, or Pacquiao could choose to finish his business with Juan Manuel Marquez.
What Cotto has to Gain
If Miguel Cotto beats Manny Pacquiao, he gets a chance to knock off the pound for pound champion. That wouldn’t give him the number 1 position, but it would vault him up the list and assert his standing in the division and in the sport.
Cotto is the underdog in the bout, and therefore more people are expecting him to lose than to win. That means that by besting Pacquiao he will be proving people wrong and further showing the boxing community how capable he is. This is a boxing community that has questioned Cotto’s ability after he suffered the loss to Antonio Margarito and you can be sure that Cotto is eager to prove his doubters wrong.
Cotto vs. Mayweather used to be the fight de jour, until Cotto lost and Pacquiao continued climbing through the weight classes. By beating Pacquiao, Cotto vs. Mayweather is once again the must-see boxing match that needs to be made and Cotto immediately assumes the top perch in the welterweight division.
So Who Can Achieve More – Pacquiao or Cotto?
All things considered, it is Miguel Cotto that has more to gain by winning the fight. If Pacquiao wins, it was expected, and he’s simply continuing to fulfill the lofty expectations that he has helped to create over the last several years. If Cotto wins, he undoes the reputation hit he took from the loss to Margarito and reestablishes himself as one of the sports best fighters.
Be sure to keep checking in with ProBoxing-Fans.com for continued coverage on everything related to Pacquiao vs. Cotto. You can take a look at our Pacquiao vs. Cotto preview and prediction, the latest Pacquiao Cotto 24/7 recap and then on the night of the fight check in for Pacquiao Cotto results.
Image: Pro Boxing Fans; Photos: Mike Gonzalez (Pacquiao) & Wikimedia User Javabeans (Cotto); Creative Commons 3.0 License
